Category: artist

A CELEBRATORY MOMENTUM BELEGGINGS AARDKLOP RETURNS WITH A SPARKLING SMORGASBORD OF EXCELLENT THEATRE

~ debeernecessities

It’s the time of festivals with Aardklop opening with a celebration of jacaranda showers and shows from October 3 until 8. DIANE DE BEER points to a few of her favourites:

When I look at festivals, what they have to offer, I always go to theatre first. It’s my passion, people who tell stories.  Fortunately, I know that stories are an integral part of the arts and are told in different ways. That’s what makes a festival such a delight.

Die Moeder with Sandra Prinsloo and Dawid Minnaar. Picture: Emma Wiehman.

But let’s start with theatre. If you haven’t seen Sandra Prinsloo’s Die Moeder yet or even if you have, see it again. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime performances even if she has had many of those. It’s a story of a woman ageing who has lost her heart and her soul as she feels discarded and left out of the dance of life.

That might sound horrific, but the text and the ensemble cast, including the magnificent Dawid Minnaar, Ludwig Binge and Ashley de Lange with exciting directing by Christiaan Olwagen, present huge rewards.

Bettie Kemp and Dawid Minnaar in Mirakel.

On a lighter note, Marthinus Basson, a Reza de Wet genius, presents probably her funniest play, titled Mirakel. With another fantastic cast, including Rolanda Marais, Carla Smith, Dawid Minnaar, Edwin van der Walt, Bettie Kemp and Ebin Genis, it takes us back in time when theatre was presented by traveling companies, which went from town to town, region to region.

That already puts a smile on my face, and when you get this almost ragtag band of actors together, trying to save their lives by enhancing their livelihood with all the drama of the time and the company, it’s a scream. Just seeing Minnaar, who we are used to seeing on stage in serious mode, is a delight as he lights up the room with his angst and artistic temperament.

Braam en die Engel with Joannie Combrink, de Klerk Oelofse, Rehane Abrahams and Shaun Oelf, directed by Nico Scheepers, has all the elements for something quite enchanting. Add to that Kanya Viljoen who adapted the text from a YA book with the eponymous title, Grant van Ster as choreographer, Franco Prinsloo as composer and Scheepers and Nell van der Merwe on props and puppets as well as set, costume and lighting design, it’s a no-brainer.

Described as a magic realism experience for the whole family, this sounds worth driving for and not to be missed. I don’t even know the book although the title does the trick, but the artists involved get my backing all the way.

Geon Nel in Hoerkind. Picture: Gys Loubser.

Also based on a book, Hoerkind, written by Herman Lategan and adapted by Francois Toerien, tells the writer’s own story about a life in tatters when as a six-year-old he is sent to an orphanage. His stepfather shoots at him, at 13 he is stalked by a paedophile, and he turns to drink and drugs to stay sane, this solo production is directed by Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck, with Geon Nel in the title role.

The young boy’s missteps are many as he tries to survive. It’s a hair-raising story of loss and triumph in a world that is feels as if it is against him as he valiantly fights to survive.

Goed wat wag om te gebeur. Picture: Nardus Engelbrecht

Another debut production, Goed Wat Wag Om te Gebeur, has impeccable credentials with a cast featuring Antoinette Kellerman, Gideon Lombard and Emma Kotze with Philip Rademeyer as playwright and director (reworked in Afrikaans from The Graveyard).

Hendrik returns home after 15 years but, because the house is deserted, he decides to wait in the cellar where he spent his childhood years. It is empty, but the family’s secrets and history thicken the air and form part of the foundation of the house. Three figures keep appearing – his hardened sister, his petite mother and his lively girlfriend … and secrets and lies come to the surface.

Droomwerk. Picture: Lise Kuhn.

Droomwerk spotlights Jill Levenberg, Ben Albertyn, Johann Nel, Tyrish Mili and Johann Vermaak, directed by Kanya Viljoen and Lwanda Sindaphi. It unfolds as a dream as the title suggests. Petrus is the one who dreams about his family’s complex past: his ancestral mother, Diana of Madagascar, is looking for her daughter; and his grandfather, an apartheid senator, is dying.

The play deals with conflict, alienation and disillusionment. Will Petrus find the answers that bring him peace? Written by Pieter Odendaal, the text has already garnered an award for the best drama by the ATKV Woordveertjies.

Cindy Swanepoel and Zak Henrdrikz star in Henrietta Gryffenberg’s text 1 (Een) – described as a tragicomedy about love. Directed by Alby Michaels with choreography by Craig Morris and original music by Coenraad Rall (Amanda Strydom’s accompanist), it’s all about once upon a time … there were two people so fond of one another that they grew,the one into the other.

With too much togetherness, the two eventually decide it’s time to separate … but which one will survive this miraculous ordeal?

This tongue-in-cheek production looks with a slight jaundiced eye at the ancient themes of love and transience while placing it in an absurd context. Are human beings likely to find their perfect partner or are the chances just endlessly slim?

It’s a challenging piece, which should translate perfectly on stage with hopefully much laughter at the fallibility of man.

Two strong solo productions include Marion Holm, a seasoned actress who works wonderfully with words and life as she experiences it. She has her own style, a way of sharing her stories that are hysterical and sometimes quite harrowing but everything is done with such hilarity, it’s laughter from beginning to end.

On a dramatic note, Je-ani Swiegers stars in Die Vrou Op Die Dak, which tells the story of a woman who flees to the roof of her house where she hopes to find the answers to a life that has suddenly become impossible. Everything she thought she knew is disintegrating and she hopes this fresh perspective might bring fresh insights.

And don’t miss out on the latest offerings from the grand dames of cabaret, Elzabé Zietsman(with Tony Bentel in the perfectly pitched Femme is Fatale) and Amanda Strydom (Amber/Ombré). Their staying power is unique as they keep refining their artistry.

It’s a lucky packet of plays with a selection of everything one could possibly wish for when going to a festival.

And then there’s more and many different entertainment options waiting to be discovered at https://aardklop.co.za/program-2023/

Also to follow, is Nataniël’s Aardklop production as well as the rest of his surprise packages.

ARTIST ANSA CLACEY DIPS INTO THE SILENCE IN-BETWEEN TO FIND THE THREADS THAT BIND

~ debeernecessities

When you see artist Ansa Clacey’s multimedia paintings at the exhibition The Silence in-between at the Pretoria Association of Art, stories pop into your head. It’s the fairytale quality of her work, the colours, the titles as well as the fact that she plays with paint and threads. Sometimes she paints, other times she works with needle and thread and often she combines the two. She shares her story with DIANE DE BEER:

Artist Ansa Clacey with her work.

Ansa Clacey’s current exhibition specifically explores the silence in-between the fragments and threads of our own stories.  Because she is constantly telling her own stories, she assumes everyone does that. And it is especially that presumption which informs her work.

She can take you through the exhibition and tell each artwork’s story, but what she really wants, is that her audience will find their own stories as they engage with her work.

She can hardly think of a time when she wasn’t drawing and on her first school day, she was thrilled when the teacher asked them to draw specific shapes. But with her imagination and ability to draw, she chose her own shapes.

Time Weaves a Wicked Tapestry – Embriodery on Linen (002)

We are all familiar with those moments when you are expected to do things exactly as told and she was immediately taken to task for not following instructions. The trauma lingered for a long time, but fortunately, her natural instincts couldn’t be suppressed.

Years later, after arriving at Potchefstroom University where she was going to study (she thinks the initial plan was German and Geography), she spotted final auditions for a Fine Arts degree. The object she was asked to draw was a green pepper.

The result was not what was expected and she still recalls that she had no knowledge of technique. But her talent was spotted, described as raw, and she was accepted and enrolled for the degree.

Lost and found 2 – Mixed media on paper (002)

Her parents who were funding her studies first heard of this career change from their local dominee who had bumped into Ansa and she was called home to explain. But things steamed ahead fortunately.

Following her studies, she joined the SABC’s art department where she worked on children’s programmes like Liewe Heksie and Wielie Walie, drama programmes and anything that needed a prop or a puppet. “We even had to manipulate the puppets,” she tells. But she learnt a lot and expanded her skills.

Further studies were required for this restless soul always on the lookout for new knowledge. So she acquired a fashion design certificate, which turned her head into yet another direction, and also meant that she started painting again, while also teaching at different fashion academies.

The Protection of the Ancient May Fire – Embroidery on Silk Organza (002)

These days, painting is her life and she says that everything triggers stories in her head with a mind that is always switched on.

And once she has an idea, she can’t wait to get working. But the final product doesn’t resemble the initial picture. She explains that what she can’t see or hear is exactly what gets her imagination going.

Everyday objects, stories, especially folklore of Japanese origin, stimulates her as well as the people close to her, especially he granddaughter Ella, has dominated her work.

With two daughters, both living in London, she has time to work while keeping those who live afar, close in her imaginary world.

While drawing still informs her work, the needle and thread is her alphabet. Clothes and in this exhibition, the dresses her daughters wore when they were small, and now her granddaughter, are all featured in different ways.

The Threads that Bind 3

Drawing and sewing form her language – like a pen is to the writer, each stitch or line she creates is her alphabet.  For the works on display, she used mainly pencil and pastel combined with stitching as her media. 

Threads, in different cultures, represent many different things: protection, repair, mending, hope and destiny, she says.

“I’m very drawn to cultural customs. Semamori for example is a Japanese custom which means ‘back protection’. Mothers handstitched intricate patterns on the back of their children’s kimonos to protect them from harm.  Often these embroideries have long threads hanging from them to assist good spirits to prevent children from falling. 

“Red thread knots would also be sewn on cloth for soldiers going to war.  These were worn as sashes under the uniforms to protect soldiers and give mothers and wives hope for their safe return.”

All of this informs her work, and is threaded through her stories, which all manifest in different ways to shape different tales and adventures for others. For her it is all therapeutic as she works alone while shaping her stories visually and solving problems she grapples with.

The Wolf Bride – Embroidery on silk organza (002)

She could go on for days and often has to stop herself, stand back, and take a look from  afar.

She is the woman who finds a box with old and odd pieces of fabric, collars or swatches which will all form part of her language in yet another work in the future.

Ansa also turns her enemies into friends and especially the animals in her work are placed in unexpected settings to change who and what they traditionally represent.

It is a world of fantasy and make-believe but in this artist’s mind, it’s a world she can manipulate and make her own.

“The warmth and contemplation of drawing and stitching move me across places and vast timelines. They are the nostalgic markings of movement between past and present.  Like human emotions, strings and lines can entangle allowing viewers to imagine stories behind them”.

When walking through the exhibition, it takes you into another world, one where your narrative features. Clothes, colour and threads form a part of most of our lives, so the connections are varied depending on who you are and why something catches your eye.

Not only are Ansa Clacey’s creations unusual, but also exciting and stimulating as they fire the imagination.  Do not let the opportunity to view this rare collection pass you by.

Ansa Clacey

The Silence in between

Until 30 September

Association of Arts Pretoria

173 Mackie Street

Nieuw Muckleneuk

Tel:  012 346 3100

artspta@mweb.co.za | www.artspta.co.za

Gallery Hours

Tuesday to Friday:  9am to 5pm.

Saturday:  9am to 1pm.

ARTIST LYNETTE TEN KROODEN IS INSPIRED BY THE MYSTERIES AND THE MIRACLES OF THE UNIVERSE

~ debeernecessities

Kristalwater 1 (Crystal Water)

The Association of Arts Pretoria is currently exhibiting works by renowned local artist Lynette ten Krooden under the collective title Mirari, which is the Latin for ‘to wonder at’; admire; miracle.Through French and later English, the word mirage also came into being. It perfectly captures the artist and her work, as she tells DIANE DE BEER:

Lynette is herself a work of art. Everything becomes her canvas.
The artist with her miracle rock shard.

If you spot glittering gold leaf somewhere on a table, chair or even the snacks at an arts event, it’s probably a sign that artist Lynette ten Krooden’s in the room.

“It’s her involvement with the Middle East many years ago that awakened it,” notes her close friend and fellow artist Margaret Gradwell-Truter, who divulges that the two of them are celebrating her first exhibition at the Association 40 years ago and now again. “As fellow artist, I (nervously) opened the exhibition at that time.”

It was wonderful to listen to her speech and to have her reveal so much about her friend, always with the emphasis on her art.

Ancient Travel Story.

About Lynette’s trademark gold leaf she says that at the time it wasn’t something that was widely used in the art world. She even recalls some of the local art academics being quite scathing about the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt because of his use of gold leaf. Today his work records some of the highest prices paid for art and especially his trademark gold leaf receives high praise. In similar vein, another gold leaf practitioner, Alexis Preller, was also not rated. Today he is revered, she says, as we can all attest to.

Not that Lynette paid much attention. If you hear her speak about her work and where her inspiration lies, it’s always the landscape. “She viewed the universe from space, or flew across the desert or travelled through it with the Bedouins, or she found herself in awe of age-old mountains, rocks and fossils. But she doesn’t repeat what she has seen, she gives her audience the experience of wonderment which she experiences – she does it through a rich tapestry of forms and marks richly woven to form a whole,” explained Margaret.

“Lynette has used gold leaf as an integral part of the landscape that inspires her.” And that especially was again visible in this current exhibition.

Pinnacle
Pinnacle in the Clouds.

Margaret embroiders: “She has unwaveringly used it as a medium for many years and has been able to master it, not as a decorative element but as a metaphor for the mirage, the mirari (miracle), that she has profoundly chased and captured, thereby enabling us, the spectator, to also wonder at the mirari.”

From her earliest days, she notes, Lynette was interested in the mysteries of the universe. The invisible – such as the effect of light on the earth – the glittering horizon, mist, sand, rocks and water. “This place that is a sanctuary for the wordless artist.”

Reenboogrots (Rainbow Rock)

And when Lynette talks unthinkingly about gold leaf, she tells how she is constantly picking up and gathering flecks of what might have fallen from something she is working on and using it again and again. And anyone who has ever picked up (or tried to handle) a sheath of gold leaf will know that it disintegrates in front of your eyes as if an invisible hand has reached out.

And still all these years later as her friend underlines, Lynette is filled with wonderment. “There’s a lifetime of art in my bones,” responds the artist. And even the fabric she wears reflects her love of what she creates.

Reisverhale – Storm on French Linen.

When she talks of her travels, she thinks of small children sitting on the sand and instinctively drawing, making pictures, capturing their world. That’s what she does. With her physical reality often a hindrance, she has found ways to work, to deal with what life gives her and to escape into the mysteries she is always exploring. “It never stops,” she says – and neither will she. “I lost my heart to the creative process. It’s good for my heart.”

Stand in front of one of her paintings and it immediately opens up a new world. Even if you’re just drawn by the colour, that in itself is a whole world that she embraces. For her, there’s a childlike excitement when she creates a new work. With this exhibition it was also returning to old ways and techniques that brought fresh meaning. As an artist she is intent on always moving forwards, somewhere new, challenging the world and everything around her.

And in the process, she passes on that depth of feeling to those of us looking on hoping to discover more . Her miracle becomes ours. For her it is simply a curiosity and wonder that started many years ago which has become the eternal play on her changing canvasses.

One cannot but be touched.

The exhibition runs until September 23.

http://www.artspta.co.za/

https://www.facebook.com/pretoriaartsassociation/sassociation/

Address: 173 Mackie St, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria, 0181

Hours: 

Open ⋅ Closes 5 pm

Phone: 012 346 3100

A MAGICAL MUSICAL CARPET RIDE WITH PIANIST CHARL DU PLESSIS AND CONDUCTOR RICHARD COCK

~ debeernecessities

The Charl du Plessis Trio with the Phoenix Orchestra conducted by Richard Cock will showcase some unique and exciting music for piano and orchestra (sponsored by MayFord Seeds) on September 10 at the Linder Auditorium. DIANE DE BEER chatted to the much loved conductor Richard Cock about music and its longevity:

Musical chums Charl du Plessis and Richard Cock.

He has worked as a conductor in so many spheres of music, from the old days of the National Symphony Orchestra with strict classical repertoire to these days conducting the beloved Starlight Classics concerts with pop, rock and crossover music, which has everything to do with stretching the appeal to reach as wide an audience as possible.

And while more serious concerts will always be part of his repertoire, most of his work involves the crossover type programmes like this one with Charl and his trio and the Phoenix Orchestra, which started during the Covid period when they were trying to create work when there was none. “We have continued since as it worked well and players were responsive,” says Richard.

On piano: Charl du Plessis

With piano the featured instrument for this concert, Richard believes that it is the instrument that most audiences identify with most easily hence the attraction. “I think many people have played the piano in their youth and they can associate with it quite easily. You can also see how it is played, and it is pretty impressive to see the hands flashing over the keyboard. There is a big visual element that comes into play.”

The programme will include arrangements of music by classical composers as well as some new upbeat arrangements in diverse styles, ranging from rock and boogie to blues. Audiences can also look forward to big band jazz and soothing film music sounds. The concert will also include arrangements of music by Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Mozart, as well as Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington and Astor Piazzolla.

Richard Cock

“It’s a wide range of music, beautiful and expert arrangements by Charl, and unusual contrasts (Grieg and Lady Gaga). All of this and the presentation where Charl and I chat to each other about the music makes it unique,” he explains.

“We have worked together since he was a young boy singing in the Bloemfontein Children’s Choir! And a lot more recently. I love his energy and creativity, and we have a good verbal exchange on stage. The chat is unrehearsed and spontaneous, and thus lively and fresh every time.”

Conductor for the ages: Richard Cock.

With so much on offer, live and online post Covid, audiences will always be a need for what is perceived as more niche art forms, but the conductor is excited about the future.  “ I see audiences changing and a lot of younger people are attending classical and orchestral concerts.” As one of the presenters on Classic 102.7 for many years, it was a loss to many regular listeners but like many things in life, Richard knows how to mourn and when to move on. “The chances of getting another Classic station are low.”

Instead he puts the emphasis on what he can still do and something that has always dominated his life – conducting. It invigorates and challenges him still. “I love the creative process of bringing music off the printed page and into the air. It never fails to excite me, and I hope the audience too.”

Linder Auditorium, JHB, 3pm, Sunday 10 September

Quicket link for bookings: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/218206-bach-beethoven-and-boogie/?ref=algolia-search#/

BONGI BENGU COLOURS THE WORLD BRIGHTLY WITH HER ART, HER LAUGHTER AND HER LIFE

~ debeernecessities ~ 2 Comments

The artist Bongi Bengu is having a major exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum which runs from this Saturday (September 9) until November 5. She told DIANE DE BEER about her passion which is constantly evolving and reflecting her life, her dreams and hopes:

Pictures of Bongi Bengu taken at the Pretoria Farmer’s Market by Thomas Honiball.

When you first meet Bongi Bengu it is not a surprise to learn that she is an artist. She looks like an artwork herself.

She’s brightly dressed and the one characteristic most dramatic is her laughter. This is someone who loves life and her enthusiasm is contagious. She’s also not scared of showing herself.

But when you start talking about her art, her mood is reflective. “It’s a calling,” she says about this career which she has been passionate about for the past 26 years.

Her art is all about expressing herself but also healing, she says, something she hopes those who come to her exhibition will also experience. She infuses it into everything she does, her cooking, her clothes, dancing and music choices. “Art is like breathing.”

Titled The World / Umhlaba, the exhibition has been inspired by the tarot card called The World. “It means the end of a cycle and the beginning of another,” she explains. But she expands: “It could also mean that you’re in a powerful position to manifest your desires.”

The exhibition was first held at the Alliance Francaise, Pretoria where Pretoria Art Museum curator Mmutle Kgokong first saw it and felt that the space was too small for her work. “It looks cramped,” he said and invited her to show it at the museum.

Bongi feels it was meant to be. “We create our own world,” she says and that’s why this transformation from one exhibition to the next came quite naturally to this South African, who spent her youth in exile in Geneva Switzerland where she completed most of her schooling until the last few years, which she spent at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland.

Bongi’s Golde Orb Mask

Her parents (her father Sibusiso Bengu was both an ambassador and Minister of Education) felt that she needed to experience some of her school years on the African continent. And this is also where she forged her future. While doing a research project for which she earned a distinction and which included interviewing established  artists, she discovered Helen Sebidi who was an inspiration and opened her eyes – and her heart – to the art world.

“That’s when I knew,” she says about her artistic beginnings. Becoming the world traveller that she is, she later enrolled and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree at Mount Vernon College, Washington DC, and completed a Master’s degree in Fine Arts at The University of Cape Town. She has since participated in numerous international residencies and workshops.

For this current exhibition she wanted to reflect on the different stages of her work and she has tried to select pieces from all the different periods. She started with pastels and charcoals using mostly earthy colours.

Bongi’s Rebirth IV

Then she joined the Bag Factory Artist Studio where she did mostly collages initially and then turned to an organic period where she focussed on leaves and soil.

Only then came colour which now seem such a part of her life. She confesses that she sees herself as an artwork and when you look at her, it’s easy to see why. What a canvas she has been given to play with. It’s not only her work that turns heads.

Once she started planning this exhibition, she started a conversation with two curators, one at Washington DC’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Teresa Bush) where she had interned for a while and the other in Sweden (a South African lecturing there, Nkule Mabaso). “It was through dialogues with them about my work that I made selections,” she says. They will also be writing for her catalogue which will be available at the end of the two month exhibition.

Bongi’s Self portrait in the sand

When discussing her work, Bongi explains that she is inspired by her life and the experiences she has had. It all begins in her head, but once she starts working on paper or canvas, it’s usually something quite different that emerges.

Working mostly on your own can be quite a lonely existence, but Bongi enjoys her own company and finds her painting therapeutic. “This is how I work through problems,” she says. “I never feel alone.”

Bongi at work.

In her life as in her work, she describes herself as someone who doesn’t conform to society’s norms. “That’s not easy in my community, a single Black woman with no children!” But it’s her life and she marches to her own beat. Growing up and travelling around the world yet returning to South Africa, she functions easily wherever she finds herself.

As I watch her finding her feet at Silverton’s famous Farmer’s Market, it’s easy to believe her. She’s colourful, has a laugh that stops a crowd and a life that’s creative and of her own making.

Bongi’s Montana Birds (left) and Life of Domesticity (right)

She says she knows she was a man in her former life and that she wanted desperately to paint, but it wasn’t possible. “At that time, the women were the painters making huge murals. I knew I would come back as a woman so that I could fulfil my dream. And now I also know when women think that men have easier lives, it’s not always true!”

The exhibition will run until 5 November at the Pretoria Art Museum.

It will be opened officially by His Excellency HE Mr Antonis Mandritis, Ambassador of Cyprus and the work can be toasted courtesy of Durbanville Hills. Everyone is welcome.

THE MESMERISING WONDROUS LIFE OF PI

~ debeernecessities

Review by DIANE DE BEER:

It all happens on stage with all the bells and whistles . Credit: Johan Persson

LIFE OF PI BY YAN MARTEL ADAPTED BY LOLITA CHAKRABARTI

Director: Max Webster

Cast: Hiran Abeysekera and the magnificent puppets

Set and Costume Designer: Tom Hatley

Puppet and Movement Director: Finn Caldwell

Puppetry Designers: Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell

Lighting Designer: Tim Lutkin

Sound Design: Carolyn Downing

Composer: Andrew T Mackay

Scheduled screenings on 27 August at 2.30, and on 30 and 31 August at 5.30, but check your area for loadshedding, when screening times might change.

Halfway through the filmed version of this spectacular West End play, the director, designer and writer (who adapted the book) have a short chat about the play and how it all began. For the writer it was about the story, finding all the important bits and pulling them together for the stage version. For the director, it was about what could work on stage and how to do it. And for the designer it all began with the Richard Parker, the tiger.

Life of Pi imagined in spectacular style. Credit: Johan Persson

Anyone who has read the book and now sees the filmed play will know that this is where the struggle on every level is centred and, once they got that right, it was all systems go. And that’s no small thing. I counted seven puppeteers just for the tiger. It’s simply spectacular – the design, the puppets, the lighting, the video and the sound. That’s why I listed all the names in the credits. It’s a production with all the bells and whistles and yet it holds the heart of the story with the performances by Abeysekera and the animals that come to life.

Seven puppeteers are listed in the credits just for the tiger. Credit: Johan Persson

It’s clear that imagination was the key requirement for this fantastic book, which tells the story of a 16-year-old boy named Pi who is stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger.

We know he has made it because he is telling the story to two scientific types, the one sympathetic, the other a sceptic.

Hiran Abeysekera as Pi with one of his companions, a zebra. Credit: Johan Persson

But the wizardry of the play is all achieved by the magical approach and manner of telling and showing the marvellous Mantel story with no missteps. And although just the set is enough as it moves and rises and changes form to overwhelm the story, everything holds together in the way it should with Pi and his animal friends taking centre stage.

The experience is mesmerising and the two and a half hours flies by as Pi cajoles and cunningly sweet talks and outsmarts his sometimes ferocious and reluctant companions. It’s a kind of Alice-in- Wonderland adventure yet perhaps with a touch more reality than wonder, even if that is always present.

The determination of Pi to achieve his destiny draws you into both his pain and pleasure and this journey, keeping in mind that is after all a stage play, is all about the overwhelming power of theatre when done this magnificently.

Pi in conversation with Richard Parker, the tiger. Credit: Johan Persson

I have to admit, I think Pi and his friend Richard Parker and their struggle for survival have everything to do with it!

The NT Live experience is an expensive exercise but you are seeing some of the best theatre experiences the world has to offer. If that’s your gig, don’t think twice.

Bookings at Ster Kinekor: Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg, Ster-Kinekor Brooklyn in Pretoria, Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and Ster-Kinekor Gateway in Umhlanga.

WHILE SHIMMERING IN GLITTER AND GOLD NATANIËL WILL BE TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

~ debeernecessities ~ 1 Comment

DIANE DE BEER talks to Nataniël about the few weeks ahead…

After an absence of several years from any Johannesburg theatre stage, Nataniël brings his award-winning show, Prima Donna, to the Teatro at Montecasino for five performances only from August 17 to 20 at 8pm, with a matinee included on the Saturday at 3pm.

And while this is a show which he has performed before, it is a new staging with new stories or old ones updated and even the old songs have new arrangements.

Over  the past few years Nataniël has written and staged more than 13 productions not seen in the Johannesburg area, and extraordinary moments from these shows as well as brand new material has been put together for five unforgettable gala concerts.

And, if you should wonder, naturally the costumes are all new, created by Floris Louw.That’s just who Nataniël is. But he’s nervous. This is a huge theatre, and even if it is similar to the seasons he used to stage annually at Emperors, he was familiar with the audience.

This time he doesn’t know because he hasn’t been in Joburg for some time. But those who know his work, won’t want to wait to buy tickets. His trademark stories will be in English and Afrikaans with songs in English.

(Book at SeatMe).      

In this tale as the title suggests, he is dealing with prima donnas. It’s a touch of fantasy, a dash of humour, some sadness, and as a reality check, a take on history, family, failures, hope  and modern society.

“We all know these drama queens, know how they operate and what they’re capable of. But we indulge them, their behaviour becomes worse and only death can release us,” he warns.

Charl du Plessis Trio will join him on stage for both shows with other musicians in tow. Pictured are Werner Spies (bass), Charl du Plessis (piano) and Peter Auret (drums).

He knows he also has that reputation, but his demands are about performance and what he knows he needs on stage. “I never fight, because I don’t like confrontation,” he says.

Never able to resist raising an eyebrow, he adds that he always believed one of the perks of success was being difficult!

“We hate them so we would rather do without them,” he says. But, in case you start taking all of this seriously, he says he chose the title because it looks good on the poster!

See what an interviewer has to contend with.

Vocalists Dihan Slabbert and Nicolaas Swart

But before you lose patience, he includes one of his elaborate and irresistible descriptions: “If Sarah Bernhardt, Maria Callas and Isadora Duncan had a child, it would resemble my costumes!”

And, he adds, a touch of Florence Foster Jenkins.

His music he describes as a combination of the dramatical and accessible. “I sing many of my own songs and familiar old songs.”

With him on stage is Charl du Plessis who now travels with his own Steinway piano (and that’s a whole other story) Luke van der Merwe (guitar), Marcel Dednam (keyboard), and Werner Spies (bass), as well as Dihan Slabbert, Wiehahn Francke and Nicolaas Swart on vocals.

Having a final word, Nataniël notes that the show is vocally driven. “That’s what a prima donna does!” He’s been waiting for this one for 12 years. “I’m ready for that farewell concert,” he says.

And the force with which he speaks is almost persuasive, but I know about his addiction – performance –  and he’s so good at that!

For those who are looking for something completely different, there’s a second concert of Afrikaans in Styl on September 9 presented at Sun Bet Arena in Times Square.

This time the artists included on the bill are Spoegwolf, Elvis Blue and Corlia.

“I’m the headgirl,” says Nataniël who will be staging the show. “It’s rare that artists are given a free hand to stage their own shows on this kind of platform,” he says, excited by the prospect.

Nataniël and Spoegwolf in a different kind of performance.

And if you’re not familiar with some of the performers, he explains it thus: Spoegwolf brings the war, Corlia brings the notes, Elvis, the smoothness and blues, and he brings the sequins.

The performers will almost exclusively be performing their own songs. “I love that. It’s rare that someone like Corlia who has such a huge voice is allowed to get away without singing Barcelona.”

Perhaps this time. It’s up to each one individually what they wish to perform.

He is also thrilled that this is a once-off. It won’t be filmed. If you’re not there, that’s it.

“The performers are all people who regularly perform in theatres.

“People must come and see. It will be new and not commercially driven. The artists will be adventurous with their performances and the staging will be daring.

“As artists (and audiences) we need to step out of our comfort zones when we go to shows. It’s a time for rebirth and venture.”

He always keeps in touch with what is happening in the rest of the world because it takes a time to reach our shores.

“We’re all ready to try new things!”

And why not.

“This time my brother won’t be hiding backstage. But we might have one or two surprises up our sleeve.”

Book NOW at www.webtickets.co.za

And talking about that, Nataniël also has a new Christmas book in shops in October.

The title is Help, Help, it is beautifully packaged with a special cover for the festive season, and once you’ve seen it, packed with unpublished Afrikaans and English short stories, your Christmas shopping will be done.

And still there’s more: Rome 62 will be staged at Atterbury Theatre later in the year, a new Mis will be performed at Aardklop Aubade in Pretoria and there’s the annual Christmas season also at the Atterbury Theatre.

And even then he’s not done. But we will wait for the final conclusion to his year.

In the meantime,  he’s busy on stage – performing.

ARRESTING PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE WITH ACTOR MPUME MTHOMBENI AND DIRECTOR NEIL COPPEN THE PERFECT TEAM

~ debeernecessities

DIANE DE BEER reviews:

Mpume Mthombeni as Zenzile Maseko

PICTURES: Val Adamson

Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater

Presented by The Market Theatre in association with Empatheatre and the National Arts Festival

Workshopped by actor Mpume Mthombeni and director Neil Coppen from an oral history project on migration

Dates: Sunday 30 July at 3pm, 2, 3, 4 August at 7pm and 5 and 6 August at 3 and 7pm

Our first encounter with Zenzile Maseko (Mthombeni) is in her women’s hostel room. She is a grandmother, partially disabled, who has just discovered that Home Affairs declared her dead two years ago. That’s why she hasn’t been receiving her grant, which would enable her to build her dream house in her childhood village, iPharadise.

What might have seemed to those of us looking at a woman, ageing, alone in a room with probably all her worldly possessions, as a small life is given towering proportions as this magnificent Shakespearean monologue starts spilling forth. All of this takes place in the midst of a nightmarish storm, which recalls the recent KwaZulu-Natal floods as well as the stormy life of Zenzile, who is being purged through this devastating, often delirious unfolding of a life of one of millions of similar women in similar circumstances in this country.

Few of us would even handle one of these events that seem to consume her whole being as the disasters roll in and out with regular intervals. Just the word Home Affairs is enough to draw sighs of despair as we think of the rows and rows of people seen in a distance on a monthly basis as they wait to collect their grants, which is often the only lifeline for an extended family.

But Zenzile has courage to fall back on and draw from as her life could not have been more dramatic.

And that’s just the broad strokes.

Yet, more than this epic life story that seems to span many lives, generations and cycles of violence that feel never-ending, is the performance by the magnificent Mthombeni. She transforms Zenzile in a matter of minutes as she draws on all her skills to explore this heart wrenching embodiment of a woman whose life depended on her being a warrior.

And that she is as she rises through each crisis that becomes her life. She simply has to survive. Nothing has been brought on by her own actions or even who she is. It is simply the way people are discarded and ignored as they battle their every daily task.

Few of us have any idea how most of our people live. We think loadshedding is our biggest struggle. For many electricity is but a dream.

Zenzile brings all of that to the light as she creates her own Lear, battling her fraught life as well as the elements. It is an awe-inspiring performance which takes you on an emotional endurance race that’s hugely exciting to witness but also daunting to compute.

Brilliant lighting design by Tina le Roux

Her performance is enhanced by the text and the way she grabs hold of it, workshopped by Coppen and Mthombeni, who never lets up, as well as the staging which is achieved with spectacular lighting that brings a magnificent intensity.

In the publicity it is said that some have referred to this as a modern day South African classic, I can see why. It’s startling yet stunning theatre which explores invisible South African lives and gives one such woman a platform.

THE IMAGINARIUM OF THE RELUCTANT ARTIST

~ debeernecessities ~ 4 Comments

DRIES DE BEER

PICTURES: ALET PRETORIUS.

Art exhibitions come and go, with some pieces remembered, some purchased and others touching your heart. When the event features the work of someone who has turned himself into your personal artist yet has decided to show his work for the first time, the feelings all round are overwhelming. For me, it was the gift of sharing the art of Dries de Beer and the emotional impact it has had on our lives. DIANE DE BEER gives her biased opinion of an artistic celebration:

Invite designed by Ursa Engelbrecht Curator Carla Spies

When architect/gallerist/curator Carla Spies suggested that her gallery, The Guildy, curate an exhibition for my husband, the reluctant artist (as I have dubbed him), I knew this was the perfect space and opportunity.

No pressure, no sales and for one day only with people we invite who we think will enjoy the work. And that is exactly what Carla and her gallery represent. As an architect, her work is not on the creative side and through the years she knew she had to find a way of scratching that itch.

Even the guests looked like artworks

The gallery was her solution and, having just gone through the whole process of an exhibition, I understand how this works as I do a similar thing by writing about the arts. There’s no direct renumeration, we’re not driven by money but rather by a passion for the arts and how it affects, touches and changes people. It’s the creativity – the process and the outcome and, finally, the joy.

But I knew my artist would feel differently. NO! was the immediate response, but I worked my cause and finally he conceded.

The fabulous thing about this exhibition, which Carla named The Imaginarium of Dries de Beer, was that all the art was there. That is what interested Carla in the first place. She had seen especially his series of faces and was intrigued. It’s her gallery and like me, who only writes about the art that inspires me personally, she only shows work that moves her.

And I was quite clear that the thing I really wanted Dries to showcase was the diversity of his art. Because he has always been compulsive in a constructive way about his art, moving from one thing to the next, exhibiting a theme, yet in very different ways. He has played around in ceramics, cartoons (which he still does daily), scrapyard found objects, which would result in anything from a small human figure to huge installations, and glass tiles in which he made pictures with objects of lesser desire found on his daily walks and changed it into something exquisite.

On the ceramic side, it all began with handmade ceramic zebras painted and then fired for the final result. Thery were unique and each one individual but labour intensive. To really make money – if that were one’s goal – it would have to be mass-produced and then lose that artistic quality that each one displays.

This led to masks and hanging faces which started out as a mass of small and larger cement and ceramic balls which all found a place in our garden. Today those hanging installations, sculpted into different faces and fishes of different kinds are on window sills, against outside and inside walls, hanging outside from poles and trees and even in the shape of gargoyles, each at the end of a pergola pole as decoration. It’s the way he changes and enhances what would just have been another ordinary garden structure. Instead a secret world of chattering ceramic faces and masks emerged

I have written about the work of many artists in an introductory rather than critical fashion. Fine art is something I had to give exposure to because as times grew tough, newspapers and magazines featured less and less specialist writers. Mine was the performing rather than the fine arts, but I knew we had to embrace as wide a range of the arts as was possible – and that’s what I still try to do.

Ceramic gargoyels.

But with this artist’s work, because he and his work are mine, working at a formal institution I couldn’t focus on any of his work. That’s why this exhibition was so important to me and gave me such pleasure. To do it with Carla and her crew, was a dream come true.

Dries, who slowly warmed to the idea of showing his work, and I made the initial selection of what we wanted to show and then Carla and her musician/entrepreneur husband Werner arrived a week before the showing to look at the final selection and help us move the work from home to gallery.

Then the fun really began, as we started hanging the work. This is where Carla and Werner took over while we helped on the side. It’s no easy thing to physically do the hanging and even more specialised is to decide how and where to display each single piece. This is where, I suspect, Carla’s creativity kicks in – and she knows what she wants. We could just stand smiling at the results.

I suspect for Dries it was a new way of experiencing his work. In our house the effect is diminished by it being all over the place. Here it was Dries de Beer in full force – and whether you like it or not, which is a personal choice and what art is all about, this was a special display and one of which even the reluctant artist approved.

I appreciated once again what inspires me most about his art. It comes from within, it’s who he is and how he has conversations with himself and the world – and me.

Also on board were a group of special friends who gathered around me and took over when I really needed help. Writing about the creatives in the food world as well, I have my own favourites and Alicea Malan of Lucky Bread Company https://www.luckybread.co.za/ and Elze Roome of Tashas, Menlyn Main feature on that short list.

I simply asked Alicea about some produce and she said “Leave it to me.” She pulled together a spread with the amazing breads from Lucky Bread https://www.luckybread.co.za/ and then, as importantly, showcased it at the gallery in a way that just adds that edge to any event. Elze Roome https://www.tashascafe.com/locations/pretoria/menlyn-maine/ jumped in with the sweet stuff which was melt-in-the-mouth.

To add yet even more sparkle to the event, Werner on bass and Rynier Prins made exquisite background music, often I think one of the more thankless jobs and yet it fills a room full of people with a sound that’s embracing.

Also part of the picture was one of Carla’s most recent employees, Ursa Engelbrecht. She’s a young woman with artistic flair, was immediately excited, designed the invite and helped out everywhere and anywhere she could. She and Estevan Kuhn also provided music when the first duo needed a break.

So when people ask me about the worth of a single day showing which is what The Guildy specialises in, I can only underline how it brings a group of creatives in different fields together to create a little bit of magic in the world of those who share this kind of passion.

Ursa and Estavan (left) andRynier and Werner (right) making wonderful music.

I know my artist looks at Carla and Werner with eyes that appreciate how they approach life and the world they hope to create. I know he saw how people like Alicea, Elze and Ursa all stepped in to add their special icing to this magnificent cake.

And more than anything, it gave my reluctant artist the chance to see how others viewed his work, to inspire fresh and novel ideas, and to view the future in a way where he shares his work with more people than just me. This was his chance to shine brightly.

Mission accomplished!

LAST CHANCE TO CATCH THE GLOWING FIREFLY WITH SYLVAINE STRIKE, ANDREW BUCKLAND AND TONY BENTEL AT PIETER TOERIEN THEATRE

~ debeernecessities

Sylvaine Strike, director/actor/playwright and any other creative word one can dream up, teamed with three other brilliant creatives, Toni Morkel (director), Andrew Buckland (fellow actor) and Tony Bentel, musical genius to create the dreamily magical Firefly currently in its last week at the Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino. Having seen it for the third time at the weekend, this is a copy of my original review to encourage anyone who hasn’t yet seen it, to go. It will warm your heart and the glow will last for the longest time.

DIANE DE BEER reviews: 

Scenes from Firefly with Sylvaine Strike and Andrew Buckland:

Pictures by Nardus Engelbrecht

I was blessed to see Firefly at Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre with the emergence of live theatre following the pandemic.

The bewitching Firefly, which as one of the first Covid-19 impacted productions saw light of day as a Woordfees digital production, made a magically mesmerising transition. I had lost my heart earlier to the filmed production and was excitedly inquisitive at how that particular story – with many filmic tricks up its sleeve – would translate and transform on stage.

But this particular creative quartet (Strike, Andrew Buckland, Toni Morkel as director and Tony Bentel on piano) are the perfect combo. This is their theatrical landscape. Give them a stage and they will be telling stories in such an imaginative way, it becomes a visual feast.

Because they have all worked together, they understand each other’s strengths, and Morkel could stretch that piece of string intuitively with fantastically imaginative and explosive pyrotechnics.

Buckland and Strike are a brilliant blend of artistry with an instinct for detail that holds your attention gently yet persistently. Storytelling is their forte, aided by the fact that they have an endless supply of tools to draw on to embellish a wink or the final lift of a foot to express and underline the tiniest emotion.

It is theatre at its best when it has you smiling from start to finish because of the artistry, the wizardry of the production, the perfection of the coupling, and just the sheer audacity of the storytelling.

No matter how or why, just immerse yourself and see what happens when Saartjie Botha commands two artists to give her a production in the purest style of theatre.

If you have seen the digital version that’s  a bonus, because to witness how one story can be told in such magnificent splendour in two completely different approaches is truly special and quite rare. The one had all the bells and whistles and worked like a charm. But here, with Strike and Buckland live on stage with just themselves to grab hold of their audience and cast that spell, the essence of theatre comes into play – and again I willingly lost my heart.

Add to the two artists on stage, the magnificence of Wolf Britz’s set and props as well as starstruck-inducing lighting and the keyboard genius of Bentel’s soundtrack that holds every emotion so thrillingly in a familiar yet completely Bentel-constructed composition.

If you want to see how the best make theatre with their instincts, intuition and imagination, don’t miss the sparkling Firefly. Yet don’t think for one second that the miracle unfolding on stage didn’t come with buckets of blood, sweat, tears and ENDLESS talent. Part of the theatrical trickery of this foursome is to present something that is this skilled as seemingly effortless.

It’s brilliant and personally I hope to see this travel around the country casting its spell throughout. We are desperately in need of this kind of adult fairy tale in these tumultuous times.

And with every fresh viewing, they’ve added fresh insight and sparkle if that’s even possible.

Book at Webtickets for any of the shows from tonight until Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3 and 8pm; and Sunday at 2pm for their final bow.