South Africa’s own Charl du Plessis Trio are celebrating 20 years with concerts throughout the year, as well as the launch of their 10th CD. DIANE DE BEER highlights their celebrations of what has been an extraordinary career for this musical trio:
Steinway Artist Charl du Plessis is joined by long-time collaborators Werner Spies (double bass) and Peter Auret (drums) for a reflective journey through two decades of crossover music-making – both on stage and on their latest album.
As one of the most unique and recognizable musical ensembles in the country, they have built a special audience who enjoy their crossover of classical and jazz tunes with very unique Du Plessis orchestrations and a style that these three individual artists have created together.
Travelling wide, both locally and internationally, they have built a following from Zeerust to Zürich, Stellenbosch to Shanghai, and for those of us watching, follow a punishing schedule that few could imitate.
The way they have perfected their unusual operation, skillfully streamlined the way they rehearse, travel and perform, which allows each one of them to perform on different platforms, is phenomenal and something that budding artists could study.
The Trio was formed in 2006 with Charl and Werner on board while Peter, the latest member to join nine years ago, has worked with them for 18 years as a recording engineer. “Initially, I established the trio because I wanted to play ‘real jazz’,” explains Charl.
The crossover route came later, almost organically. “It was never the plan to mix classical and jazz music.” And that probably is the key to their success – the unique combo. As Peter points out, it isn’t as if there aren’t other musicians doing a similar thing, but it is the unique infusion of the three styles and their musicality that holds the key.
Their many years of working and travelling together has turned them into an unusually tight group, which is visible and audible in their music. That is their strength and as a bonus their professionalism on and off stage. They have discovered a niche, which has been honed, growing an unusual brand all their own.
Just their instruments, how they choose on which one they play, (Charl, for example, travels with his piano, you have to see it to understand).
He first came to Pretoria as Nataniël’s accompanist and knew that he would have to create and work at his own career. The Charl du Plessis Trio was a result. Not only does he have a double doctorate (classical and jazz music), he also found two magnificent musicians with whom he could develop a specialist genre because of their different skills.
The programme for the anniversary features instrumental favourites, works by classical composers, and a selection of Charl’s original compositions. “Virtuoso improvisation and finely balanced ensemble playing offer an intimate listening experience and a tribute to highlights from their 20-year history.”
The latest CD, which was recorded in Joburg a month ago, is their 10th. Their previous one was recorded during Covid (can you believe, five years ago) titled It Takes Three.
This one offers the music they performed over the past five years, a little bit of Mozart and Beethoven with a jazzy edge and several Beatles songs. “That’s especially what we have been performing most recently, and the traction of the Beatles music was high; people really loved it!”
The title of the album is Take a Sad Song and Make It Better which Fab Four fans will immediately recognise. And that is the perfect representation of their music for these three musos: “We take sad classical music and jazz it up,” says Charl, who is thrilled with the balanced mix of music on this latest addition.
Performance schedule:
*Knysna February 22
* Fairtree Atterbury Theatre March 21/22 (with the launch of the CD on the first night)
Author Marita van der Vyver who has been living in France for most of her adult life recently returned to her home country to promote her latest book My Jaar van Vrees en Vryheid (My Year of Fear and Freedom), and hopefully the Afrikaans version will be translated soon. DIANE DE BEER interviewed her with a live audience:
Marita van der Vyver, Picture: Jaco Marais.
“I think if you lose your language, it’s because you want to lose it,” says Marita in response to my remarking on her excellent Afrikaans after so many years spent living in France. “Your language will always be part of you,” she admonishes.
And that’s the thing about this author, she’s been around and done many of these travelling book tours, which though a welcome financial opportunity, can probably be exhausting. Having done many of these as the enquiring journalist, my empathy always remains with the authors, but I also enjoy these conversations because they’re usually keen to promote their writing.
I was delighted when I realized the book I was sent by the publishers was a memoir rather than fiction. Either would have been fine, but I was looking forward to reading about her travels.
When she and husband Alain decided to embark on this extraordinary journey, many things were in play. “I didn’t know whether the marriage would still be intact following this adventure,” she admitted.
And at the start of their expedition, a book wasn’t on her mind. As a writer she always takes notes and to generate an income she wrote for Litnet, Daily Maverick, Sarie as well as Vrye Weekblad, which was still publishing at the time of the journey.
She never stopped capturing moments along the route. Back home there was a sigh of relief because the marriage had stood the test; in fact, their relationship was stronger than before.
That was what turned her head to a book. In the first chapter she explains the reasons for the journey, which was the result of the confluence of many incidents. Writers, she tells us, always live things twice. “You live it in the moment, but then you’re always standing back and observing, living it a second time when you write about the experience. Only then do you know what you truly felt about it.”
“Once I was writing, I could really understand what I had experienced,” she explains. She admits to being very honest and once you read the book, you will understand and agree.
Initially she was going to write a travelogue, but regular first readers (honest friends), encouraged her to delve more deeply into their lives. This wasn’t an easy time and without her husband’s permission, she would never have drawn back the curtains so sharply, revealing much more than many would care to share.
This is also what makes this such a fascinating read. Wherever you are in your life’s journey, relationships play out in many different ways, but there are always incidents that will remind readers of their own lives. That and because Alain wasn’t only a willing participant but also the comic relief (“he’s funny naturally,” says his wife).
Travelling, as we all know, can be huge fun, but it’s also hard work and often extremely trying to make your way in foreign lands.
When writing, Marita is always very protective of her family. Yet writing a memoir depends on the author opening up, making themselves vulnerable. But her husband easily agreed and their relationship and togetherness contribute warmly to the enjoyment of their journey.
Yet, it also meant that she had to share the details about her husband’s depression and addiction. During Covid, as for so many freelancers, her income evaporated. Being an Afrikaans writer who is trying to make a living in Europe includes many different jobs. She has to do functions, writing schools, talks to various groups and more. All of this was impossible due to the pandemic.
Together with the reappearance of Alain’s depression, her world collapsed. Depression and addiction often go hand in hand, but both of these had been under control, until it wasn’t. “There were none of the usual aids, including psychologists or AA meetings, everything was cancelled. His regular psychiatrist had to turn to the physical needs of those struggling rather than mental health issues.”
Suddenly their needs changed drastically, and she thought of something written by James Baldwin in Giovanni’s Room: “Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.”
That and the way the couple adapted to their year-long journey is what is so deftly and delightfully sketched by Marita, who made all the right decisions to turn this into so much more than simply traveling from one country to the next, and from one continent to another.
Isn’t that just the dream of many people? And yet it always sounds more romantic and achievable than it is. But here Marita and her Frenchman show how it can be done, even with all the odds against you.
And perhaps even more than the travels – and I truly enjoyed and relished every little byway and highway – it’s about two individuals who might be at the end of their time together, trying to give it one more chance.
Who can resist? Marita is a writer who knows how to tell stories and with this one she instinctively realized what had to be done. The fact that Alain agreed to everything tells me much more about their marriage than any book could. How could they not survive?
Because of the originality of the book, I am hoping and holding thumbs that it will be translated for a much wider audience. Not only will it inform you about the way to approach something of this magnitude, but it also proves when two people are meant to be together, their happiness has a much bigger chance of survival.
And what could be a better panacea than going off on a madcap adventure crisscrossing the world. After all, as one of her other favourite quotes by the Egyptian Naguib Mahfouz remind us: “Home is not where you are born, home is where all your attempts to escape cease.”
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.
De Beer Necessities 