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THE VISION, THE MENU AND THE GUIDANCE OF DOOLSHE IS ALL LIENTJIE WESSELS

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Doolshe Restaurant and Winebar is a new venue out of town, between Joburg and Pretoria, with food genius Lientjie Denton in charge of the menues. DIANE DE BEER was keen to check this latest venture:

Chef/artist/fashion activist Lientjie Denton is a woman who lives life to the full. Meeting her a few decades ago when she opened her first interior shop, Lemon Lounge, in the always-sassy Brooklyn Mall, I knew this woman had exceptional style. That feeling has exploded over the years.

She always seems to make the right move at the right time, usually driven by personal passion and when life runs ahead, she finds a new pad for one of her passions and gets down and dirty.

It was at Lemon Lounge that I first lost my heart to this larger-than-life woman. She knows what she likes, and you knew immediately whether it was your kind of place.

After the shop, which moved and changed over the years, she spent a stint as a magazine journalist focusing especially on arty interiors, and then she opened a restaurant in Cullinan, which has had quite a few revivals and changes. Mainly it’s about moving about. She started in one of those classic mining houses so much a  part of the Cullinan charm, but then decided to be less permanent, left the regular premises and moved her food events around.

A few years ago, her yearning for change reared its head again. Lientjie and her partner Marius discovered the Karoo and, more specifically, Richmond, which is fast becoming a foodie destination and so much more.

So it is all about moving between these two different landscapes, each with its own challenges.

Last week the two of us went on a particular journey where food was the passion that would feature – to my delight. I have always loved her food and as she is constantly experimentingand dreaming about new combinations and flavours (her cookbook is titled Geure (Flavours), I’m always excited to see where and how her cuisine will manifest.

With her latest venture, she is behind the scenes, not necessarily even on the premises, but the vision, the menu and guidance is all Lientjie. The address,  when you Google is K40  on the 512 (Pelindaba Road) opposite the Lion & Safari Park, Broederstroom. From either Pretoria or Joburg it should take less than an hour – and it’s an easy drive.

She was contacted by two friends, who own the property and wanted her to design the menu and get the venue up and running. She quickly got hold of another- old friend, Mart Gresse, who she knew was perfect to run front-of-house, and three young chefs were appointed to do justice to the menu. For Lientjie, it is an ideal setup as these three young graduates are eager to learn.

The menu is seasonal, and even the one we sampled, will already be changed when this goes to print. But, taste rules. While the menu has Italian influences,  she steers clear of any staple items and when there are any, she adds her own interpretation and twists. Currently, she loves playing with fermented flavours, which introduces a strong contemporary slant – something she has always introduced to her menus.

It’s also what intrigues her followers, who don’t want the tried-and-tested but prefer to discover new tastes and ways to experience what could have been familiar recipes.

She describes her food as plant-forward, but world cuisine is the term she feels captures it best. Yet, she adds, and this is important, it is food from here. That’s truly what she does brilliantly. She is her own person, and her food reflects this.

Spending a day in her company also highlights her obsession with food. There’s not a moment that she doesn’t think of something she saw which reminds her of something else and voila, it results in a new recipe. “I make food in my head,” she says. And that’s true, it’s how she travels through her days.

Raisin pickle and Karoo dolmades made with venison are mentioned … and her mind races  off.

The current menu starts with a Doolshe farmhouse breakfast (herby pork sausage, bacon, eggs, fried tomato with parmesan granola, apricot chutney toast and white Miso butter) at R165; smoked trout and scrambled eggs with sour cream chives and dill (R190) or if you want something different ricotta flapjacks, homemade berry compote and whipped cream (R120).

Salads include different varieties, familiar and yet, there’s always a twist. You could share one at the table with a main or have it as a meal. The beef fillet strip and fried caper panzanella with crunchy vegetables and a balsamic dressing is perfect for a hot day.

You also have the option of sandwiches (pastrami with fennel pickle or roast chicken with parmesan granola, and,herb pesto with vegetable chips, all finger-licking good) or perhaps two starters (a sour cream and onion tortilla with white bean paté, parmesan and boerewors with a bite of chilli crumbs and short rib croquettes and blueberry chutney).

Lamb skewers with olive salsa verde and fresh sardine rillettes bruschetta with fennel also caught my fancy.

Mains include from smoked snoek gratin and apricot chutney (R220), pork neck and apple on creamy parmesan mash (R250,) chicken feta and parmesan roulade in saffron, honey and hazelnut sauce served with cous-cous (R250), or lamb chops with Za’atar, roast vegetables, cous-cous and rose harissa yogurt (R310) and a more manageable mushroom and cognac pasta with parmesan. And I need to read no further than the brown-butter spiced blondie and double chocolate ice-cream, priced between R80 and R125, to conclude on a sweet note.

It’s an unusually expansive venue with many different options. You could start with a Sunday morning hike and have a late brunch; you could come for a sunset and cocktails lookabout; or you could have a dinner-a-deux on the verandah on a moonlit night. It’s about the surroundings, the interiors and the ambience, take your pick.

Her new menu is ready to go and includes many new versions in her inimitable style. Sandwiches include for example beef fillet, Japanese barbeque and chlli mayo or a herb and garlic chicken breasts and lemon, black pepper mayo, parmesan and basil sandwich. On the salad platter, there’s the choice of a fragrant chicken and veg salad with a lime, coconut and chilli dressing or a Mediterranean lentil, chickpea, olive And artichoke salad with lemon and garlic mayo.

Mains include bobotie meatballs with brown basmati rice and traditional chutney or an artichoke and spinach  with tomato pesto gnocchi or if fish is your particular favourite brown butter and soy salmon, creamy mash and green beans and fermented carrots.

The name Doolshe already transports you to a different world. Pronounced dool-she, it is a loanword from Italian, meaning sweet. Italy colonized East and North Africa from the late 19th century into the middle of the last one. During that period, locals borrowed words from their colonisers and adopted them with their own pronunciation – hence Doolshe. And this particular abode with its verandah-styled dining spaces as windows are flung open wide allowing the inside out or closed in chillier times for a more cosy space, certainly embraces its name.

There’s nothing more apt for the ambience, the people, the drink and the food. It’s the sweetest.

Times: Thursdays and Fridays, lunch and dinner; Saturdaya breakfast, lunch and dinner; and Sundays breakfast and lunch.

AUTHOR GERDA TALJAARD CAPTURES REALITY IN HER MESMERISING FAIRYTALE DIE GRAFDIGTER

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In her latest book, Die Grafdigter (Tomb poet), author Gerda Taljaard plays imaginatively with language and story and it is the unusual title that gets your  mind racing. DIANE DE BEER speaks to the author about this remarkable novel:

Author Gerda Taljaard with her dog Iggy Pop.

It is the fairytale quality of the story meshed with a realism that keeps you questioning from beginning to end. That, as well as the double destination of motherlands with Russia and South Africa as the main focus, hooks you from the start.

I’m writing about Pretoria author Gerda Taljaard’s latest book Die Grafdigter, which has those in the know in the Afrikaans literature world talking.

She writes, she says, for the same reason she reads: to escape harsh reality. With this one, she wanted to explore a completely different universe from her own. And what she picked was the world of Chekhov, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky with snow-covered landscapes, lakes and forests.

She remembers an uncle who could tune in to Radio Moscow during the apartheid years, a time when Russia and its people were referred to as the rooi gevaar. “I think he and my father were keen to find out what was behind the Iron Curtain,” she says.

During one of these radio adventures, she heard a most evocative piece of music, which she tracked down many years later. “It is an original Ukrainian song titled Ukrainian Poem written by O. Kolichev and performed by the orchestra of the Russian army. “It immediately captured my imagination,” she explains. “I could see the steppe, mountains and frozen lakes in my mind’s eye. That was the original spark!”

She also points to a time when she was very young and had to share a bedroom with her grandmother for six months. “Naturally against my will,” she hastily adds.

It was only much later that she realized what an impact it had and how richly she was rewarded by a woman who had a wonderful way with rhymes and riddles as well as macabre fairytales like the Baba Jaga stories.

“With her facial expressions and voice maneuvers she conjured up a magical world for me. These included tales from the subconscious, emotional, irrational and primitive streams of thought. It means you could capture people’s deepest fears and desires in an authentic way.

“Jung said it best when noting that myths show life more accurately than the sciences can.”

And then there’s another plus, Taljaard’s language. As a South African who speaks Afrikaans but writes in English, I was mesmerized. It’s the flow of the story being told in a language that’s familiar and accessible, yet completely novel. “Afrikaans is part of my being,” is how she explains the astonishing use of her home language. “It’s the language that formed me and in which I am driven to write.”

She loves buying old dictionaries in which she finds many unfamiliar Afrikaans words. “I am astonished by how many words I discover and how many simply disappear from our vocabulary. And these are exactly the words I need to give new life,” she says.

“Afrikaans, like Zulu, is a very poetic language, which is the aspect I want to elevate to aesthetically tell my stories.” And she does this with great gusto and success, resulting in an extraordinarily pleasurable reading experience. I had huge fun discovering all these novel words and phrases I had never heard before.

As far as the choice of countries in this tale, it is the many points of contact between Russia and South Africa which first caught her attention: the oppression of the majority by a privileged minority; the isolation by the rest of the world, followed by freedom and reform and the hope of a democracy; the disappointment caused by corruption; the stop and start between progress and decay; equality and inequality … and there’s more.

Because she uses a child to tell much of the story, the balance between reality and imagination is blurred, which adds to the glorious fairy-tale quality and also keeps the reader off balance throughout. It feels as though there is a constant battle between good and evil, which again locks strongly into the reality of what is happening internationally today.

She introduces two thoughts which illustrate what she is hoping to achieve with this wondrous book:

We should show life neither as it is, nor as it should be, but as we see it in our dreams. ― Anton Chekhov, The Seagull

While you are living, part of you has slipped away to the cemetery. ― Elizabeth Hardwick, Sleepless Nights

And then, of course, the title, Die Grafdigter (The Grave Poet) which immediately propels you into a far-away landscape.

Roughly translated, this is how it starts:

It is the beginning of an endless winter. A grandmother and her granddaughter find themselves in the heart of a forest.

They are desperately looking for food when they spot a reindeer. The grandmother, or Baboesja as her young charge Mila calls her, tells her that you should look a deer in the eye. If you then cannot find the courage to shoot it, you aren’t hungry enough.

These are life lessons for the young girl who will have to fend for herself someday. But her elder is so thorough that Milla’s world is filled with a richness that never absconds.

Nothing simply happens; it is as though you are there. For example, the twilight drapes itself across the house, grows like an ink smudge over the kitchen and sleeping quarters and stretches beyond the sideboard on which Baboesja places the reindeer’s head.

It is detailed yet subtle, never overwhelming – to find that balance with such rich language is a feat. It could so easily lapse into writing that is more about the language than the story and that is the quickest way to antagonize readers.

That’s what I found so astonishing and why this is a book that will be read again and again as the story keeps unfolding with rich meaning.

She doesn’t simply write that it rains; rather, the wind hurls sleet against the windows and without saying it directly, the names of the two characters, the ferocity of the storm, and the reindeer, all point to the place this story is set.

It’s sassy and smart, seemingly without much thought as it sweeps you along in an icy cold wilderness where a young girl is being fiercely protected by a cantankerous older woman, raised in a manner that is determined not to hide the harshness that might be waiting in her future.

And yet, because of the fairytale-enhanced dreamworld that constantly appears, the writing also evokes a visual quality that magnificently illustrates these characters we are accompanying and getting to know.

Taljaard is someone who has developed a unique voice that matches her storytelling qualities. I thoroughly enjoyed her last book Vier Susters, because I am one of three sisters and there was much to identify with.

This one knocked me sideways because it was so original and yet so relevant in a world where war is raging all around us and threatening a life’s order we have become accustomed to navigating.

It’s as though she not only read the zeitgeist smartly but also latched onto a future which feels more frightening every day.

STAR POWER AND ORIGINALITY IS MARTY SUPREME’S SECRET WEAPON

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Review by DIANE DE BEER

MARTY SUPREME

DIRECTOR: Josh Safdie

CAST: Thimothée Chalamet, Odessa A’Zion, Fran Drescher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler Okonma, Sandra Bernhard, Abel Ferrara

VENUES: Ster Kinekor

 Marty Supreme is a star effort.

The theme of table tennis didn’t thrill me, so I skipped this movie until I heard an interview with the two stars, Chalamet and Paltrow. I was intrigued. 

Then Paltrow came out of self-imposed retirement for her role, which also says something.

Chalamet impressed in Call Me By Your Name, but it was especially the Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown, that caught my attention and that I loved. Paltrow has been away from the screen for some time, yet this role tempted her and she’s back.

It’s the story of Marty Mauser, a shoe salesman with an ambition to become a world star – by using his charm and his ping-pong skills. You have to meet this exuberant, frantically frenetic young man to run with his story. And run you do.

It’s not only the story, but it’s also the performance and the pace, which hardly allows you to catch your breath or debate the deals that are struck to get this young man to his first high-profile tournament in England. This is where he hopes to kickstart his dream of becoming the world champion.

And while Marty is scheming and dreaming all the way, it is as though he is constantly hanging by his nails from the 10th floor of an apartment building. Forget the image a table tennis tournament might call up in your psyche, it is the choices made by director Safdie that are the real star of the show.

Everything screams originality, and that’s where they really hook me. It’s the way this almost throwback grifter’s tale unfolds, unravels and then picks up speed again as Marty fixes or flinches his way through the latest calamity. It’s not that he means to cheat his way to the top; it’s that he believes if given the chance, he could really make it. It’s his belief that it is owed him that lends his enterprising jockeying the appearance of acceptability. 

When he really wants something, he takes it. And then wiggles his way out of the latest precarious pickle he has singly manufactured to reach his dreams. He is never allowed to forget that he is trespassing in a world that shuns him. Yet, he pushes through.

The fact that Chalamet, with his superstar appearance, was cast is a stroke of genius. You need his talent to pull it off as an actor. They managed to downplay his dreamy, glamorous side, which makes a huge difference. It’s subtle but smart.

Paltrow also plays her part in a role that suits her to a T. She is old-time glamour, she doesn’t have to represent it. And, again, smart choice; it is one of her best performances as she takes risks and pushes boundaries, which she pulls off simply because of who she is – in the film and the real world. 

Lots of contradictions there, but they make it work, especially in today’s world where everything is about appearances, who you are and whether you have money.

It is all the little things that add up to turn this into a story that’s fun, yet keeps the focus on the underlying serious issues. It could all have been a huge mistake, but because of the attention to detail, it works. 

This is Safdie’s first solo effort as director. He had previously written and directed with his younger brother Benny as the Safdie Brothers before they decided that they wanted to follow their individual dreams. If this is how Josh launches his solo effort, his future is one to watch. 

FROM BEETHOVEN TO THE BEATLES, THIS TRIO ROCKS THE RHYTMS WITH THE CLASSICS AND JAZZ

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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)

* KKNK April 2

* Henley-on-Klip May 9

* Robertson Stadsaal June 5

*Baxter Theatre  June 6

* Hermanus Fynarts June 7

* Stilbaai   June 8

* Johannesburg Linder August 30. 

FOR AUTHOR MARITA VAN DER VYVER AND HER HUSBAND ALAIN, HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

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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.”

So lets keep moving …

TO ADMIRE YET NOT TO LOVE, THAT IS HAMNET’S PROBLEM

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A review by Diane de Beer of a much talked about film with many nominations for the different award shows:


Jessie Buckley stars as Agnes and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare in director Chloé Zhao’s HAMNET

Pictures: Agata Grzybowska

HAMNET screened by Ster Kinekor

Director: Chloé Zhao

Screenwriters: Zhao and the author Maggie O’Farrel

Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, and the children Bodhi Rae Breatnach, Jacobi Jupe and Olivia Lynes as well as Noah Jupe who plays Hamlet when it is staged in the film

Oscar Nominations: Production Design, Actress in a Lead (Jessie Buckley), Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Best Picture, Music (Original Score), Costume Design, Casting, Directing (Chloé Zhao)

It was exciting to have the chance to see a much talked-about film especially because I still haven’t read the book, something I regret because from the moment it was published, the literary world was buzzing.

Sometimes, though, when seeing a film, it’s an advantage not to know too much and yet it has sadly been a letdown.

I am still going to read the book because now I’m especially intrigued. As I was watching without being totally engaged, I wondered whether this wasn’t going to be one of those where the book rather than the film served the content better.

But I was surprised because Zhao’s Nomadland had enchanted me, especially for the way she used landscape as yet another character rather than a backdrop/setting for her story.



Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley with Bodhi Rae Breathnach as Susanna and the twins (with their backs to the camera).

This time, the story deals with real-life people, although the intrigue about Shakespeare and his life is the constant speculation about the playwright and who he really was. This has never worried me because his writing is so exquisite, remains constantly relevant and in the hands of different directors have been giving fresh meaning, which keeps it going from one generation to the next.

And with this one, Hamlet is arguably the one that most people have connected with even if Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the more obvious one. Here though the story delves into the beginning of Will’s life as a playwright, the way he and his wife Agnes meet, she the daughter of someone described as a forest witch and then his rise in a completely different world.

From the start, I was puzzled by the extreme lushness of the forest surrounds and my lack of engagement with the story unfolding. I have been enchanted by so many Shakespeare productions and am such a fan of the director, who had such a strong sensibility in Nomadland with her casting and telling of that particular story being so authentic and original.

Nevertheless, here I felt the opposite. I struggled to find the emotional heartbeat of the piece even though there was much to suggest it; it felt like too much hard work was visible.

It’s a tough one to explain because there is so much that really works. Jessie Buckley, who everyone is raving about, is lovely and Paul Mescalf was the perfect William Shakespeare, arguably the most difficult role to cast.

Watching the first production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Watson, as one could have assumed, is the perfect mother of Will and the three young children, especially the youngster, Jacobi Jupe, in the role of Will’s young son. It’s a performance of depth rarely witnessed in someone so young.

Sadly, not so of the older Jupe, who perhaps had one of the more difficult roles as the one who had to perform one of Shakespeare’s most iconic speeches, To Be or Not To Be.

In the theatre, where this one belongs, it often determines the success of that performance and perhaps even more so here because it is one of the few times Shakespeare’s words are used in the film. It doesn’t work, alas, and that is a real problem. If you’re going to include something everyone will be familiar with, it has to be astonishing.

I’ve highlighted a few of the niggly moments which detracted from this being a story that grabs you emotionally from start to finish. For me, it is still worth watching, because it is beautifully made with some spectacular moments.

Yet it was disappointing though that it didn’t pull me in as it should have. Fortunately, there’s still the book.

INDIVIDUALLY AND AS AN ENSEMBLE THE CATS PERFORMERS PURRED PERFECTLY

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By Diane de Beer

CATS

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

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.

Here’s to the next 25 years!

TWO NEW OPERAS AS PART OF THE MET OPERA SEASON AT STER KINEKOR IN THE NEW YEAR

~ debeernecessities

BY DIANE DE BEER

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.

THE MAGNIFICENCE OF THE COLOURS OF OUR MARVELLOUSLY DIVERSE COUNTRY SOUTH AFRICA

~ debeernecessities
The landscape of the Northern Cape

A personal journey of South African people and places by DIANE DE BEER:

Recently I finally made a dent in my few bucket list items – a west coast/Namaqualand flower trip.

For years now I have been dreaming of seeing this annual phenomenon, a desire I don’t really understand. I’m not your nature kind of girl. As explanation, these feelings have probably been fueled by a partner who feels once you have seen one dusty animal, you’ve seen them all.

I’m not quite that extreme but mostly I rely on others to supply me with these once-in-a-while nature excursions. Of course, living and traveling in South Africa, much of our lives is dominated by nature, and it’s hard to resist. I love spending time in my garden and a few years back, a cousin who is married to a Kiwi invited me along on their Kruger National Park trip. I loved every second.

I was fascinated by the evolution of the park which I had not visited for a few years and I loved going with a couple who travel to this country especially for one of these game park trips. It thrilled me to know that this was one of our best attractions luring many foreign visitors to this country.

Menues and memories at the Springbok Hotel

So when we set off via Springbok as our first stopover and initial sightings of the flowers, I had very specific pictures in my head. It was very different to what I had expected, yet I wasn’t at all disappointed.

I had always thought that the whole area was covered in flowers. I knew certain years were better than others and I have a special friend, Martie-Louise and her husband Albie Hunlun, warm and generous people, living in that area who had gifted us their holiday cottage in Strandfontein and who kept me posted on the date we needed to leave – which we did.

Our first glorious encounter with the Namaqualand splendour was the day we spent on a circular drive in the Springbok environment. It blew my mind and if these were the only sightings to be had, I would have been happy. But I knew there would be more.

The floral splendour of Namaqualand.

Apart from the flowers, geographically this part of our country is quite spectacular. With the sea always close by, the landscape has a constant backdrop and if nature dominates my life in any way, it is the sea that most enchants me. It’s part of my childhood and while I have lived in Gauteng for most of my life, my most dreamy times are always when I go bodysurfing, something I do whenever I have the chance. With this trip both the weather and the chilly seas were a deterrent, but I had known that would be the case.

Our second day filled with the magnificent sight of flowers was in the Posberg area. While the whole Namaqualand area has sightings of flowers, there are specific spots where an abundance is more visible – in my mind’s eye, I thought the whole Namaqualand would be covered in flowers like I witnessed in these specific areas. It was a revelation but no less spectacular than I imagined.

We were blessed in all kinds of ways. The area in which people travel is quite vast, so we were never overwhelmed by traffic or tourists. I suspect because it isn’t contained to one specific area, the adventure is relatively unspoilt and clearly focused on the flowers. All the amenities are available if you want, but Namaqualand hasn’t been turned into a theme park – yet – which could so easily have happened.

The magnificent west coast.

The people of the area are also unique. There is a spontaneous warmth and friendliness in every encounter and while my partner was flummoxed by the absence of his much loved cappuccinos, for me it underlined the charm of this spectacular part of our country which changes into a wonderland annually for a few weeks – and yet, they have kept it as untouched as possible in a world driven by financial opportunity.

Nature at its best.

Because of the distance we had to travel, I expanded our road trip, and our final destination before heading home was at Gert Van de Merwe and Jaco Jansen van Rensburg’s Die Langhuis. In 2020, en route to Cape Town, the couple took a detour and found themselves in Barrydale where they discovered, and impulsively bought, what is now their destination. Die Langhuis has changed into something quite breathtaking by these two creatives.

Gert and Jaco with their doe-eyed Weimaraner Alexia as well as their exquisite enterprise here and below.

I kept in touch with all the happenings around the evolution of their lives moving from the city to the Karoo, Gert’s letting go (almost) of his design business and Jaco managing to create a new hairdressing spot in quite marvelous fashion.

Not unexpectedly, the designer in Gert is unstoppable, yet he has shifted his gaze from couture to something more eclectic combining his love for exquisite objects and fabrics as well as the treasure trove he discovered in India, which they visit regularly.

An escape to dream of and if you’re blessed, experience. Die Langhuis in all its splendour.

All this is displayed in their new joint venture which culminates in Die Langhuis countrystore, café and magnificent bed-and-breakfast country cottages. It’s difficult to capture the essence of what they have created to share some of their new-found Karoo magic with the rest of the world. It’s the ultimate escape in what feels like the lap of luxury while all the time wallowing in the expansive creativity of these two artists, both in their own right.

The magic of Magpie, one of the exquisite treasure troves in a gem of a small town, Barrydale.

You leave Die Langhuius and Barrydale with a feeling of fulfillment, even if small-town living isn’t what you wish for yourself. It is exciting to witness others who have found the lifestyle they were craving without realising that’s exactly what they wanted. When it then turns into something they share with like-minded travelers and allow you to have just a taste of what they lost their hearts to, it’s something more than money can buy.

I’m almost reluctant to share too much of this special little town, but because it is quite hidden and you have to make a very specific detour, they’re probably safe from too much exposure. Keep it in your back pocket for a day when you feel like a breakaway weekend wrapped in a charm that feels as if it isn’t from these harried times.

It’s your chance to do some local time traveling. And if you’re blessed as I am, you will also be meeting some of the best people I know.

HONEYMAN AND HER TEAM CAPTURE THE HEART OF PINOCCHIO AND HIS FRIENDS IN AN EXPLOSIVE BURST OF COLOURFUL DELIGHT

~ debeernecessities

BY DIANE DE BEER

Pictures: enroC photo and video

Piunocchio and his Dainty Dollky.

The colourful panto kids.

PINOCCHIO

DIRECTOR: Janice Honeyman

ASS0CIATE DIRECTOR: Timothy le Roux

CHOREOGRAPHER: Khaya Ndlovu

COSTUME DESIGNS: Mariska Meyer

MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Dale Ray

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.