DATES: Tonight (7 pm), tomorrow 3 and 7pm, and Sunday at 3pm. The show has been extended until February 22
The times they are a changin …
And that is why this was such an excellent choice to launch the 50th anniversary of one of our country’s icons, The Market Theatre.
Marabi is the kind of show which celebrates and recalls a past which many would rather forget yet must be a constant reminder of where we come from. When Sebotsane is asked about his character’s name, July, he casually responds that it’s the month he was born.
His interrogator laughs and responds that had he been born later, it could have been August. And we are reminded how even names were loaded during those harsh years.
The balance of this mostly joyous production is perfect. Because it is rooted in the music of the time, there’s a nostalgic element which while telling a harsh story of survival, always leans on the music to hold onto the dreams while fighting the good fight.
That’s what has always been part of this country and its people, especially during the darkest times. Marabi reminds us how life was and where we are today. And that we will always have the music, perhaps the most haunting element of the show.
The cast is a big one with mostly seasoned actors and you need that with this production, which needs the full cast to be accomplished actors, dancers and singers.
Even though we are reflecting on times when most people in the country had no rights, looking back has a certain bravura to it. We’ve made it through. When watching it the first time, that luxury was not available and The Market was one of the few theatres allowed to have mixed audiences … lest we forget.
Director Molepo was part of the original cast and the perfect choice. He gets the mood right, allows a clever text to have impact while softening the blows with a glorious mix of music and movement.
The lighting is also used magnificently, sometimes bathing the stage in shadows so that the singing is the standout performance.
Theatre is such a fantastic barometer of life and what is happening around us. It helps to put the world in perspective, allows the emotions to bubble over in a safe space and, more than anything, reminds us the importance of artists and storytelling.
These are different times, but the world outside our borders is a precarious one. Marabi is a reminder of how much we’ve changed – and also of how much we still have left to do. Yet more importantly, while everyone seems to be moving backwards, we must keep forging ahead. Of course, there are bumps in the road but we have battled many before and won.
This is one for those of us who lived through the past, but also for a new generation who doesn’t quite understand or even believe where we came from. If nothing else, the music should be part of our memories. Even the youngsters in the audience were singing along, which is evidence that we can cherish some key elements of the worst times.
And hats off to the genius piano player who kept us tapping our feet from when we entered the theatre up to the curtain call!
Presented by Joburg’s Market Theatre in partnership with Hattiloo Theatre from Memphis Tennessee
CAST: Chastity Alliston, Zan Tarria Edwards, Jamille Hunter and Grant Kee
DATES: Until February 22 at Joburg’s Market Theatre
This Tony-nominated musical states that it celebrates blues, jazz and gospel classics, and their connection is with love, resilience and especially the emotional lives of Black women.
It is described as a scorcher in which the soul of the blues wails out full and strong through hot and torchy numbers. It also weaves the sweet, sexy, and sorrowful stories of three women entangled with a lying, cheating man.
For the record, songs by legends such as Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Alberta Hunter, Jimmy Cox, Ida Cox, and more feature but probably what surprised me more than anything was how little I knew of any of the music performed.
It’s as if we (or perhaps that’s simply the shows I saw) focused on only a few familiar numbers like the title song as so much of the music was unfamiliar to me. But, instead of this being a negative, I found that exciting.
The performers are perfect for this musical challenge. The powerhouse Edwards, with a voice that seems to go on forever, is masterfully complemented by the sweet-toned Hunter and the smoky Alliston, while the solo male singer Kee, carrying the burden for the rest of his absent gender, uses his voice and jaunty presence to do the talking.
Not only was I witnessing an unfamiliar cast, it was also the music that overwhelmed me from start to finish. The first half felt a bit like a journey through the world of blues music, while the second half upped the rhythm as well as the vocals, which gave the audience a nudge to swing with the party.
This is music that was created to illustrate the pain of oppressive times, and like here, music was usually the platform where artists could express themselves. This show was picked specifically for Black History Month, which marks its 100th year in 2026.
The centenary calls for “an honest reflection on memory, healing, culture, as well as the condition and position of Black bodies in a still increasingly divided world.”
This milestone further coincides with The Market Theatre’s 50th anniversary, a powerful connection that presents a rich opportunity for representation and amplification of unheard voices. It is directed and choreographed by Emma Crystal, with musical direction by Dr. Ashley K. Davis.
And while on relevant dates, this is also the 70th anniversary of the historic August 9,1956 Women’s March, focusing the spotlight even more sharply on that especially neglected group, Black women.
Founder and CEO of Hattiloo Theatre, Ekundayo Bandele, and Artistic Director of The Market Theatre Foundation, Greg Homann, recognised and embraced the common histories between the two theatres in staging socially engaged works that prick at their respective nations’ collective conscience.
“From South Africa to the US, generations of oppressed people have sung their way up against discrimination, racism, subjugation and dispossession as an unstoppable wave. This year as we proudly present Blues in the Night for its African premiere, we also celebrate music’s ability to remind us of our shared humanity despite our fractured times,” shares Homann.
They aim to keep this exchange going – both to the advantage of performers and audiences.
*Playing alongside also at the Market is our own musical theatre classic Marabi, which will be reviewed later this week.
Based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by TS Eliot
Associate Director and Choreographer: CHRISSIE CARTWRIGHT
Musical Supervisor: PETER MCCARTHY
Assistant Choreographer and Director: MATT KRZAN
Musical Director: LOUIS ZURNAMER
Resident Director: DUANE ALEXANDER
Sound Designer: DAVID GREASELY
Lighting Designer: HOWARD EATON
Cast: A MARVELLOUS ENSEMBLE OF 20 PLUS PERFORMERS with a FANTASTIC BAND OF MUSICIANS led by LOUIS ZURNAMER
It’s pretty much a flawless production, this latest version of CATS, which has been staged 25 years after the first production was showcased locally.
How far we’ve come and how much we’ve seen and yet, this remains one of the best musicals staged locally with much of the praise due to a fantastic cast and production team including the musicians.
In a production of this size, it takes the very best to pull it off and that’s exactly what we have here. When looking through the cast list I was surprised that I didn’t recognize too many familiar names and yet the full ensemble was phenomenal with not a weak link to be seen.
I’m not going to single out any names because they simply all shone from start to finish and this is not an easy show to pull off. Not a paw or a whisker out of place. And the magnificent, choreographed movement and music sung to perfection made you part of this feline gang revitalizing and reimagining their lives.
Further enhancing the production is the dazzling lighting, which in turn enhances solo performances, spotlights sudden appearance or embraces the production full on.
But the clutter of classy cats are the centre of the attention and this clever musical based on TS Eliot’s poems adds innovative flair to this most unusual musical performed by cats.
That is what makes it so intriguing and mesmerizing and as this production pulls you in, it’s easy to see how hard these performers have worked to get this one right. It’s not an easy ask but they have met the challenge full on and we, the audience, are the winners.
I can hardly remember the production all that time ago but I do know that this is perfectly staged, with a cast that leaves you breathless. As someone remarked, they have been rehearsed to an inch of their lives.
It does, however, take that kind of performance to make this work. If we don’t get swept away by the performances and the music, it simply won’t work.
It is a young cast but one that has mastered the skill of presenting a show that never flags for a second. From the first furry paw and big back-stretching arch, we’re right there in the junkyard where this scrappy yet classy coterie entertains us with their memories and magical mysteries.
Pieter Toerien has long been the puppet master of local musical standards with shows that equal the best in the world. This one does his own high expectations proud.
Don’t miss seeing this breathtaking cast give a dazzling display of how to manage one of the toughest theatrical endeavours with ease. And as much as you admire the ensemble that makes it happen, it is also that the production team have encouraged each individual performance to be a standout.
It’s a musical put together of many magical moments with each individual performer creating their own gold standard. It starts with brilliant casting, young performers who achieve magnificence and breathe life into every move their feline characters make and a production team who reached for the stars.
With these performers grabbing the opportunity to show their best, it also looks towards the future of local musical theatre.
If you haven’t seen any of the current season of the Met Opera Screenings at Ster Kinekor, don’t miss out if it is screened in your city.
The productions are the latest from the Met Opera (as the name suggests), they start off with introductions to the opera and the cast, interviews with some of the participants as well as intervals, (coffee and popcorn breaks) as these are usually long productions.
It is not an inexpensive exercise, but if you think you are seeing some of the best opera the world has to offer, you won’t be sorry.
Sometimes the operas are familiar ones, which would have been performed in this country, other times not.
But even for someone like me who is passionate about the arts, while opera doesn’t feature high on my list of priorities, I have been both intrigued and overwhelmed by this latest season. It’s been both educational and spectacular and I enjoyed every second of the first offerings.
It’s difficult to replicate such huge live productions, but these performances are captured magnificently and for those who like opera or want to know more, it’s a blessing.
The latest two productions are the following:
Piotr Beczała as Andrea Chénier and Sonya Yoncheva as Maddalena in Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
A scene from Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier – Giordano (a revival)
Screening dates: 4 and 6 January 2026
(3h 31min)
Music by Umberto Giordano | Libretto by Luigi Illica
Conductor: Daniele Rustioni
Cast: Maddalena di Coigny (Sonya Yoncheva); Andrea Chénier (Piotr Beczała); Carlo Gérard (Igor Golovatenko)
Giordano’s passionate tragedy stars tenor Piotr Beczała as the virtuous poet who falls victim to the intrigue and violence of the French Revolution. Following their celebrated recent partnership in Giordano’s Fedora in the 2022–23 Live in HD season, Beczała reunites with soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Chénier’s aristocratic lover, Maddalena di Coigny, with baritone Igor Golovatenko as Carlo Gérard, the agent of the Reign of Terror who seals their fates. Met Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni takes the podium to lead Nicolas Joël’s gripping staging.
Lisette Oropesa as Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani. Photo: Paola Kudacki and Ken Howard/ Met Opera
I Puritani – Bellini (new production)
Screening dates: 8 and 10 February 2026
(3h 31min)
Music by Vincenzo Bellini/Libretto by Carlo Pepoli
Conductor: Marco Armiliato
Cast: Elvira Walton (Lisette Oropesa); Lord Arturo Talbot (Lawrence Brownlee); Riccardo Forth (Artur Ruciński); Giorgio Walton (Christian Van Horn)
For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, I Puritani has few equals. This is the first new Met production of Bellini’s final masterpiece in nearly 50 years – a striking staging by Charles Edwards, who makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer – arrives in cinemas worldwide. They have assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, brought together by love and torn apart by the political rifts of the English Civil War, with baritone Artur Ruciński as Riccardo, betrothed to Elvira against her will, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Elvira’s sympathetic uncle, Giorgio.
CAST: Katlego Nche (Pinocchio); Gina Shmukler (Bella Bouboulina – the Blue Fairy); Sandi Dlangalala (Jiminy Cricket (Gepetto Spoletto); Lesedi Rich (Lampwick Spaghetti); Brenda Radloff (Madame Ill’Fortunato – The Fox; Camilla Waldman (Madame Pussy Galore – The Fat-Cat); Tiaan Rautenbach (Dame Arletti Spaghetti ); Mark Richardson (Senor Napolio Strombolio – (Puppeteer/Gambvling Lord/Donkey Pirate); Luciano Zuppa (Fiddelomino – Traindriver/Donkeydealer); Noluthando Mathebula (Dainty Dolly – a puppet); Dale Ray (Benny Basie Blue MD);and the ensemble of 15 performers
DATES: Until December 24
A colourful explosion.
Oh Janice! Why am I not surprised? This your 38th outing … I think? And you’re still pulling it off? There’s simply no end to your genius, is there?
I know you can do many other shows as well and you have the CV to prove that. But Gauteng audiences simply refuse to let you go.
Not only do you pull it off year after year, you also have the perfect team, led by Timothy le Roux, assistant director, who has introduced his own stage charm to the proceedings as well as holding on to all that panto knowledge you have imparted since those very early years.
Doesn’t matter when you go … as we did on a Sunday at noon. You simply pack them in … young and old, it doesn’t matter, they all love it. And I was sitting in the perfect chair to catch the show as well as the audience. They’re having so much fun it’s almost a show on its own.
The colours capture the emotions of the panto.
And there’s a reason for that. You have honed your skills through the years. You never sat back thinking you’ve made it. With each outing you set the bar higher.
You know how to cast, both the veterans and the fresh young things. They’re all rehearsed to an inch of their lives, yet there’s nothing mechanical. They, it seems, are having as much fun as the audience. Even on a day when they will be back in 90 minutes for a second show, it’s all systems go go go.
Let’s start with the costumes! Those colours simply smash it! It’s bright and cheery with a strong Italian flavour of green, red and white running through, but that’s augmented by the brightest brights so that every one on that stage is shining as bright as can be. It’s as happy as well as hip, which immediately sets the tone and the flavour of what’s to come.
A cast of colourful characters.
There’s the cheery Pinocchio (Katlego Nche) and his perky puppet friend (Noluthando Mathebula), Jiminy Cricket (Sandi Dlangalala) with the exquisite voice, the two foxy madames (Brenda Radloff and Camilla Waldman), so deliciously delightful, old hands Mark Richardson and Luciano Zuppa who skate through a cast of characters with ease, as well as another wise and wittty veteran Tiaan Rautenbach who knows how to dazzle as Dame Arletti Spaghetti – and how could you not with a name like that! There’s also Gina Shmukler’s sassy Bella Bouboulina, the Blue Fairy, and a supporting cast who bounce with the exuberant energy that keeps the audience on their toes.
Through the years the magic tricks as well as the sparkle and splendour have doubled in size and grandeur and expanded with advances in technology, but what Janice has done so magnificently is hold onto the spirit of the traditional panto.
Every year she enhances what could have become tired tropes. She adds all the necessary and unexpected dazzle, but her brilliance lies in her holding tightly onto the heart.
“It’s about how we become an ensemble, whether we are performers, audience members, or neighbours. It’s how the city performs itself through us, and also how we choose to perform the city. Johannesburg is a place that requires a collective navigation, a mutual reliance, a particular call and responses.” Neo Muyanga, Impressario of the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Maboneng.
Dancer Thulisile Binda
By DIANE DE BEER
The best would have been to attend all the evenings of the 11th season to experience the full impact of what co-founder and director of The Centre, Bronwyn Lace describes as a multi-limbed, complex organism which she believes is what the Less Good Idea has evolved into. “…our arms reaching into various directions but connected to the same robust body. It makes sense for us to share a season at the end of this year, because we have an abundance of new strategies, forms, and artworks to test, show, and celebrate.”
Pianist Jill Richards with vocalist Pertunia Msani.
And it certainly was all of that, exploding with a sense of creative abandon in two hours of exuberant performance which ranged from the glorious musically driven showcase by classically trained improviser Jill Richards who performed magnificently with the Benin drummer, percussionist, composer and arranger Angelo Moiustapha accompanied by the melodic voice of Pertunia Msaniiwith Marcus Neustetter’s digital storytelling adding yet another dimension to the experience. The musicianship was breathtaking.
It set the tone for what was to come as the audience moved to William Kentridge’s studio to experience a collection of mindblowing artists, starting with the spiritually immersive Vincent Mantsoe, one of our finest choreographers/dancers in one of his rare local appearances. Translike in his movement and tearing at the soul of those witnessing his deep level of engagement, the evening merged from one artist to another as Kentridge stepped from one stage to the next as he expressed his creativity with body and soul.
It was all about the merging of art and movement, Moving the Mark, as the event was titled, exploring the relationship between visual art and dance. What they wanted to achieve was to explore the relationship between these unusual pairings and what would emerge.
Vincent Mantsoe in action with percussionist Micca Manganye
How would the pure art of collaboration determine new creative decisions for an audience to experience and absorb? What happens when a dancer like Mantsoe mimics the ink stains of an artist like Kentridge, or from a different vantage, when the painter choreographs their brushstrokes?
Artist Penny Siopis took to the air in almost trapeze-like fashion, painting her canvas on the floor from up high while choreographer/dramaturg Shannel Winlock-Pailman worked her magic below in mesmerizing fashion, the two artists in total union while expressing their heightened emotions.
All the while, the musical accompaniment captured the experience of the moment, enveloping the audience in the round, some wrapped in black bags to protect them from the explosive expression of art as artists flung paint creatively with fearsome flair.
The Centre for the Less Good Idea is all about the collective voice expressed in collaborative pairings, artists who work in different mediums but have creativity and exploration that binds them, pushing the boundaries, trying different ways of making new work to excite themselves as artists while also challenging and stimulating audiences constantly searching for art and creativity exploring the evolving world we live in.
Curator Neo Muyanga (left) and Kentridge (right, in the left corner) choreographing with brushstrokes while Mantsoe is on stage following the moves.
It’s exciting when artists go beyond the expected, and are given free rein to explore their storytelling genres. How can they beat that drum differently? Given the chance to fail is often the best way to reach excellence but the restrictions are many. And more than anything, it is the encouragement to stretch far beyond the boundaries, to take that leap and to experience the beginning of experiments which are allowed to grow and flourish.
This first sold-out performance of the 11th season proved that the audience is willing and determined to experience artists moving the mark. The rest of the season sounded as extraordinary and my wish would have been to witness the full week of extraordinary creativity encouraged to dare to go beyond the expected.
How blessed are Gauteng audiences (who showed their appreciation) to experience these glorious experiments inspired and empowered by William Kentridge who could have staged them anywhere in the world. Kentridge gives us the opportunity to grow together and to expand our idea of what anything and everything is. Step into the void and see what happens comes to mind.
Photographers: Jeremeo Le Cordeur; Llewelyn de Wet and Gys Loubser
The Stellenbosch Woordfees can be quite a daunting prospect because there is so much on offer. It is perhaps easier if you have specific artistic passions, as most of them will be on offer here and it is possible to make a selection. DIANE DE BEER spotlights what caught her fancy
There’s not even a chance that you can include all your darlings in a festival wrap or even try to see them all.
I did my best, was constantly on the move and writing, and still I hear of more productions you just had to see.
Personal favourites (don’t discount others because I probably didn’t see them):
My best theatre productions were stories that turned me into an emotional wreck but did so with authenticity (I know this is a woke word, but …).
Tinarie van Wyk-Loots and Kristen Raath (left) and Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee(right) in
Dianne du Toit Albertze’s Huis van Sand.Pictured by Jeremeo Le Cordeur
The winning text of the prestigious Reinet Nagtegaal prize, Dianne du Toit Albertze’s Huis van Sand, with her honest portrayal of a dysfunctional family that’s probably not even part of most audiences’ consciousness. She writes about what she knows and where she comes from, the Northern Cape. But she does this in her self-made tongue, which shoots right to the heart and guts of the matter, no pussyfooting around with this one.
It is not a place many of the traditional Woordfees audiences will know. The backdrop is the N7, a route that runs from one end of the country to the other. It is her little spot next to the highway that Sandy knows. She and her daughter share Rodney’s caravan and too much of his life, especially the dark side. They’re trapped and yet the lifestyle is passed on from one generation to the next with the whole family fully engaged. A seemingly never-ending devastating cycle.
What drives Huis van Sand are Albertze’s words, her imagination, and the way she plays wildly with your head and emotions. Throw into the mix director Wolfie Britz’s strong casting and determined direction. With the remarkable Tinarie van Wyk-Loots launching herself body and soul into this one, Sandy’s daughter (Kristen Raath) trying to duck the missiles and resist diving headfirst into the temptations, Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee’s chilly capture of the toxic male scent always hovering menacingly and René Cloete showing she is much more than just an innocent bystander, everything about this production hits you like an onslaught.
Yet this is one you want to struggle and engage with because of the sharp edges and the unblinking gaze at the harsh reality of so many lives. It’s heartwrenching, but that is something this playwright has never turned away from. She stares straight into the skewered glare of too many unseen lives and throws us all in at the deep end. The brilliance is well worth the battle.
Melissa de Vries as Nadia and Angelo Bergh as her friend Zavie
Walking the same tightrope, is the adaptation by Jolyn Phillips of Ronelda Kampher’s ravaging novel starring two vulnerable yet resilient teen cousins who try their best to navigate a world they don’t understand while instinctively understanding that they are their only protection.
For Nadia (Melissa de Vries) and her chum Zavie (Angelo Bergh) their bond while tenuous and often fragile is what keeps them breathing.
With this one it is again the magnificence of the performances and the staging by Lee-Ann van Rooi that holds the attention as these two baby-adults going about their lives as if it is normal – and for them it is, it’s all they know.
That’s precisely the point. This is their normal, their life and the one Kampher’s words in her searing novel lay bare. Their whole existence is determined by outside factors, never certain or expected. Yet they do know how to grab the small slices of life when given the chance which isn’t often. They should not even be aware of the things happening in their lives, yet that’s the only way they know how to roll.
Kampher’s language is brilliantly captured by Phillips’ adaptation. How she even knew where to start! It’s such a complex and almost crippling story about these children whose future is determined purely by the happenstance of their birth.
Both of them have bucketsful of gifts which will never be realized because there’s simply no support or networks for these drifting families where not one generation manages to get even a foothold on a real life.
If anything good happens in their lives, it is luck and often, at that particular moment, the recipient doesn’t know how to deal with it.
When reading Kampher’s book the first time, you’re in awe of the writing and the storytelling. It’s the way she focused on the stories never told, the way she draws the characters, gives them flesh and emotions, which in this instance are perfectly re-created by the choices of Van Rooi and the adaptation by Phillips.
What a beautiful acting team. I don’t know them, don’t watch television if that’s where they perform, but I do know that they have inhabited these two kids with so much energy and guts, it’s hard to resist.
And that’s the joy of festivals, the opportunities that arise for artists so that when the stars align (a good script, director and actors), nothing can hold them back.
All of these performances should and will hopefully travel. For far too long too many voices have been silenced. We are so much richer as a country, as audiences and as performers when all our stories are shared.
Albert Pretorius (actor) and Schalk Joubert (guitarist) in Ek is nie Danie pictured by Llwellyn de Wet and Gys Loubser.
What four middle-aged men did with what they had, was inspirational. They took something which if not handled with the same delicacy as the poetry, could have been disastrous. But because of deft hands and hearts, it feels as though you are dealing with an emotional vortex, but one driven with artistic insight and instinct which holds the audience tightly and sharply in focus from start to finish.
It worked because of the truly exquisite writing and then the choice of the right participants. The concept was Niel van Deventer’s according to the programme, but then handed to one of our smartest directors, Nico Scheepers. He is given a topic which would turn most people away – the angst and anxiety of ageing white men, not a species that many have much sympathy for.
Yet this company with actor Albert Pretorius and musical director/guitarist Schalk Joubert has shown that, given the right elements, a director who knows how to shape something yet value his actor and musician by allowing them the freedom to be and to do, it will work – and in this instance, explosively.
It’s one of those performances that you want to see again as soon as you leave the theatre. I hope it travels the country.
I took these three stunning plays to give some flavour to the Woordfees which is far too dense and diverse to dilute, but that there’s something for everyone, that’s a certainty and you won’t have to look too far or hard.
They have achieved much in only a short time and in the future with everything changing so rapidly, we can only expect to experience even more.
And then just a small PS: I was asked to interview Nataniël on a book Bloei+Blom and being who he is, the first lunch was booked out swiftly and another date the next day was included and again fully booked. But hey, the more the merrier.
As an interviewer, this is the one date I don’t have nerves. I know I am in safe hands and he is the master of chat.
It was the easiest gig in town. Even though he and I had talked about topics of conversation before the time, once on a roll, and only three questions down, I could sit back, relax and enjoy one of our best (and naturally funniest) conversationalists in action.
There was no way to ask anything else. He was in full flight on his own. He did glance my way once or twice, but there was no interrupting the flow. And even better, he was the one they wanted to see and hear.
I felt blessed, centre stage and could watch the wizard in full flights of fantasy.
*There were many others I loved, many of which I had written on at the Woordfees or previously including Boklied, Seun, Bridling, Kuns, Magda en haar Erhard, Ont-, and always The Ugly Noo Noo …
Screened exclusively at Ster-Kinekor cinemas, with select livestreams at V&A Waterfront
Deborah Nansteel as Teresa, Nadine Sierra as Amina, Sydney Mancasola as Lisa, Xabier Anduaga as Elvino, and Nicholas Newton as Alessio in Bellini’s “La Sonnambula.” Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
It’s time for the 25/26 Met Opera season and what a spectacular worldwide season they’ve put together for the opera cognoscenti including South African opera enthusiasts.
This is the 18th Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts and will locally be seen exclusively at select Ster-Kinekor and Cinema Nouveau cinemas.
With eight productions screening from this Sunday to mid-June 2026, the 2025-26 Live in HD season features one premiere, three new productions of much-loved operas and four revivals.
“With The Met: Live in HD productions screening in our cinemas, local audiences get to experience some of the world’s best-loved opera productions in a near-live situation, from The Met’s opulent stage to our big screens. The theatre-like setting enables cinemagoers to become an extension of the live production’s audience, making these world-class productions from the Met in New York accessible to anyone who enjoys and appreciates great opera,” says Lynne Wylie, chief marketing officer at Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
“What began as an experiment 18 years ago has become a staple experience for opera lovers all over the world,” said Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager.
“Our 2025–26 season in cinemas reflects how opera is changing at the Met, where we’re balancing timeless classics with accessible new work that is advancing the art form and attracting younger and more diverse audiences.”
Don’t miss this world-class opera production, filmed and transmitted from the Met stage to the big screen at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor cinemas: Eastgate and Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg; Brooklyn in Tshwane; Watercrest in Hillcrest, KZN; Garden Route in George; Somerset in Somerset West; and Blue Route and V&A Waterfront (with live streams) in Cape Town. Loyalty card discounts apply, as does Ster-Kinekor’s Half-Price Tuesdays ticket price offering.
Bookings are open, with each production limited to two screenings only. Book your tickets now on the new-look Ster-Kinekor website at www.sterkinekor.com or download the new SK App on your smartphone. For news and updates, go to Facebook: Ster-Kinekor Theatres | follow Ster-Kinekor on Twitter: @Ster-Kinekor. For all queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).
Here is the 2025-26 Met: Live in HD season at a glance, hold on to the programme for bookings:
Nadine Sierra as Amina in Bellini’s La Sonnambula. Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
La Sonnambula – Bellini (new production)
Screening dates: 02 and 04 November 2025 (3h 15min)
Music by Vincenzo Bellini | Libretto by Felice Romani
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Cast: Amina – Nadine Sierra; Lisa – Sydney Mancasola; Elvino – Xabier Anduaga; Rodolfo – Alexander Vinogradov
Roméo et Juliette, Verdi’s La Traviata, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Nadine Sierra (seen in previous seasons of Roméo et Juliette, Verdi’s La Traviata, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor) summits another peak of the soprano repertoire as Amina, who sleepwalks her way into audiences’ hearts in Bellini’s poignant tale of love lost and found.
In this new production, Rolando Villazón—the tenor who has embarked on a brilliant second career as a director—retains the opera’s original setting in the Swiss Alps but uses its somnambulant plot to explore the emotional and psychological valleys of the mind.
Tenor Xabier Anduaga co-stars as Amina’s fiancé, Elvino, alongside soprano Sydney Mancasola as her rival, Lisa, and bass Alexander Vinogradov as Count Rodolfo. Riccardo Frizza takes the podium for one of opera’s most ravishing works.
Juliana Grigoryan as Mimì and Freddie De Tommaso as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème. Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera
La Bohème – Puccini (revival)
Screening dates: 08 November (livestream at V&A Waterfront); 23 and 25 November 2025
(3h 29min)
Music by Giacomo Puccini | Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson | Production: Franco Zeffirelli
Cast: Mimì – Juliana Grigoryan; Musetta -Heidi Stober; Rodolfo – Freddie De Tommaso; Marcello – Lucas Meachem; Schaunard – Sean Michael Plumb; Colline – Jongmin Park; Benoit/Alcindoro – Donald Maxwell
With its enchanting setting and spellbinding score, the world’s most popular opera is as timeless as it is heartbreaking. Franco Zeffirelli’s picture-perfect production brings 19th-century Paris to the Met stage as Puccini’s young friends and lovers navigate the joy and struggle of bohemian life. Soprano Juliana Grigoryan is the feeble seamstress Mimì, opposite tenor Freddie De Tommaso as the ardent poet Rodolfo. Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts the 08 November performance, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas worldwide, including at Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
A scene from Strauss’s Arabella. Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
Arabella – Strauss (revival)
Screening dates: 07 and 09 December 2025
(4h 12min)
Music by Richard Strauss | Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Conductor: Nicholas Carter
Cast: Arabella – Rachel Willis-Sørensen; Zdenka – Louise Alder; Matteo – Pavol Breslik; Mandryka – Tomasz Konieczny; Waldner – Brindley Sherratt
Strauss’s elegant romance brings the glamour and enchantment of 19th-century Vienna to cinemas worldwide in a sumptuous production by legendary director Otto Schenk that “is as beautiful as one could hope” (The New York Times). Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen stars as the title heroine, a young noblewoman in search of love on her own terms. Radiant soprano Louise Alder is her sister, Zdenka, and bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny is the dashing count who sweeps Arabella off her feet.
Soprano Sonya YonchevaA scene from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier. Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera
Andrea Chénier – Giordano (revival)
Screening dates: 13 December 2025 (livestream at V&A Waterfront); 04 and 06 January 2026
(3h 31min)
Music by Umberto Giordano | Libretto by Luigi Illica
Conductor: Daniele Rustioni
Cast: Maddalena di Coigny – Sonya Yoncheva; Andrea Chénier – Piotr Beczała; Carlo Gérard – Igor Golovatenko
Giordano’s passionate tragedy stars tenor Piotr Beczała as the virtuous poet who falls victim to the intrigue and violence of the French Revolution. Following their celebrated recent partnership in Giordano’s Fedora in the 2022–23 Live in HD season, Beczała reunites with soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Chénier’s aristocratic lover, Maddalena di Coigny, with baritone Igor Golovatenko as Carlo Gérard, the agent of the Reign of Terror who seals their fates. Met Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni takes the podium to lead Nicolas Joël’s gripping staging.
Lisette Oropesa as Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani. Photo: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera
I Puritani – Bellini (new production)
Screening dates: 10 January (livestream at V&A Waterfront); 08 and 10 February 2026
(3h 31min)
Music by Vincenzo Bellini | Libretto by Carlo Pepoli
Conductor: Marco Armiliato
Cast: Elvira Walton – Lisette Oropesa; Lord Arturo Talbot – Lawrence Brownlee; Riccardo Forth – Artur Ruciński; Giorgio Walton – Christian Van Horn
For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, I Puritani has few equals. The first new Met production of Bellini’s final masterpiece in nearly 50 years – a striking staging by Charles Edwards, who makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer – arrives in cinemas worldwide. The Met has assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, brought together by love and torn apart by the political rifts of the English Civil War, with baritone Artur Ruciński as Riccardo, betrothed to Elvira against her will, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Elvira’s sympathetic uncle, Giorgio.
Lise Davidsen as Isolde in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Photo: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera
Tristan und Isolde – Wagner (new production)
Screening dates: 05 and 07 April 2026
(5h 12min)
Music by Richard Wagner | Libretto by the composer
Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Cast: Isolde – Lise Davidsen; Brangäne – Ekaterina Gubanova; Tristan – Michael Spyres; Kurwenal – Tomasz Konieczny; King Marke – Ryan Speedo Green
After years of anticipation, a truly unmissable event arrives in cinemas as the electrifying Lise Davidsen tackles one of the ultimate roles for dramatic soprano: the Irish princess Isolde in Wagner’s transcendent meditation on love and death. Heroic tenor Michael Spyres stars opposite Davidsen as the love-drunk Tristan. The momentous occasion also marks the advent of a new, Met-debut staging by Yuval Sharon – hailed by The New York Times as “the most visionary opera director of his generation” and the first American to direct an opera at the famed Wagner festival in Bayreuth, as well as Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s first time leading Tristan und Isolde at the Met. Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova reprises her portrayal of Brangäne, alongside bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, who sings Kurwenal after celebrated Met appearances in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer and Ring cycle. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green makes an important role debut as King Marke.
Soprano Asmik Grigorian A scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera
Eugene Onegin – Tchaikovsky (revival)
Screening dates: 02 May (livestream at V&A Waterfront); 17 and 19 May 2026
(4h 05min)
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Libretto by the composer and Konstantin Stepanovich Shilovsky
Conductor: Timur Zangiev*
Cast: Tatiana – Asmik Grigorian; Olga – Maria Barakova; Filippyevna – Stephanie Blythe; Lenski – Stanislas de Barbeyrac; Eugene Onegin – Igor Golovatenko; Prince Gremin – Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin, which will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide on 02 May, including at Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront, on 02 May. Baritone Igor Golovatenko reprises his portrayal of the urbane Onegin, who realises his affection for her all too late. The Met’s evocative production, directed by Tony Award–winner Deborah Warner, “offers a beautifully detailed reading of … Tchaikovsky’s lyrical romance” (The Telegraph).
El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego – Frank (Metropolitan Opera premiere)
3 / 5
A set design by Jon Bausor for the Met premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego.
Screening dates: 30 May (livestream at V&A Waterfront); 14 and 16 June 2026
(2h 48min)
Music by Gabriela Lena Frank* | Libretto by Nilo Cruz*
Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Cast: Catrina – Gabriella Reyesl; Frida – Isabel Leonard; Leonardo – Nils Wanderer; Diego – Carlos Álvarez
A scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera
On 30 May, the Metropolitan Opera’s 2025–26 Live in HD season comes to a close with a live transmission (only at V&A Waterfront) of American composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, a magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, with libretto by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Nilo Cruz. Fashioned as a reversal of the Orpheus and Euridice myth, the story depicts Frida, sung by leading mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, leaving the underworld on the Day of the Dead and reuniting with Diego, portrayed by baritone Carlos Álvarez. The famously feuding pair briefly relive their tumultuous love, embracing both the passion and the pain before bidding the land of the living a final farewell. Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the Met-premiere staging of Frank’s opera, a “confident, richly imagined score” (The New Yorker) that “bursts with colour and fresh individuality” (Los Angeles Times). This vibrant new production, taking enthusiastic inspiration from Frida and Diego’s paintings, is directed and choreographed by Deborah Colker.
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TERCHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT BY TIM RICE AND LLOYD WEBBER
DIRECTOR: Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander
CHOREOGRAPHER: Duane Alexander and Jared Schaedler
MUSICAL SUPERVISOR: Charl-Johan Lingenfelder
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Amy Campbell
SET, COSTUMES AND PROP DESIGN: Niall Griffin
LIGHTING DESIGN: Oliver Hauser
SOUND DESIGN: David Classen
PRODUCERS: Pieter Toerien and Lamta
CAST: Lelo Ramasimong (narrator), Dylan Janse van Rensburg (Joseph), Chris Jaftha (Jacob/Potiphar/Pharaoh)
DATES: Until the end of September
This iconic musical had its first performances 50 years ago and if we take the current revivals, it’s still going strong. And with reason.
It’s always worth watching what Luitingh, Alexander, Lingenfelder, Griffin and Hauser are doing. They know how to breathe new life into what might have become a tired musical without losing its soul.
It’s a young and exciting cast who are being given wonderful opportunities to shine but they have also been gifted the tools to make it work.
From start to finish, the clarity of what they wanted to present and achieve was clear and that’s a joy to behold.
From the clever and uncluttered design which works in these smaller theatres to the choreography which flows and adds to the energy, everything is thought through and then executed to perfection. There’s just no leeway for things to go wrong.
Even when it comes to the look, it’s the way they have selected the costumes. Many were bought rather than freshly designed and, in this instance, a good choice not opting for the traditional dungerees the brothers more typically used to wear.
The only one that had me flummoxed was the narrator. Ramasimong’s blue jeans and shirt with the oddest jersey/jacket was an eyesore rather than using some imagination. Perhaps just a simple flowing robe would have had more impact. She plays a major role, is probably the one who has the most stage time and yet, she sticks out for the wrong reasons visually.
Fortunately she’s a marvelous performer and soars in her role as narrator. She has an unusual voice and a lovely stage presence. She knows this is where she belongs.
And so do the rest of the cast. One has to start with Janse van Rensburg’s Joseph, after all he is in the title role. It’s quite a responsibility on young shoulders in such an intimate large theatre. There’s nowhere to hide and if you don’t bring the goods as well as the charm, you’re in trouble. Janse Van Rensburg has already proved himself in challenging shows like Spring Awakening and he does it again here. He has a strong voice and a vulnerability that works in this part.
And someone who played his part in stealing some of the limelight is Jaftha, who had fun with his trio of roles as Jacob, Potiphar and in particular Pharaoh, the rocker who has a large moment in the musical which has rocketed other local actors (think Alvin Collison) to fame.
It’s a tricky role, but Jaftha has charisma and sass and was more than willing and able to step into any large shoes.
But as much as there are solo moments, it is a musical that involves the full cast because of the nature of the story – a bunch of brothers, for example – and then you have to balance that with the other roles.
If you’ve lived with a musical as long as I have with this one, it’s not easy to catch my attention. But I was stunned. I have seen a few musicals by this production team and I know they usually deliver. From the casting to the costume (bar one!) to the ensemble performances, the singing, the cast in full, it had a joyous feel about it in what can only be described as difficult times.
As well as the music, which was spirited into the new millenium as only Lingenfelder can do. “It was my third production of Joseph and I really didn’t want to do it,” he says. But when he was given the chance to pull the emphasis back to the story and to make sure everything worked for this time, he stepped on board. And it shows, with a score that’s as familiar as it is musically edgy. It’s something he achieves with astonishing regularity.
With the right people, that’s what entertainment can do in times of trouble. It offers respite and has you singing along with a bunch of brothers who hatch a plan to get rid of their father’s favourite son. An unlikely story but many decades ago a clever collaborating team started a much-envied partnership with this one as their first worldwide success.
And if you get it right, it still works. As it does in this latest version.
Nataniël is on the go – again – and it was time for DIANE DE BEER to pop in and find out more about upcoming shows, events and anything else happening in this prolific artist’s life:
What is keeping him up at night and awake at the crack of dawn is the work on his latest podcast series, which has become yet another of his performance features since his first series a while back. Kwessie van die Dag, his brand-new video column, starts on August 4 on Netwerk24.
As with anything he does, Nataniël approaches these latest podcasts with everything he’s got. “It’s as much work as a TV series,” he notes. And for this perfectionist, it is. He simply cannot do things haphazardly, with quality a constant taskmaster.
He is aware that everybody has turned to podcasts and his will be the best. This isn’t boasting because he is genius when it comes to storytelling. There’s no competing with this conversationalist.
It is all about the words which he has to learn by heart – 3 000 a week! They are his words, he has written each one, but then he has to get them tripping off the tongue. While it comes easily, he believes in scripts and knows exactly what he has to do and how he wants it to sound. So while there are many copycats, few can master him at his craft.
I often see pieces written by “Nataniël”, but it’s easy to spot when someone tries to capture his style because it is so unique. And this is where his podcast will pass with flying colours. “I don’t like waffling,” he says as he launches an attack on what he has labelled “electronic pollution”!
“There’s enough rubbish around.” He has an opinion which his followers will be familiar with, but he also loves facts when he is dealing in a specific subject. One of the many hurdles is the battle of language. He will be speaking in Afrikaans and to capture a language in this way is fraught with many pitfalls especially the way we mix our languages in our daily conversations.
It is clear that this is his latest challenge but also part of the excitement that charges his existence.
He is always busy creating and many of the things might seem as though they have a familiar pattern which, if you study them, they don’t. Into that mix, he is also constantly injecting new accomplishments which keep him on his toes.
“Everyone invites me to be a guest on their podcasts.” But for him there is a specific reason to engage with people in this fashion. “I want to address issues and for me it is about inspiration.”
BOEK • BYBEL • BIOSKOOP is the title of the show he is doing with organist Zorada Termmingh, a friend from varsity, together with his accompanist, pianist Charl du Plessis. Knowing something about his creative mind, he will be pulling all their respective talents together in a spectacular bouquet.
We’re in August and it is all about women. Composers, writers, singers, designers, as well as timeless characters from movies, classic literature, Biblical tales, art and theatre are their inspiration in this colourful show full of stories and songs. Zorada and Nataniël have performed on stage many times, starting during their student years. Charl has been his accompanist (apart from establishing his own career as a solo artist and performing with the Charl du Plessis Trio) for the past 25 years. And this is not the first outing for this trio of consummate performers.
It is a one-off in the capital city on August 13 at 7pm and the Ned Geref Universiteitsoord Kerk. The show is 90 minutes (more or less) long.
In September he returns to one of his most ambitious projects, Mass for the Good Princes (recently released on CD), which will be performed in the Cape for the first time thanks to the goodwill of the Atterbury Trust.
It’s a double whammy for Nataniël – one of both joy and hysteria. This was one of those accomplishments he had dreamt of for a very long time. Writing it was an almost impossible feat with his kind of schedule, and with each performance he has to once again memorise the Latin text, which is a killer.
This will be the 3rd time that he attempts this daunting exercise and while it stretches even his seemingly limitless determination, he can’t resist it. It is based on the classical structure of a Latin church mass with a sacred composition by Nataniël in six parts which includes a prayer for goodness, new leadership and the hope of a new generation. It will be sung in English and Latin with descriptions and translations in Afrikaans.
It will be presented at the Ned Geref Welgemoed Church on Saturday September 20 at 5pm. He will be joined by the Charl du Plessis Trio (Charl with Werner Spies and Peter Auret) as well as organist Ockie Vermeulen, guitarist Luke van der Merwe and the Akustika Chamber Choir led by Christo Burger.
In March this year, Nataniël and Charl celebrated 25 years on stage together and they seal this with a Gala Concert at Aardklop – on October 7 (7pm) and October 8 (10 am) in the University of Potchefstroom Auditorium.
This won’t be an ordinary concert. These two artists haven’t only shared 25 years on stage and many kilometres of travel through the South African countryside for one-off shows, but this was also the start of Charl’s stage career, which has been quite stunning to witness from the start – one he has since established both nationally and internationally – a feat for someone who started out as a classical pianist (one of the most difficult careers to pursue) and accompanist. Today he has a doctorate and is celebrated as both a classical and jazz artist. I can’t wait to see these two face off on stage on equal footing. For those fortunate enough to see one of these concerts, I predict something unique.
Nataniël is already making promises that this won’t be a rundown of what they have already accomplished. They will be celebrating today and tomorrow. “Who are we now and how do we see the future” will be their aim.
“Why would we return to the past? That’s done and we have all been there.” And in typical Nataniël fashion he predicts: “I want to hear an intake of breath when I walk on stage!”
As he so astutely confirms, it will be 70 years of experience when the two of them mark their stage partnership.
While talking partnerships and friendships, one of his closest friends, actress/comedian Marion Holm, will be interviewing Nataniël on his latest book of short stories titled Sweetie. Book discussions aren’t his favourite, but if he has to do it, Marion would be his choice. “She can physically shut me up just by barking.” You’ll have to be there to understand exactly what that means. They go way back and to experience these two like-minded actors sparring verbally, you don’t want to miss that. They’re a scream individually, together it’s an exuberance.
Your ticket will be a copy of Sweetie which can either be bought before the time or at the Exclusive Pop-Up in the book tent. The first 200 people with a book in hand will be allowed into the space, which will be closed off for this event. You won’t be able to listen in on the sidelines. The Sweetie discussion is going to be that exclusive and is happening on October 8 at 3pm at Aardklop.
And it’s not over yet by a long stretch. A photographer who for more than two decades documented Nataniël’s career, Clinton Lubbe, who immigrated a few years back, is back in town for an exhibition of life-size Nataniël pictures titled Parade, another first for Aardklop. Their collaboration has also been running for more than two decades and Nataniël describes Clinton’s camera as a paintbrush, because of the way he creates pictures. They’re not simply pictures, they’re artworks, he notes. “I’m going to be the Naomi Campbell of Aardklop,” he says with a smile and a wink.
Finally, but just for the moment, there’s his latest production, Catch Me, Love, which will be staged at Artscape from November 13 to 16. He is already busy writing, which is unheard of. He usually works on his scripts much closer to his performance than a few months, but looking at his schedule, he knew he had to get ahead.
This one is going to be visually and structurally different to his former shows, he says. And although it is still early days, I know he has already dreamt and planned it in detail. It will only feature in Gauteng in the New Year because in-between there’s the promise of a French countryside holiday, his annual escape (when he can manage) to one of his favourite places, which is what motivates him these days.
Watch this space for fresh announcements or changes. They will be coming …
De Beer Necessities 