October is a month packed with performances for one of our most prolific performers, Nataniël. He tells DIANE DE BEER about his punishing schedules as he presents three shows – all completely different, yet all with one thing in common, the artist and his creativity:
It all begins with Momentum Beleggings Aardklop which is back in Potchefstroom following the upheavals of the pandemic
Ring van Vuurattempts to bind five fiery elements together: original music from more than three decades; original stories as only he can imagine; the rhythms and techniques of countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru; a shimmering set of costumes designed by his personal designer Floris Louw; and seven world class musicians.
Charl du Plessis on keyboards is joined by Werner Spies (bass) and Peter Auret (bass) as well as four brilliant guitar players: Juan Oosthuizen, Loki Rothman, Leon Gropp and Luke van der Merwe.
He promises to present 90 minutes of heartache, humour, heat, virtuosity and rhythms.
As part of the Aardklop festivities, the show will be presented on October 3 at 3 and 7pm in the Beeld Auditorium
Nataniël follows this with a short new season titled ROME ’62
On October 10 to 15, he returns to Pretoria’s Atterbury Theatre.
At a fair in the Free State, there’s a stall that sells second hand clothes. In between the rather tired-looking garments, there’s an unusual outfit, handmade by an acclaimed Italian designer. This discovery a few years back, was the first sighting of what has eventually turned into this particular show.
From family secrets, suspicion, stunning strangers, international travel, legendary films, timeless radio hits to exuberant fashion and the most dramatic designs, everything is included with stories in both English and Afrikaans, as well as music in abundance, brand new as well as six decades old.
Charl du Plessis (piano), Werner Spies (bass), Peter Auret (drums) and Wernd van Staden (cello) will be the accompanying orchestra.
Finally a performance that Nataniël is hugely excited about and describes as his best:
Titled MASS FOR THE GOOD PRINCES it is a follow-up of last year’s successful DIE SMITSTRAAT SUITE. This one though is his first full length musical mass based on the classical structure of a composition with five, six or seven parts, which is a prayer for goodness, new leadership and the hope of a new generation.
The mass will be sung in Latin and English with stories and descriptions in Afrikaans.
As before, he shares the stage with Ockie Vermeulen (organ),
Charl du Plessis (keyboard), Juan Oosthuizen (guitar), Werner Spies (bass), Peter Auret (drums and percussion) and the Akustika Chamber Choir led by Christo Burger.
When I look at festivals, what they have to offer, I always go to theatre first. It’s my passion, people who tell stories. Fortunately, I know that stories are an integral part of the arts and are told in different ways. That’s what makes a festival such a delight.
Die Moeder with Sandra Prinsloo and Dawid Minnaar. Picture: Emma Wiehman.
But let’s start with theatre. If you haven’t seen Sandra Prinsloo’s Die Moeder yet or even if you have, see it again. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime performances even if she has had many of those. It’s a story of a woman ageing who has lost her heart and her soul as she feels discarded and left out of the dance of life.
That might sound horrific, but the text and the ensemble cast, including the magnificent Dawid Minnaar, Ludwig Binge and Ashley de Lange with exciting directing by Christiaan Olwagen, present huge rewards.
Bettie Kemp and Dawid Minnaar in Mirakel.
On a lighter note, Marthinus Basson, a Reza de Wet genius, presents probably her funniest play, titled Mirakel. With another fantastic cast, including Rolanda Marais, Carla Smith, Dawid Minnaar, Edwin van der Walt, Bettie Kemp and Ebin Genis, it takes us back in time when theatre was presented by traveling companies, which went from town to town, region to region.
That already puts a smile on my face, and when you get this almost ragtag band of actors together, trying to save their lives by enhancing their livelihood with all the drama of the time and the company, it’s a scream. Just seeing Minnaar, who we are used to seeing on stage in serious mode, is a delight as he lights up the room with his angst and artistic temperament.
Braam en die Engel with Joannie Combrink, de Klerk Oelofse, Rehane Abrahams and Shaun Oelf, directed by Nico Scheepers, has all the elements for something quite enchanting. Add to that Kanya Viljoen who adapted the text from a YA book with the eponymous title, Grant van Ster as choreographer, Franco Prinsloo as composer and Scheepers and Nell van der Merwe on props and puppets as well as set, costume and lighting design, it’s a no-brainer.
Described as a magic realism experience for the whole family, this sounds worth driving for and not to be missed. I don’t even know the book although the title does the trick, but the artists involved get my backing all the way.
Geon Nel in Hoerkind. Picture: Gys Loubser.
Also based on a book, Hoerkind, written by Herman Lategan and adapted by Francois Toerien, tells the writer’s own story about a life in tatters when as a six-year-old he is sent to an orphanage. His stepfather shoots at him, at 13 he is stalked by a paedophile, and he turns to drink and drugs to stay sane, this solo production is directed by Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck, with Geon Nel in the title role.
The young boy’s missteps are many as he tries to survive. It’s a hair-raising story of loss and triumph in a world that is feels as if it is against him as he valiantly fights to survive.
Goed wat wag om te gebeur. Picture: Nardus Engelbrecht
Another debut production, Goed Wat Wag Om te Gebeur, has impeccable credentials with a cast featuring Antoinette Kellerman, Gideon Lombard and Emma Kotze with Philip Rademeyer as playwright and director (reworked in Afrikaans from The Graveyard).
Hendrik returns home after 15 years but, because the house is deserted, he decides to wait in the cellar where he spent his childhood years. It is empty, but the family’s secrets and history thicken the air and form part of the foundation of the house. Three figures keep appearing – his hardened sister, his petite mother and his lively girlfriend … and secrets and lies come to the surface.
Droomwerk. Picture: Lise Kuhn.
Droomwerk spotlights Jill Levenberg, Ben Albertyn, Johann Nel, Tyrish Mili and Johann Vermaak, directed by Kanya Viljoen and Lwanda Sindaphi. It unfolds as a dream as the title suggests. Petrus is the one who dreams about his family’s complex past: his ancestral mother, Diana of Madagascar, is looking for her daughter; and his grandfather, an apartheid senator, is dying.
The play deals with conflict, alienation and disillusionment. Will Petrus find the answers that bring him peace? Written by Pieter Odendaal, the text has already garnered an award for the best drama by the ATKV Woordveertjies.
Cindy Swanepoel and Zak Henrdrikz star in Henrietta Gryffenberg’s text 1 (Een) – described as a tragicomedy about love. Directed by Alby Michaels with choreography by Craig Morris and original music by Coenraad Rall (Amanda Strydom’s accompanist), it’s all about once upon a time … there were two people so fond of one another that they grew,the one into the other.
With too much togetherness, the two eventually decide it’s time to separate … but which one will survive this miraculous ordeal?
This tongue-in-cheek production looks with a slight jaundiced eye at the ancient themes of love and transience while placing it in an absurd context. Are human beings likely to find their perfect partner or are the chances just endlessly slim?
It’s a challenging piece, which should translate perfectly on stage with hopefully much laughter at the fallibility of man.
Two strong solo productions include Marion Holm, a seasoned actress who works wonderfully with words and life as she experiences it. She has her own style, a way of sharing her stories that are hysterical and sometimes quite harrowing but everything is done with such hilarity, it’s laughter from beginning to end.
On a dramatic note, Je-ani Swiegers stars in Die Vrou Op Die Dak, which tells the story of a woman who flees to the roof of her house where she hopes to find the answers to a life that has suddenly become impossible. Everything she thought she knew is disintegrating and she hopes this fresh perspective might bring fresh insights.
And don’t miss out on the latest offerings from the grand dames of cabaret, Elzabé Zietsman(with Tony Bentel in the perfectly pitched Femme is Fatale) and Amanda Strydom (Amber/Ombré). Their staying power is unique as they keep refining their artistry.
It’s a lucky packet of plays with a selection of everything one could possibly wish for when going to a festival.
When you see artist Ansa Clacey’s multimedia paintings at the exhibition The Silence in-between at the Pretoria Association of Art, stories pop into your head. It’s the fairytale quality of her work, the colours, the titles as well as the fact that she plays with paint and threads. Sometimes she paints, other times she works with needle and thread and often she combines the two. She shares her story with DIANE DE BEER:
Artist Ansa Clacey with her work.
Ansa Clacey’s current exhibition specifically explores the silence in-between the fragments and threads of our own stories. Because she is constantly telling her own stories, she assumes everyone does that. And it is especially that presumption which informs her work.
She can take you through the exhibition and tell each artwork’s story, but what she really wants, is that her audience will find their own stories as they engage with her work.
She can hardly think of a time when she wasn’t drawing and on her first school day, she was thrilled when the teacher asked them to draw specific shapes. But with her imagination and ability to draw, she chose her own shapes.
Time Weaves a Wicked Tapestry – Embriodery on Linen (002)
We are all familiar with those moments when you are expected to do things exactly as told and she was immediately taken to task for not following instructions. The trauma lingered for a long time, but fortunately, her natural instincts couldn’t be suppressed.
Years later, after arriving at Potchefstroom University where she was going to study (she thinks the initial plan was German and Geography), she spotted final auditions for a Fine Arts degree. The object she was asked to draw was a green pepper.
The result was not what was expected and she still recalls that she had no knowledge of technique. But her talent was spotted, described as raw, and she was accepted and enrolled for the degree.
Lost and found 2 – Mixed media on paper (002)
Her parents who were funding her studies first heard of this career change from their local dominee who had bumped into Ansa and she was called home to explain. But things steamed ahead fortunately.
Following her studies, she joined the SABC’s art department where she worked on children’s programmes like Liewe Heksie and Wielie Walie, drama programmes and anything that needed a prop or a puppet. “We even had to manipulate the puppets,” she tells. But she learnt a lot and expanded her skills.
Further studies were required for this restless soul always on the lookout for new knowledge. So she acquired a fashion design certificate, which turned her head into yet another direction, and also meant that she started painting again, while also teaching at different fashion academies.
The Protection of the Ancient May Fire – Embroidery on Silk Organza (002)
These days, painting is her life and she says that everything triggers stories in her head with a mind that is always switched on.
And once she has an idea, she can’t wait to get working. But the final product doesn’t resemble the initial picture. She explains that what she can’t see or hear is exactly what gets her imagination going.
Everyday objects, stories, especially folklore of Japanese origin, stimulates her as well as the people close to her, especially he granddaughter Ella, has dominated her work.
With two daughters, both living in London, she has time to work while keeping those who live afar, close in her imaginary world.
While drawing still informs her work, the needle and thread is her alphabet. Clothes and in this exhibition, the dresses her daughters wore when they were small, and now her granddaughter, are all featured in different ways.
The Threads that Bind 3
Drawing and sewing form her language – like a pen is to the writer, each stitch or line she creates is her alphabet. For the works on display, she used mainly pencil and pastel combined with stitching as her media.
Threads, in different cultures, represent many different things: protection, repair, mending, hope and destiny, she says.
“I’m very drawn to cultural customs. Semamori for example is a Japanese custom which means ‘back protection’. Mothers handstitched intricate patterns on the back of their children’s kimonos to protect them from harm. Often these embroideries have long threads hanging from them to assist good spirits to prevent children from falling.
“Red thread knots would also be sewn on cloth for soldiers going to war. These were worn as sashes under the uniforms to protect soldiers and give mothers and wives hope for their safe return.”
All of this informs her work, and is threaded through her stories, which all manifest in different ways to shape different tales and adventures for others. For her it is all therapeutic as she works alone while shaping her stories visually and solving problems she grapples with.
The Wolf Bride – Embroidery on silk organza (002)
She could go on for days and often has to stop herself, stand back, and take a look from afar.
She is the woman who finds a box with old and odd pieces of fabric, collars or swatches which will all form part of her language in yet another work in the future.
Ansa also turns her enemies into friends and especially the animals in her work are placed in unexpected settings to change who and what they traditionally represent.
It is a world of fantasy and make-believe but in this artist’s mind, it’s a world she can manipulate and make her own.
“The warmth and contemplation of drawing and stitching move me across places and vast timelines. They are the nostalgic markings of movement between past and present. Like human emotions, strings and lines can entangle allowing viewers to imagine stories behind them”.
When walking through the exhibition, it takes you into another world, one where your narrative features. Clothes, colour and threads form a part of most of our lives, so the connections are varied depending on who you are and why something catches your eye.
Not only are Ansa Clacey’s creations unusual, but also exciting and stimulating as they fire the imagination. Do not let the opportunity to view this rare collection pass you by.
The Association of Arts Pretoria is currently exhibiting works by renowned local artist Lynette ten Krooden under the collective title Mirari, which is the Latin for ‘to wonder at’; admire; miracle.Through French and later English, the word mirage also came into being. It perfectly captures the artist and her work, as she tells DIANE DE BEER:
Lynette is herself a work of art. Everything becomes her canvas.The artist with her miracle rock shard.
If you spot glittering gold leaf somewhere on a table, chair or even the snacks at an arts event, it’s probably a sign that artist Lynette ten Krooden’s in the room.
“It’s her involvement with the Middle East many years ago that awakened it,” notes her close friend and fellow artist Margaret Gradwell-Truter, who divulges that the two of them are celebrating her first exhibition at the Association 40 years ago and now again. “As fellow artist, I (nervously) opened the exhibition at that time.”
It was wonderful to listen to her speech and to have her reveal so much about her friend, always with the emphasis on her art.
Ancient Travel Story.
About Lynette’s trademark gold leaf she says that at the time it wasn’t something that was widely used in the art world. She even recalls some of the local art academics being quite scathing about the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt because of his use of gold leaf. Today his work records some of the highest prices paid for art and especially his trademark gold leaf receives high praise. In similar vein, another gold leaf practitioner, Alexis Preller, was also not rated. Today he is revered, she says, as we can all attest to.
Not that Lynette paid much attention. If you hear her speak about her work and where her inspiration lies, it’s always the landscape. “She viewed the universe from space, or flew across the desert or travelled through it with the Bedouins, or she found herself in awe of age-old mountains, rocks and fossils. But she doesn’t repeat what she has seen, she gives her audience the experience of wonderment which she experiences – she does it through a rich tapestry of forms and marks richly woven to form a whole,” explained Margaret.
“Lynette has used gold leaf as an integral part of the landscape that inspires her.” And that especially was again visible in this current exhibition.
PinnaclePinnacle in the Clouds.
Margaret embroiders: “She has unwaveringly used it as a medium for many years and has been able to master it, not as a decorative element but as a metaphor for the mirage, the mirari (miracle), that she has profoundly chased and captured, thereby enabling us, the spectator, to also wonder at the mirari.”
From her earliest days, she notes, Lynette was interested in the mysteries of the universe. The invisible – such as the effect of light on the earth – the glittering horizon, mist, sand, rocks and water. “This place that is a sanctuary for the wordless artist.”
Reenboogrots (Rainbow Rock)
And when Lynette talks unthinkingly about gold leaf, she tells how she is constantly picking up and gathering flecks of what might have fallen from something she is working on and using it again and again. And anyone who has ever picked up (or tried to handle) a sheath of gold leaf will know that it disintegrates in front of your eyes as if an invisible hand has reached out.
And still all these years later as her friend underlines, Lynette is filled with wonderment. “There’s a lifetime of art in my bones,” responds the artist. And even the fabric she wears reflects her love of what she creates.
Reisverhale – Storm on French Linen.
When she talks of her travels, she thinks of small children sitting on the sand and instinctively drawing, making pictures, capturing their world. That’s what she does. With her physical reality often a hindrance, she has found ways to work, to deal with what life gives her and to escape into the mysteries she is always exploring. “It never stops,” she says – and neither will she. “I lost my heart to the creative process. It’s good for my heart.”
Stand in front of one of her paintings and it immediately opens up a new world. Even if you’re just drawn by the colour, that in itself is a whole world that she embraces. For her, there’s a childlike excitement when she creates a new work. With this exhibition it was also returning to old ways and techniques that brought fresh meaning. As an artist she is intent on always moving forwards, somewhere new, challenging the world and everything around her.
And in the process, she passes on that depth of feeling to those of us looking on hoping to discover more . Her miracle becomes ours. For her it is simply a curiosity and wonder that started many years ago which has become the eternal play on her changing canvasses.
Under the guidance of their lecturer Dr Hennie Fisher and Prof.Elna Buys of the Department of Consumer and Food Sciences at Tukkies, the students regularly host dining events as part of their studies. On this occasion it was the turn of PhD student Irene Darkwa who was presenting Ghanaian food paired with South African wines. It was quite something, as DIANE DE BEER shares:
Irene Darkwa, PhD student presented a fantastic Ghanaian food and wine pairing experience (left); and an opening ceremony of Ghanaian dance and music.
Perhaps it makes complete sense that one of the best experiences of sampling food from this continent should be at a local institute of learning. And I’m not exaggerating.
Receiving an invite from PhD student Irene Darkwa with the instruction that we would be required to taste and rate various courses based on their appearance, aroma, flavour, taste and overall dining experience as part of her studies, I was intrigued. And delighted to see that one of my favourite chefs, Lientjie Wessels, was my table companion.
A fabulous display of African style from the lunch guests.
Irene’s specific field of interest is the Tiger nut, scientifically known as Cyperus esculentus and belonging to the family Cyperacea. It is a cosmopolitan perennial crop which belongs to the same genus as the papyrus plant.
She explained that it has a sweet, almond-like taste with many health benefits and nutritive values namely fibre, proteins, and sugars. They are also rich in oleic acid and glucose, as well as phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins C and E, and are found in the eastern hemisphere, Southern Europe, North and West Africa, and the Middle East.She had some samples on the table, which we could taste but of course, all the tastings also included the product.
Table talk.
Irene’s interest in conducting research is linked to the fact that tiger nut crops are hugely underutilised worldwide especially on the African continent. In America and some European countries, it is used as fishing bait and animal feed, yet it contains a number of nutrients and can be used to produce a variety of products such as oil, flour, milk and possibly cheese, which she is investigating.
The students at their post.
Her studies are also targeting a worldwide awareness that we have to adopt a plant-based diet to adhere to the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN’s General Assembly in 2015.
She is excited that her research findings have the potential to contribute to the process of cheese making using plant-based products. Tiger nuts thrive in West Africa and are grown and sold mostly by women, and its commercialisation will increase demand for the crop. This will address unemployment, wealth creation (poverty reduction) and food and nutrition security improvement, explains Irene.
Women, she argues, especially in Africa, are the most vulnerable and impoverished. “Focusing on uplifting them, their livelihoods and providing a market for their crops will go a long way in transforming economies and ending poverty.”
Taking all of this on board, the menu was devised to allow us to experience a fine-dining experience of Ghana on a plate. With Tiger nuts as the hero, the idea was also to transform them from plant to plate. All of which was done magnificently.
Tiger Nut and Tilapia Mousse.Pretty as a picture yet needs some punch.
The appetizer: Tigernut and Tilapia mousse in a plantain shell:
Pretty as a picture with unusual combinations and textures brushed with yaji (a nutty spice mix) for some extra kick. I also loved the plantain shell, which was quite chewy and so different to what a normal pastry case would have been. A mousse was the perfect way to incorporate the cheese. It was as if she was giving us notice with this quirky amuse bouche and I knew we were in for something extraordinary.
This was followed by a salad, which was the only disappointment of the meal. Apparently very true to a Ghanaian table, this deconstruction was boring and bland. It seemed little more than a salad leaf holding what looked like bully beef squares and veggies. Lientjie suggested that if you’re going to do this in fine dining style, everything must be made from scratch. The meat, for example, should be your own concoction. Because Irene had explained that in Ghana many more ingredients would have been used, with sardines as another option, Lientjie felt she should really have played with that. And the tiger nut could have introduced some texture and taste.
Soup: The tiger nut and palm nut soup with crispy chorizo served with a herb brioche and herb oil was a different and quite delicious story. The flavour was special, complimented by an imaginative brioche.
The first main course consisted of a fish mosaic which was beautifully prepared and presented with tiger nut and corn banku (cassava and corn pap which is fermented) served with shito (black pepper) emulsion and an avo spume. Lientjie sighed and I share her exasperation with spume which to her mind is just a silly modern trend. “Let it go,” she suggested and I agreed but fortunately, the dish was so complex it did no harm. I loved every mouthful.
Rosemary Slow Roasted Lamb Rack.Assorted cheeses specially made for the occasion.
The second main course was a slow roasted rosemary infused rack of lamb with tiger nut milk-infused waakye (rice and beans), roasted tomato sauce, carrots grilled with balsamic honey and cheese, microgreen herbs, gari (cassava root) tuille and boiled egg. Irene explained that Waakye is another popular dish in Ghana also accompanied by boiled eggs, vegetables and gari but she decided to use tiger nut cheese and milk and used the gari, to make a tuille. The meat was beautifully cooked and extremely flavoursome with everything coming together quite magnificently.
And these two main dishes are two of Irene’s favourite Ghanaian dishes which she refined with great finesse.
A sparkling African Palate Cleanser.
In the Cheese course which Irene made, two of the cheeses were made with tiger nuts and I really loved the texture and taste. She said that it needed further experimenting, but this tasting was good enough for me. Instead, I felt the cowmilk cheeses were still lacking flavour and I would have been happy with only the tiger nut samples (and here she gave a special nod to Prof Buys for her support and help). Her own version of biscuits were much nicer than the bought kind. I can see what Lientjie means when she says that fine dining demands that you make your own. It certainly adds to the whole.
Atadwe (tiger nut) Pudding, Coconut Caviar, Tiger Nut Ice Cream and Meringue.Adaakwa Truffles coated in Tiger Nut Flakes (centre), Kube cake (coconut brittle, top) and Tiger Nut Ganache Bofrot (described as similar to vetkoek).
In a sweet conclusion, she served an Atadwe (tiger nut) pudding, coconut caviar, tiger nut ice cream and meringue, which was light and luscious, and followed this with Adaakwa truffles coated in tiger nut flakes, Kube cake (coconut brittle) and tiger nut ganache bofrot (described as similar to vetkoek). Every bite was delicious and the perfect finish to such a brilliant meal.
It’s the kind of food I love eating, especially when the chef experiments and plays with new flavours and finery. What made it even more special was that it was Irene’s take on her birth country’s cuisine, and in the process, she developed a menu that reflected that country magnificently.
This is what I would like to eat if I was a visitor to this continent. Most of our restaurants are still serving mainly European cuisine and hopefully these kinds of experimental adventures will contribute to changing that.
This young woman has proved (and something we all know yet don’t sample enough) that we should celebrate what comes from this continent because if we don’t, who will?
And if you can do it as brilliantly as Irene Darkwa, why wouldn’t you?
On September 30 at 5pm a Food Pairing with Creation will be held at Eat@UP Restaurant (in the old Agricultural building on the campus).If you are interested, click on form.
The Charl du Plessis Trio with the Phoenix Orchestra conducted by Richard Cock will showcase some unique and exciting music for piano and orchestra (sponsored by MayFord Seeds) on September 10 at the Linder Auditorium. DIANE DE BEER chatted to the much loved conductor Richard Cock about music and its longevity:
Musical chums Charl du Plessis and Richard Cock.
He has worked as a conductor in so many spheres of music, from the old days of the National Symphony Orchestra with strict classical repertoire to these days conducting the beloved Starlight Classics concerts with pop, rock and crossover music, which has everything to do with stretching the appeal to reach as wide an audience as possible.
And while more serious concerts will always be part of his repertoire, most of his work involves the crossover type programmes like this one with Charl and his trio and the Phoenix Orchestra, which started during the Covid period when they were trying to create work when there was none. “We have continued since as it worked well and players were responsive,” says Richard.
On piano: Charl du Plessis
With piano the featured instrument for this concert, Richard believes that it is the instrument that most audiences identify with most easily hence the attraction. “I think many people have played the piano in their youth and they can associate with it quite easily. You can also see how it is played, and it is pretty impressive to see the hands flashing over the keyboard. There is a big visual element that comes into play.”
The programme will include arrangements of music by classical composers as well as some new upbeat arrangements in diverse styles, ranging from rock and boogie to blues. Audiences can also look forward to big band jazz and soothing film music sounds. The concert will also include arrangements of music by Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Mozart, as well as Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington and Astor Piazzolla.
Richard Cock
“It’s a wide range of music, beautiful and expert arrangements by Charl, and unusual contrasts (Grieg and Lady Gaga). All of this and the presentation where Charl and I chat to each other about the music makes it unique,” he explains.
“We have worked together since he was a young boy singing in the Bloemfontein Children’s Choir! And a lot more recently. I love his energy and creativity, and we have a good verbal exchange on stage. The chat is unrehearsed and spontaneous, and thus lively and fresh every time.”
Conductor for the ages: Richard Cock.
With so much on offer, live and online post Covid, audiences will always be a need for what is perceived as more niche art forms, but the conductor is excited about the future. “ I see audiences changing and a lot of younger people are attending classical and orchestral concerts.” As one of the presenters on Classic 102.7 for many years, it was a loss to many regular listeners but like many things in life, Richard knows how to mourn and when to move on. “The chances of getting another Classic station are low.”
Instead he puts the emphasis on what he can still do and something that has always dominated his life – conducting. It invigorates and challenges him still. “I love the creative process of bringing music off the printed page and into the air. It never fails to excite me, and I hope the audience too.”
The artist Bongi Bengu is having a major exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum which runs from this Saturday (September 9) until November 5. She told DIANE DE BEER about her passion which is constantly evolving and reflecting her life, her dreams and hopes:
Pictures of Bongi Bengu taken at the Pretoria Farmer’s Market by Thomas Honiball.
When you first meet Bongi Bengu it is not a surprise to learn that she is an artist. She looks like an artwork herself.
She’s brightly dressed and the one characteristic most dramatic is her laughter. This is someone who loves life and her enthusiasm is contagious. She’s also not scared of showing herself.
But when you start talking about her art, her mood is reflective. “It’s a calling,” she says about this career which she has been passionate about for the past 26 years.
Her art is all about expressing herself but also healing, she says, something she hopes those who come to her exhibition will also experience. She infuses it into everything she does, her cooking, her clothes, dancing and music choices. “Art is like breathing.”
Titled The World / Umhlaba, the exhibition has been inspired by the tarot card called The World. “It means the end of a cycle and the beginning of another,” she explains. But she expands: “It could also mean that you’re in a powerful position to manifest your desires.”
The exhibition was first held at the Alliance Francaise, Pretoria where Pretoria Art Museum curator Mmutle Kgokong first saw it and felt that the space was too small for her work. “It looks cramped,” he said and invited her to show it at the museum.
Bongi feels it was meant to be. “We create our own world,” she says and that’s why this transformation from one exhibition to the next came quite naturally to this South African, who spent her youth in exile in Geneva Switzerland where she completed most of her schooling until the last few years, which she spent at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland.
Bongi’s Golde Orb Mask
Her parents (her father Sibusiso Bengu was both an ambassador and Minister of Education) felt that she needed to experience some of her school years on the African continent. And this is also where she forged her future. While doing a research project for which she earned a distinction and which included interviewing established artists, she discovered Helen Sebidi who was an inspiration and opened her eyes – and her heart – to the art world.
“That’s when I knew,” she says about her artistic beginnings. Becoming the world traveller that she is, she later enrolled and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree at Mount Vernon College, Washington DC, and completed a Master’s degree in Fine Arts at The University of Cape Town. She has since participated in numerous international residencies and workshops.
For this current exhibition she wanted to reflect on the different stages of her work and she has tried to select pieces from all the different periods. She started with pastels and charcoals using mostly earthy colours.
Bongi’s Rebirth IV
Then she joined the Bag Factory Artist Studio where she did mostly collages initially and then turned to an organic period where she focussed on leaves and soil.
Only then came colour which now seem such a part of her life. She confesses that she sees herself as an artwork and when you look at her, it’s easy to see why. What a canvas she has been given to play with. It’s not only her work that turns heads.
Once she started planning this exhibition, she started a conversation with two curators, one at Washington DC’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Teresa Bush) where she had interned for a while and the other in Sweden (a South African lecturing there, Nkule Mabaso). “It was through dialogues with them about my work that I made selections,” she says. They will also be writing for her catalogue which will be available at the end of the two month exhibition.
Bongi’s Self portrait in the sand
When discussing her work, Bongi explains that she is inspired by her life and the experiences she has had. It all begins in her head, but once she starts working on paper or canvas, it’s usually something quite different that emerges.
Working mostly on your own can be quite a lonely existence, but Bongi enjoys her own company and finds her painting therapeutic. “This is how I work through problems,” she says. “I never feel alone.”
Bongi at work.
In her life as in her work, she describes herself as someone who doesn’t conform to society’s norms. “That’s not easy in my community, a single Black woman with no children!” But it’s her life and she marches to her own beat. Growing up and travelling around the world yet returning to South Africa, she functions easily wherever she finds herself.
As I watch her finding her feet at Silverton’s famous Farmer’s Market, it’s easy to believe her. She’s colourful, has a laugh that stops a crowd and a life that’s creative and of her own making.
Bongi’s Montana Birds (left) and Life of Domesticity (right)
She says she knows she was a man in her former life and that she wanted desperately to paint, but it wasn’t possible. “At that time, the women were the painters making huge murals. I knew I would come back as a woman so that I could fulfil my dream. And now I also know when women think that men have easier lives, it’s not always true!”
It will be opened officially by His Excellency HE Mr Antonis Mandritis, Ambassador of Cyprus and the work can be toasted courtesy of Durbanville Hills. Everyone is welcome.
Two savvy scientists are quietly revolutionising the world of mushrooms with their biological control solutions to enhance sustainable farming as well as their triumphant growing of truffles in moss chambers 365 days a year. DIANE DE BEER found herself in their bubble of wonderment in their factory in an industrial hub in Pretoria:
State-of-the-art Musterion factory
When I first heard about two Pretoria scientists, Helga Dagutat (microbiologist) and Nita Breytenbach (plant physiologist), who are producing truffles, I was excited to meet these two women who seem to be changing and challenging existing norms in a world where few women even in these current times can kick dust in the eyes of their male counterparts.
And they delivered not only on the truffles but also in personality and a characteristic which I suspect is their driving force, perseverance, in bucketsful.
Nita Breytenbach (plant physiologist) and Helga Dagutat (microbiologist)
I was invited, to my delight, to attend their second truffle-inspired and infused dinner, and I couldn’t have been more excited.
The last one was a year earlier and this time the menu was inspired by ancient ingredients and to listen to Helga talk about an almost year-long experiment with the menu and the produce, is what the whole truffle experience means to these two women. They have added their own kitchen in the factory where they play.
A truffle from the moss chambers.
Their main line of business is their biological control solutions which enhance sustainable farming, thus empowering farmers. And with the tide turning overwhelmingly to biological rather than chemical control, these two have found themselves ahead of the curve. It is fascinating to hear them describe the development of their unusual business which is based on the use of the edible mushroom mycelium to control the pests that could damage the crops and as Nita explains it, with healthy results overnight. Mushrooms rule almost everything they do. They have even been quoted as saying that it is mushrooms that produce their amazing plant life at the factory.
But we are gathered to celebrate truffles and I’m not going to expand on the technical hazards experienced with growing truffles, only delight in the fact that these two women have developed a way of growing truffles 365 days a year in moss chambers … in their state-of-the-art factory in Koedoespoort. This side of the business called Mustérion is all about truffles.
Welcoming fires in the courtyardArrivals
They are growing two kinds: the black ones which are found in Perigold, France (Tuber melanosporum)as well as the white ones (Tuber magnatum) found in the Piedmont region of Italy.On the night, we were treated to an abundance of what is more commonly referred to as black diamonds (even if that term has a different meaning in this country, intention of the phrase is the same).
But to the menu. Just looking at the detail, beautifully presented by their graphic designer, it is clear that the theme of the evening Ancient Ingredients from Earth to Plate – Mustérion, makes complete sense.
Truffles were probably first discovered (according to the notes on the menu) by the Amorite civilisation where archaeologists excavating a 4 000-year-old Amorite palace found remnants of truffles still in their baskets. And it is this sense of ancient mystery that they wanted to capture for diners at this unusual event.
Amuse bouche
From the amuse bouche, presented in their dramatic courtyard with huge fires burning and Pretoria’s night sky presenting the perfect backdrop, how can one not go weak at the knees at the presentation of charcoal (burns warmer than wood and was used by the Egyptians to smelt ore in ancient times) tortilla parcels filled with porcini cream and Mustérion Craft Truffles.
I think the word umami was probably invented for truffles. How does one even try to describe the taste sensation this much revered and precious ingredient unlocks? But with the inventors of this specific version, they also know how to create a menu that will best showcase their particular gem. We were told we could have two, but I knew what was waiting and first one’s flavours were still working their particular magic.
A table for a truffle feast.
Inside an open space in the factory, at the long table, the perfect setting and magically dressed for the night, we had been assigned seating. I was blessed to find Nita on my left and Helga across the table ready with insight about her meticulously crafted menu.
Caremalized pear (one of the oldest cultivated fruits) and Cremezola soup with the craft truffle served with an ancient bread and … truffle butter naturally … had me salvivating. Amaranth seed (which was domesticated 8 000 years ago by the Inca, Maya and Aztec)was used in the bread. The pear, the cheese and truffles, that’s a no brainer,
How I loved seeing the phrase sorghum (8 000 BC traces were found in Egypt) mille-feuille at the start of the next description. The filling was the fairytale-shaped Shimeji mushrooms paired with Macadamia complimented by a cheddar and artichoke mousse with craft truffle. It was the most deluxe comfort food I have had in the longest time.
Rooibok carpaccio with Grano Padano (similar to Parmigiano but produced by monks a 1000 years ago), Baobab craft truffle spheres and a prickly pear purée (fossilised seeds more than 7 000 years old found in Mexico) was plated so artistically, I hated spoiling the picture, but it was one of my favourites. The combinations simply sang exquisitely.
If I mention favourite, every new dish, brought yet another truffle extravagance, so to reflect about the best is a senseless endeavour. It was the complete table that underlined the excellence and excitement of the night.
A taco with a cashew parsley paste filled with date and spiced honey butter (truffle enhanced) topped with charred mielies (which emerged at the dawn of human agriculture about 10 000 years ago) followed by the eland fillet topped with greens and Kremetart mustard (which Helga exclaimed with enthusiasm as “next level” and I agree fully). The oldest Kremetart tree -or Baobab – has been dated as at least 1 800 years old. And how clever of her to add that to the dish which was further bolstered by a pap and queso sauce with truffle.
Gavin was also responsible for the adventurous wines paired spectacularly with every course.
His choices were done by memory because he had to make them without tasting the food, yet knowing the menu. “For me, the challenge was to get people to think about what they were tasting before and after tasting the wine – and vice-versa,” he says. And he did this excellently with a marvellous selection .
Bonbons made with Ethical Eats cacao with 25g truffle each served with French cognac
The atmosphere was magnifique, the company foodies all, and the extended evening slipped by languorously.
I had a taste of the ancient potato (have to include that when talking ancient produce) pudding with a nutty Cacao drizzle and truffle as well as the most exquisite truffle BonBons served with Dubouché French Cognac again outside around the fire to complete the full circle that the Mustérion evening represented.
It is the extraordinary vision of Nita and Helga, the way their scientific minds work, what they have developed and achieved in such a short time and perhaps most importantly, they are always at play. And that is what I found most contagious – and joyful.
Cast: Hiran Abeysekera and the magnificent puppets
Set and Costume Designer: Tom Hatley
Puppet and Movement Director: Finn Caldwell
Puppetry Designers: Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell
Lighting Designer: Tim Lutkin
Sound Design: Carolyn Downing
Composer: Andrew T Mackay
Scheduled screenings on 27 August at 2.30, and on 30 and 31 August at 5.30, but check your area for loadshedding, when screening times might change.
Halfway through the filmed version of this spectacular West End play, the director, designer and writer (who adapted the book) have a short chat about the play and how it all began. For the writer it was about the story, finding all the important bits and pulling them together for the stage version. For the director, it was about what could work on stage and how to do it. And for the designer it all began with the Richard Parker, the tiger.
Life of Pi imagined in spectacular style. Credit: Johan Persson
Anyone who has read the book and now sees the filmed play will know that this is where the struggle on every level is centred and, once they got that right, it was all systems go. And that’s no small thing. I counted seven puppeteers just for the tiger. It’s simply spectacular – the design, the puppets, the lighting, the video and the sound. That’s why I listed all the names in the credits. It’s a production with all the bells and whistles and yet it holds the heart of the story with the performances by Abeysekera and the animals that come to life.
Seven puppeteers are listed in the credits just for the tiger. Credit: Johan Persson
It’s clear that imagination was the key requirement for this fantastic book, which tells the story of a 16-year-old boy named Pi who is stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger.
We know he has made it because he is telling the story to two scientific types, the one sympathetic, the other a sceptic.
Hiran Abeysekera as Pi with one of his companions, a zebra. Credit: Johan Persson
But the wizardry of the play is all achieved by the magical approach and manner of telling and showing the marvellous Mantel story with no missteps. And although just the set is enough as it moves and rises and changes form to overwhelm the story, everything holds together in the way it should with Pi and his animal friends taking centre stage.
The experience is mesmerising and the two and a half hours flies by as Pi cajoles and cunningly sweet talks and outsmarts his sometimes ferocious and reluctant companions. It’s a kind of Alice-in- Wonderland adventure yet perhaps with a touch more reality than wonder, even if that is always present.
The determination of Pi to achieve his destiny draws you into both his pain and pleasure and this journey, keeping in mind that is after all a stage play, is all about the overwhelming power of theatre when done this magnificently.
Pi in conversation with Richard Parker, the tiger. Credit: Johan Persson
I have to admit, I think Pi and his friend Richard Parker and their struggle for survival have everything to do with it!
The NT Live experience is an expensive exercise but you are seeing some of the best theatre experiences the world has to offer. If that’s your gig, don’t think twice.
Bookings at Ster Kinekor: Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg, Ster-Kinekor Brooklyn in Pretoria, Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and Ster-Kinekor Gateway in Umhlanga.
CHANNELING DIRECTION BY Rob van Vuuren and Daniel Mpilo Richards
PLAYING AT Theatre on the Square Sandton
UNTIL September 2 (Tuesday to Friday at 7.30pm and Saturdays at 5 and 8pm)
Booking at Computicket
Kim Blanche Adonis has style, sass, sparkle and a suitcase stuffed with characters and wise Van Graan words.
Playwright Mike van Graan has the gift of casting his net, finding the right focus and then going in for the kill in the most devastating fashion.
But all of this is done with such skill and finesse that, even in those uncomfortable moments when you might be the target, you nod in agreement.
Yes, it is incredibly funny until it isn’t. And, sadly, in this country, it often isn’t. This time he has found a devastating target – the upcoming elections. With the unravelling of the country so visible in the Eskom fiasco which just keeps going, never letting up, his audience (and it was packed to the rafters on opening night) are rooting all the way. We have all suffered enough and there’s often a collective sigh.
Thirty years into our post-apartheid democracy, he tells us, our country is in desperate need of change, a reset, a re-imagining of the dream we had some three decades ago. And then he reveals the real purpose of the play: everyone agrees that the elections in 2024 offer an opportunity for the beginning of new beginnings, hence My Fellow South Africans, which he describes as his modest contribution to the discourse that may shape the elections, reflecting us back to ourselves, reminding us of our optimism, and finally urging us ‘to do something’.
And while he is humble in his aspirations, Van Graan has been doing this for most of his playwriting life, showing us who we are and just how much we are willing to take. Through the years, he has fine-tuned what he says and how to say it, and in this instance also gathered the perfect coterie of stage chums with whom he has collaborated on three one-person revues: Rob van Vuuren (director) and Daniel Mpilo Richards (performer but in this instance director) who also brought the star of this show, Kim Blanche Adonis, on board.
Taking over from Richards is no small ask and for the shortest time while acclimatising to her particular style, I wasn’t sure she was going to crack it – until she did with sheer determination, style, skill and an exuberant performance that never let up.
The text is dense, the demands on the actor intense, but she has taken this on with a will and willingness to make it her own. There’s nothing she’s not going to do to make a character work and her deftness with accents, complete comfort on stage and constant chameleon-like changes are astonishing. Van Graan has found a warrior for his sharpest words.
And as the audience, you have to tune in too. It’s fast and furious, and the writer doesn’t tread lightly as he flies fiercely through the South African landscape, demolishing everything he witnesses in a land that’s punch drunk as it faces one disaster after the other.
Just before the show, I was listening to a news report on the BRICS summit which revealed that the Chinese had gifted us R500 million, but it went on to report, R170 million had already disappeared! I can just imagine what Van Graan would do with that.
He wishes us a cathartic experience and it is that, but what I love the most is the way he lets rip with words and worries, always funny but never at the expense of the catastrophe of what has happened to this country we had such hopes for. He is piercingly honest. It’s not always possible to laugh and at some moments the spotlight on those of us who are born with privilege just because of the colour of a skin is vicious, as it should be.
Yes, he is there to entertain, and with the smarts of Adonis, it is just that, but he never turns away, softens the blow or shies away from making a point whatever the target might be. This is about our country, making the right choices and going into action rather than simply complaining.
Van Graan carries the moniker cultural activist because that is exactly what he does with all the skill of both his perceptive and piercing gaze and his writing wizardry.
De Beer Necessities 