Tag: Music

A DAUGHTER’S HAUNTING HOMAGE TO HER FATHER, STILL SO PRESENT, WHO LEFT THEM MUCH TO SOON

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When Willemien Rust’s father Christof Heyns suddenly died a few years back, the closely-knit family was devastated, but being who they are, they turned their grief into something that paid homage and in this young performer’s life, it was music. She tells DIANE DE BEER about honouring her dad:

Knowing the Heyns family for quite a few decades, not much surprises me when it comes to the way they conduct their lives. With human rights activist Christof Heyns, a professor of Human Rights Law And the Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria, as your father and a mother who when I first met her sang professionally whenever she could, in-between raising a family and introducing the children to the creative world as part of their lives. It’s therefor no surprise that when it came to honouring her beloved father, Willemien turned to music, something she has been passionate about all her life.

Taking on French as a third language, that also played a part in her varied career, but when she wanted to express affairs of the heart, music was always the favoured carrier.

She knew she wanted to find a way to process the loss, unexpected, devastating and way too soon. It took five years, but because she’s still young, time was on her side because that was never the issue. “This was big for me,” she explains the eve before the album was launched.

“It started with the songs,” she says, as she captured her feelings with little thought for the end result. For her it was a search for meaning, making sense of the madness which engulfed her and finally became a never-ending circle which pointed her to the place to deal with her grief.

In the beginning, writing and performing the music was therapy but as time went on, she realized that she could turn this into a tribute to someone she loved and missed.

As someone who has been making music most of her life, at home and on stage, once she needed guidance and support, she had friends to turn to. Chanie Jonker (below left with Willemien right) became her guide  in what she eventually hoped to achieve.

She describes her group of artistic friends and acquaintances she pulled together affectionately as “mad dogs”, all of whom stood in as soundboards at different stages of the project which was still just a dream.

“I’ve always loved collaborating,” she says about putting together as well as launching an album which has become much more than simply music. She turned to someone who she knew about rather than a friend, producer Giden Botes (Watershed). It was soon clear that he was going to challenge her musically. “He described my music as old-fahioned,” she said laughingly, and she knew that she had found an accomplice. “He helped me to discover my voice,” she says.

To begin with, each song is in a different genre reflecting both her and her father’s love and passion for music. And then all the connections that helped to fulfill her dream. What she found in the process was her confidence and nerve to go ahead.

And then the launch. Popping in for a chat the day before, she explained that she wanted this to be an immersive experience. With her mother someone who always encouraged her family to opt for the creative route, her brother, Adam, a television- and filmmaker, put together a video that played on a loop at the launch which was held in their own personal performance space just above the garage at her childhood home.

She wanted people to experience the music in a tangible fashion and to choose how they wanted to listen, on their own in a dark room, or together with the African night as the backdrop. Each person’s listening experience would be uniquely linked to the space, the way the song spoke to them and the excitement of the event.

What she discovered and held on to were memories not only of the music but also of a positive embracing energy which has always been the family’s trademark.

While gathering all her friends and family who could collaborate on the night, Willemien found a way to release her music in a world that was ready for more than the traditional album presentation. She wanted to celebrate what was for her a collaborative experience, and she wanted her music to land and shine in a particular way.

This turned out to be a theatrical night of fun which gave everyone a chance to experience Willemien and her music in the way she wanted them to and the guest of honour, although physically absent was and remains her father.

Interview: BETWEEN MYTH AND MAYHEM

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THEATRE

By Diane de Beer
Pictures: Nardus Engelbrecht

Pay attention when internationally acclaimed director/author/designer Brett Bailey turns up at the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees with two productions, The Stranger and FaustX. As one of South Africa’s most innovative directors and someone who pays attention to place and time, he was questioned by Diane de Beer about his choices.

With today’s easy access to almost anyone, interviews can sometimes become more enjoyable for the interviewer than for the artist being interviewed. But when your subject is Brett Bailey – racing between shows, juggling productions and somehow keeping it all together – you’re grateful for thoughtfully considered written answers that offer a glimpse into what he is trying to pull off. And, judging by his track record, probably will.

Starting with The Stranger, he came across the myth of Orpheus, the semi-divine poet-musician of Classical Greece whose “melodious music brings harmony to the natural world: olive trees inch towards him as he plays, fishes leave the streams to listen, birds and animals gather around him”.

“I was captivated by this image of a man singing in the wilderness, both bringing order to the world with his art, and revealing an underlying order in the cosmos,” he begins. “Then he goes even further by voyaging to the Underworld, where all the order is shown to be meaningless.”

For Brett, this is a myth that captures the beautiful fragility of life, of violence and of life’s ephemerality. The story haunted him for two decades, inspired him and pulled him in so many directions, throwing up so many images and confronting him with questions.

As a result, “in 2006 I created an outdoor promenade piece based on it called Orfeus, and another version a few years later which toured the EU. This is the third version, first performed at the National Arts Festival in 2024. Of all my works, The Stranger is the most meaningful to me.”

About the style of the production, he notes that ritualistic staging is something he has returned to periodically since his earlier days in the mid-1990s. “I find it particularly apt for works based in mythological content, where different realities intersect: the material and the dream worlds, the realms of people and gods.” 

This is a story of our time, of an immigrant who arrives in Stellenbosch bringing a gift of exquisite music that transforms all who hear it. And immediately there’s a connection for the audience. Three musicians accompany him, and a number of performers enact the drama, including the woman he falls in love with as well as Death.

Attending The Stranger, he advises, is like entering a ceremony in which a story is told in some remote village, or, even more enticingly, like entering someone else’s dream. How can one not accept that invitation?

The cast includes Nkosenathi Koela and others, and this is the second time this musician, who believes in the transformational power of African indigenous music, will be featured in this production, the first in 2024. “His music is truly deep and extraordinary,” explains Brett. “He was the natural choice for the role of Orpheus.”

They will be performing in what Brett describes as a gorgeous building almost ten minutes out of Stellenbosch, Die Boekklub.

“It is an old apple shed converted into a remarkable venue filled with antiques. Very special. The audience will lounge on vintage sofas on two sides of an intimate performance arena: an immersive sonic environment lit by candles and chandeliers.”

And he is delighted to report that audiences find the work very beautiful and moving.

No less exciting or challenging, FaustX was commissioned by Kunstfest Weimar in 2025 for the 250th anniversary of Goethe’s move to that city. “I was not aware then that there was a second part to Faust. It is a monster of a text, incredibly complex and full of poetic, philosophical, historical and mythological allusions: a full dramatisation would take over five hours,” the master reports.

“When I first encountered it, I had no idea what to do with it. Gradually, over a year, I cut it right down to around 90 minutes. It tells of a man who, in his drive to find meaning, opts for all possibilities of extreme experience in exchange for his soul.

“On my journey to find its contemporary relevance, I gravitated towards the tech barons who are currently steering our planet on a rapid course into the unknown, who are sacrificing the soul of the earth to Progress. Mr Musk, with all his glitches and complexities, became my primary focus…

“The work speaks of modern humanity’s insatiable drive to satisfy the self, to push beyond boundaries and limitations, to experience as much as possible, no matter what the cost. In our technologically rapacious era, the dangers of such an orientation resonate deeply. In a sense, it is a terrifying piece of theatre…

I’m a visual person, and my taste is very eclectic.

“Thematically I deal with European manipulation of African economies, the war in Gaza, Israeli settler occupation of the West Bank, Elon Musk’s fever dreams of technological domination and the colonisation of distant planets, the destruction of the planet’s ecosystem by out-of-control capitalism, and the rise of the far right in Europe.”

And if that doesn’t get you rushing out for tickets, it obviously is not your kind of theatre.

But that’s not the only thing that drives this piece. Who would not be intrigued by the fact that ChatGPT takes the honours as “dramaturg” in the festival guide?

Not unexpectedly, Brett would be one of the first to get the best from any new technology, even though he acknowledges the anxiety around the use of AI in the creative industries. “Many people feel threatened by it.”

But for this interrogating artist, it became yet another arrow in his quiver. He used it to bounce off ideas for several of his works and thus it has a thorough “sense of the network of threads that permeate my artistic vision”.

He insists that it doesn’t write his texts, yet it opens up avenues of exploration and helps him to make connections. Making his point twice over, he says: “In a work that looks at the dangers of technology run rampant, it feels conceptually appropriate to acknowledge ChatGPT as my dramaturg…”

And in short, Brett adds a lesson in AI for those interested.

Taking a closer look at FaustX, he views the work both as a visual artwork and a piece of theatre. “I’m a visual person, and my taste is very eclectic.”

Inspiration for FaustX comes from so many sources: Central African wood carvings and paintings, Japanese and East European films, Instagram, Tibetan Buddhist shrines, the colour palette of Mediterranean gardens, news channels and social media, rural European mask traditions, medieval Christian paintings, the work clothes of local farm labourers… it’s all in there, as in so many of his earlier works.

FaustX talks of the hubris of men who destroy anything in their path to satisfy their relentless need for more; The Stranger speaks of those who step in to attempt to heal what has been destroyed.

As he notes himself, Brett has worked with masks on and off for years, and now they feature prominently in the works he makes. “I love the sense of otherworldliness they bring to the stage, and the effect that they have on performers’ bodies. Using them allows several performers to play one character: four different performers play Faust, each bringing their own skill set to the role. I make the masks from cardboard and glue and paint: I love the rough, handmade quality.”

FaustX, he says, is also saturated from beginning to end in deeply beautiful music – from works by Handel, Purcell and Mozart, to modern composers like Arvo Pärt and Biosphere.

He views the two works as companion pieces, two panels of a diptych, each painted in a different style.

“FaustX talks of the hubris of men who destroy anything in their path to satisfy their relentless need for more; The Stranger speaks of those who step in to attempt to heal what has been destroyed. Both face their mortality in the face of an inscrutable and indifferent universe…”

For those who will not be visiting Woordfees, let’s all hold thumbs that these two works travel widely throughout the country. 

The Stranger
9, 10 & 11 OCT 19:30
Die Boekklub, Johannesdal
R180 | R210 at the door

FaustX
Unfortunately we will have to wait for another showing PLEASE BRETT!

THE ENORMITY OF STAGING A NEW WORK LIKE THE BACCHAE – AN AFRICAN CHORAL BALLET

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By DIANE DE BEER

PICTURES: LAUGE SORENSEN

This is a year of anniversaries, with theatres and institutions celebrating milestones. One of these is Joburg Ballet whose 25thAnniversary Season promises a monumental year of dance with a range of exciting productions that will showcase the company’s rich history, artistic vision and institutional growth, according to their CEO, Elroy Fillis-Bell at the launch of their milestone Silver Jubilee year. 

With this in mind and in partnership with Arts & Culture at the University of Johannesburg, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA), is currently staging “a world-first Choral Ballet that reimagines Euripides’ iconic tragedy through a uniquely South African lens – The Bacchae: An African Choral Ballet”.

Kitty Phetla centrestage with the Joburg Ballet and the UJ Choir in the background.

And for this spectacular event, they have put together an extraordinary creative team which will excite art lovers across the country. There’s director Jay Pather with his second work on stage this month (see previous review of Constellations at Sandton’s Theatre on the Square), award-winning choreographer Mthuthuzeli November, and most impressively, composer Neo Muyanga, who conceptualised, wrote and composed this first African choral birthday celebration. On stage the Joburg Ballet came together with the UJ Choir and guest artist Kitty Phetla with a production team of note in the wings.

Muyanga started dreaming about the project a number of years ago when he first read a translation of Euripides’s text. “Later,” he writes in the programme, “I was able to locate versions of the story authored by the legendary Wole Soyinka as well as poet Anne Carson, and at each reading I found the story resonated deeply with expressions of worry I hear shared over the media as well as in my own personal interactions regarding what feels like an impending societal crisis, both locally and globally.”

The illustrious dancer Thando Mgobihozi, Joburg Ballet dancers and the UJ Choir in the background.

He describes The Bacchae as “a harrowing tale of what the ancient Greeks called Sparagmos – a festival of violence and mayhem involving the tearing of one another from limb to limb of spilling blood in order to work through periods of upheaval.” He explains that the ancient Greeks devised the genre of tragedy as a way of helping a troubled society navigate towards a catharsis – reaching a point of resetting the city and returning to the ‘right behaviour’.

He started the project by firstly writing a libretto that elaborates on the themes of magic, power, violence and seduction which feature powerfully in the original work to illustrate how these topics could be found in our own contemporary context: the spectre of a political force running roughshod over a systematically disempowered populace, but which is ultimately halted by a saviour figure derisively called ‘a foreigner’ by detractors.

He composed a musical score that hopefully speaks to the pre-eminence of ritual and trance, making deliberate use of brass, percussion and choral, which he argues are meant to reflect our own practices of ritualised worship in the African Christian tradition.

November, the choreographer, realised that for him, it was meant to be a sort of epic ballet. “It’s huge in scope but deeply human,” he emphasises.

“As an artist, I come from many different backgrounds, from traditional African dance, kwaito, pantsula, ballet, contemporary dance and have gone to a performing arts school. A lot of that then informed what felt important at what point.

“I believe this work is about community, and time and time again South Africans have been a strong community that comes together, to fight, to celebrate.”

Bringing it all together, director Pather views The Bacchae as an unbearably tragic story and sums it up as follows: “The slighted and banished God of wine, ecstasy and fertility, Dionysus” (in this instance cast as a woman, the statuesque Kitty Phetla) “returns to Thebes and exacts revenge on the autocratic ruler Pentheus. Swept up in the magical energy of Dionysus (also known as Bacchus), the citizens (who become Bacchae, hence the title) experience ecstasy and freedom as never before. But like all excess, this also has its toll and leads to clashes and violence.”

He notes that the work is variously seen as an ancient tale that demonstrates that disrespect for the Gods will have consequences. And it is also read as a metaphor for, and a warning that, oppressive patriarchal regimes cannot last forever, that they maintain that volcano beneath them at their peril and will explode.

We can all certainly agree that we are living in a world that is dominated by these kinds of excesses, with rulers who are more worried about themselves and their immediate family and friends than about their fellow countrymen.

It’s a glorious proposition to explore and one worthy of the spectacular production in the Joburg Theatre. It’s a chance to see our artists when they come together for a grand collaborative effort on a grand scale.

Personally, however, I felt it lacked that African spirit of originality which I was expecting. Theatre is my area of expertise, but I have always loved especially local music and dance. For me the production was magnificently staged and yet, being the first African choral and ballet of its kind, I was charmed by the performance but left wanting for something more explosively original and African, something that would blow my mind.

Even so, I would urge everyone to go. The fact that something like this was attempted on such a gigantic scale is magnificent. That it didn’t succeed for everyone is what happens in the arts when something new is attempted.

If you’re not constantly shifting boundaries, what’s the point? If anything, this production speaks volumes about the healthy state of the arts.

FROM THE CHARL DU PLESSIS TRIO – WITH LOVE

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DIANE DE BEER

Soloist/accompanist/lecturer Charl du Plessis is all about music. He is constantly travelling all over the world, but everything is about the performance – or occasionally catching one of his cherished artists either in the classical or jazz genres.

His annual classical festival at the Fairtree Atterbury Theatre has become legendary in a very short time because of its innovative programming as well as the acclaimed artists participating.

Where he finds the time for everything he packs into his life, we all wonder, but not for too long, because all of those who share his musical bent, benefit from his crazy schedules which are always varied and adventurous. Similarly, this year, it will be difficult to choose from excellent programming, but it doesn’t happen more than once a year, so be generous and treat yourself.

Here is a rundown of the perfectly planned programming with a fantastic performance celebrating the Fairtree Atterbury Theatre:

Atterbury Klassiek 2026 21-24 May (Presented by Atterbury Trust Fairtree Atterburyteater)

VOX CHAMBER CHOIR: GLASS MUSIC

The Vox Chamber Choir, founded in 2017 by Franco Prinsloo, is a Pretoria-based ensemble of 40 highly skilled singers dedicated to performing and recording Prinsloo’s compositions.

Prinsloo, an internationally acclaimed composer, has played a significant role in shaping South Africa’s contemporary classical music landscape. The choir serves as a professional platform to bring his innovative works to life.

Fairtree Atterbury Theatre Thursday, 21 May 19:30 seatme.co.za (R190, R250) (duration 60 min)

Charl du Plessis Trio & Friends need no introduction. The celebration of two decades on stage reaches its pinnacle in what should be a spectacular concert featuring the trio  alongside a remarkable lineup of guest artists. The programme consists of a curated selection of works drawn from the Trio’s 10 albums, as well as brand-new material performed live for the first time. On offer is both a retrospective and a glimpse into the future, capturing the Trio’s signature blend of classical refinement, jazz energy, and crossover innovation. Joining them on stage are guest artists: percussionist and marimba virtuoso Magda de Vries as well as guitarist and long-time collaborator Juan Oosthuizen and iconic vocalist Nataniël. This is a celebration of musical connection, creativity, and the enduring life force of music itself.

Fairtree Atterbury Theatre Friday, 22 May 19:00 seatme.co.za (R330, R280, R220) (duration 80 min)

Introduction to the Orchestra: A Magical, Interactive Concert Experience for Children at Atterbury Klassiek 2026

Step inside the world of the orchestra in this vibrant and engaging concert-lecture designed for curious minds of all ages. It’s a musical journey through the different sections of the ensemble, uncovering how each family of instruments contributes its own colour, character, and voice. From the shimmering strings to the bold brass, this interactive experience brings the orchestra to life through live demonstrations, familiar musical examples, and moments of audience participation. Discover how composers combine these sounds, explore the building blocks of orchestral music, and gain insight into the creative process behind the music. Conducted by Richard Cock, whose engaging and audience-friendly style has inspired music lovers, this concert promises to be as entertaining as it is enlightening.

Fairtree Atterbury Theatre Saturday, 23 May 11:30 seatme.co.za (R100 children R200 adults) (duration 60 min)

Mozart’s Three Pianos

Three Steinway Grand Pianos will share the stage in an historic Mozart celebration at the Fairtree Atterbury Theatre. The concert will feature the Phoenix Co Orchestra under the baton of maestro Richard Cock. The highlight will be Mozart’s rarely performed Concerto for 3 pianos in F major, K. 242, an exuberant work that showcases the brilliance and interplay of three soloists performing together: distinguished pianists Charl du Plessis, Megan-Geoffrey Prins and Tessa Rhoodie – all faculty members of the University of Pretoria.

The programme also includes Mozart’s sparkling Concerto for 2 pianos in E-flat major, K. 365. Du Plessis will be joined by rising star Hermanus Schmidt, winner of the 2025 Atterbury National Piano Competition and the Hennie Joubert Piano Competition. Originally from Stellenbosch, Schmidt is currently a student of renowned South African pianist Mario Nell.

Fairtree Atterbury Theatre Saturday, 23 May 18:00 Sunday, 24 May 15.00 seatme.co.za (R330, R280, R220) (duration 75 min)

And to top it all, not strictly speaking part of the festival, yet landing with a celebratory blast off:

     
Fairtree Atterbury Theatre’s 15th Birthday Celebration with  Charl du Plessis – My Favourite Things — a personal journey through classical and jazz piano.  18 May | 19:00 | R200       Moving seamlessly between classical piano repertoire and jazz-inflected reinterpretations, Du Plessis creates a musical journey that balances elegance, spontaneity and expressive depth. The programme features works by Brahms, Chopin and Rachmaninoff with imaginative crossover arrangements of Mozart and Beethoven.   Well-loved melodies such as Salut d’amour, Rustle of Spring and Bésame Mucho are reimagined through Du Plessis’ distinctive pianistic lens, where lyricism and rhythmic vitality coexist effortlessly.   Also included are an improvisation on Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz and a sensitive arrangement of the traditional South African song Ntyilo Ntyilo, underscoring Du Plessis’ longstanding engagement with improvisation and musical storytelling.  
BOOK TICKETS

THE OPERA SINGER HAS PERFECT PITCH

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REVIEW BY DIANE DE BEER

THE OPERA SINGER

PRODUCED BY TONY FLACK, TROUPE THEATRE COMPANY AND THE THEATRE ON THE SQUARE

STARRING FIONA RAMSAY AND OWAIN RHYS DAVIES

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JANNA RAMOS-VIOLANTE

VENUE: THEATRE ON THE SQUARE, SANDTON

DATES: 17 to 19 March (7.30 to 9pm), 20 and 21 March 5 to 6.30 pm and 7.30 to 9pm) with similar schedules from 24 to 28 March

A NOTE FROM JANNA RAMOS-VIOLANTE

I wanted to write THE OPERA SINGER because I am deeply interested in the stories we tell about greatness and in what those stories leave out.
We celebrate artists at their peak. We applaud them, photograph them, quote them. We call them icons, divas, legends. But we rarely stay long enough to ask what it cost them to become that, or what remains once the applause has faded. We are very good at consuming brilliance. We are far less comfortable sitting with the human being behind it.
THE OPERA SINGER is a woman who gave everything to her art. Not symbolically. Literally. Her body, her relationships, her youth, her possibility of an ordinary life. She was rewarded with adoration, but adoration is loud and fleeting. Love is quieter. It stays. That distinction became central to the writing of this piece.
Opposite her stands Theo, a journalist. Not a villain. Not a hero. Simply a man who believes, or hopes, that truth can be captured in words. Journalism in this play is not an attack, but a question. Who owns a life once it has been written about?
What happens when private pain becomes public narrative? When does documentation become theft, even when intentions are good?
I am interested in the uneasy space where art, journalism, and celebrity meet. Where the hunger to understand collides with the need to protect. Where truth is slippery, memory unreliable, and identity something that keeps shifting depending on who is looking.
This is not a play about opera. It is a play about devotion. About the choices we make in the name of calling, and the parts of ourselves we quietly abandon along the way. It is about fear, and discipline, and the seduction of being seen. It is also about ageing, and what it feels like to exist in a world that no longer knows what to do with you once your prime has passed.
I hope this piece invites you not just to watch, but to listen. And perhaps to leave thinking a little differently about the lives we admire, the art we consume, and the cost we rarely see.

What joy to have the supreme Fiona Ramsay back on stage in a production written by her regular collaborator Janna Ramos-Violante. And welcome back to her as well on a local stage, living as she has in Europe these past few years. We’ve missed her sharp and incisive voice.

She’s written a thought-provoking play that encourages Ramsay to show her remarkable artistic prowess. There’s so much to admire here, the writing, the staging and the acting – all in ascendancy throughout.

But even more than that, it is a play that’s mesmerizing from start to finish as it draws the curtains on that hidden side of being an artist. Who isn’t intrigued by these backstage secrets, the hidden lives of performers who have to step on stage and share the most intimate details in a story written by someone else?

Through the years Ramsay has given her audience extraordinary characters she has inhabited with her whole body, soul and voice. And this time she brings the flamboyant ageing opera star to glorious life. She looks and plays the part to perfection.

It’s a delightful production that allows the actors (Ramsay and Rhys Davies as Harrington, who brilliantly captures the fan/foil to the irascible fading artist) to play out different scenarios as the artist and the journalist face-off, reflecting the nature of their relationship.

She also shines what she describes as a questioning light on the role of the journalist, who hopes to invite the audience to experience truly great acting or criticize the way a performer might be telling a particular story.

And yet,with the arts always fighting for their very existence, for everyone involved, specifically those with passion, it’s a delicate balance. If you’re not truthful (good or bad) about a particular production, who will trust your guidance in the future?

But who can claim the right to make that judgement? And yet, each one plays a particular role, and hopefully in the end, it’s all driven by a passion for the arts.

As a performer, director and playwright, Ramos-Violante has always had a very strong voice. She interrogates her world with a sharp eye and gives different points of view for her audience to digest. She is intimately familiar with that world and knows all the pitfalls, most of which have no solution but come with the territory, which doesn’t necessarily make it right or wrong. As in many professions, it just is.

She has always had an interesting take on things, writes brilliantly and, in this instance knows her subject. She throws it out there and gives the experienced Ramsay free rein which she claims magnificently.

If you’re interested in theatre and the arts, this is soul food. And especially in these times when everyone is battling for your time and presence, it’s marvelous to witness good old-style theatre with content which has never been more relevant.

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. 

SINGING THE BLUES

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REVIEWED BY DIANE DE BEER

BLUES IN THE NIGHT

Presented by Joburg’s Market Theatre in partnership with Hattiloo Theatre from Memphis Tennessee

CAST: Chastity Alliston, Zan Tarria Edwards, Jamille Hunter and Grant Kee

DATES: Until February 22 at Joburg’s Market Theatre

This Tony-nominated musical states that it celebrates blues, jazz and gospel classics, and their connection is with love, resilience and especially the emotional lives of Black women.

It is described as a scorcher in which the soul of the blues wails out full and strong through hot and torchy numbers. It also weaves the sweet, sexy, and sorrowful stories of three women entangled with a lying, cheating man.

For the record, songs by legends such as Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Alberta Hunter, Jimmy Cox, Ida Cox, and more feature but probably what surprised me more than anything was how little I knew of any of the music performed.

It’s as if we (or perhaps that’s simply the shows I saw) focused on only a few familiar numbers like the title song as so much of the music was unfamiliar to me. But, instead of this being a negative, I found that exciting.

The performers are perfect for this musical challenge. The powerhouse Edwards, with a voice that seems to go on forever, is masterfully complemented by the sweet-toned Hunter and the smoky Alliston, while the solo male singer Kee, carrying the burden for the rest of his absent gender, uses his voice and jaunty presence to do the talking.

Not only was I witnessing an unfamiliar cast, it was also the music that overwhelmed me from start to finish. The first half felt a bit like a journey through the world of blues music, while the second half upped the rhythm as well as the vocals, which gave the audience a nudge to swing with the party.

This is music that was created to illustrate the pain of oppressive times, and like here, music was usually the platform where artists could express themselves. This show was picked specifically for Black History Month, which marks its 100th year in 2026.

The centenary calls for “an honest reflection on memory, healing, culture, as well as the condition and position of Black bodies in a still increasingly divided world.”

This milestone further coincides with The Market Theatre’s 50th anniversary, a powerful connection that presents a rich opportunity for representation and amplification of unheard voices.  It is directed and choreographed by Emma Crystal, with musical direction by Dr. Ashley K. Davis.

And while on relevant dates, this is also the 70th anniversary of the historic August 9,1956 Women’s March, focusing the spotlight even more sharply on that especially neglected group, Black women.

Founder and CEO of Hattiloo Theatre, Ekundayo Bandele, and Artistic Director of The Market Theatre Foundation, Greg Homann, recognised and embraced the common histories between the two theatres in staging socially engaged works that prick at their respective nations’ collective conscience.

“From South Africa to the US, generations of oppressed people have sung their way up against discrimination, racism, subjugation and dispossession as an unstoppable wave. This year as we proudly present Blues in the Night for its African premiere, we also celebrate music’s ability to remind us of our shared humanity despite our fractured times,” shares Homann.

They aim to keep this exchange going – both to the advantage of performers and audiences.

*Playing alongside also at the Market is our own musical theatre classic Marabi, which will be reviewed later this week.

SIMPLY LEAN IN

~ debeernecessities


Review by Diane de Beer

Gerard Bester (left) and Alan Parker

Photographs: John Hogg

SOMETIMES I HAVE TO LEAN IN
Choreographer & Performer: Alan Parker
Director & Performer: Gerard Bester
Dramaturg: Gavin Krastin
Text (“Wallflower”): Gwydion Beynon
VENUE: POPArt Theatre
DATES: Today at 3pm

It’s difficult to let people know in time to catch one of the shows at Joburg’s POPArt, because they have short runs, but that’s also the purpose of their theatre.
It’s for an easy yet discerning theatre crowd who like seeing something unusual and probably not available at a more traditional theatre.
It’s one of the delights of theatre that it offers such diversity. And this particular venue is a great example.
This present production has been around for a while starting as a commissioned work for Dance Umbrella in 2018 before playing at the Live Art Festival in Cape Town and most recently in 2024 for the National Arts Festival in Makanda.
Gerard Bester and Alan Parker created this delightful physical theatre piece playing with ideas that possibly featured in their own lives as ageing performers which begins as soon as you pass through that first theatrical endeavour.
Rather than focusing on age, it’s looking at two performers who have been in the industry for some time and are leaning in to find not only themselves and each other but also a way to be creative – not only on stage but also, hopefully in the world.
There’s a sweetness and a melancholy to their approach which might seemingly come across as quite lowkey, yet delivers a strong emotional punch.
It’s the unusual way they both move, sometimes leaning against a wall or in-between each other or simply trying their best to lean over while being held tightly by the ankles.
It’s about bringing those emotions into the light so that you cannot resist embracing the storytelling as well as the performers.
Perhaps co-director of POPArt, Hayleigh Evans says it best: once she saw it a few years back, she knew she had to present it at POPArt. It’s exactly right for this neighbourhood venue that’s easy to access, casual yet professional in its approach and yet another fabulous way to experience theatre at its most pleasurable.
With Bester and Parker’s experience, their easy approach and their individually original style, it’s yet another way to access life and all the challenges thrown our way.
Simply lean in!

To check out upcoming shows and events:

https://popartcentre.co.za

or

CONTACT:
General: +27 83 245 1040
email: popartjhb@gmail.com

ADDRESS:

POPArt is now located at 59 Dorset Road, Parkwood / Greenside East

INDIVIDUALLY AND AS AN ENSEMBLE THE CATS PERFORMERS PURRED PERFECTLY

~ debeernecessities

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!

THE CENTRE FOR THE LESS GOOD IDEA STRETCHES THE ARTISTIC BOUNDARIES WITH GAY ABANDON

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Photographer: Zivanai Matangi

“It’s about how we become an ensemble, whether we are performers, audience members, or neighbours. It’s how the city performs itself through us, and also how we choose to perform the city. Johannesburg is a place that requires a collective navigation, a mutual reliance, a particular call and responses.” Neo Muyanga, Impressario of the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Maboneng.

Dancer Thulisile Binda

By DIANE DE BEER

The best would have been to attend all the evenings of the 11th season to experience the full impact of what co-founder and director of The Centre, Bronwyn Lace describes as a multi-limbed, complex organism which she believes is what the Less Good Idea has evolved into. “…our arms reaching into various directions but connected to the same robust body. It makes sense for us to share a season at the end of this year, because we have an abundance of new strategies, forms, and artworks to test, show, and celebrate.”

Pianist Jill Richards with vocalist Pertunia Msani.

And it certainly was all of that, exploding with a sense of creative abandon in two hours of exuberant performance which ranged from the glorious musically driven showcase by classically trained improviser Jill Richards who performed magnificently with the Benin drummer, percussionist, composer and arranger Angelo Moiustapha accompanied by the melodic voice of Pertunia Msaniiwith Marcus Neustetter’s digital storytelling adding yet another dimension to the experience. The musicianship was breathtaking.

It set the tone for what was to come as the audience moved to William Kentridge’s studio to experience a collection of mindblowing artists, starting with the spiritually immersive Vincent Mantsoe, one of our finest choreographers/dancers in one of his rare local appearances. Translike in his movement and tearing at the soul of those witnessing his deep level of engagement, the evening merged from one artist to another as Kentridge stepped from one stage to the next as he expressed his creativity with body and soul.

It was all about the merging of art and movement, Moving the Mark, as the event was titled, exploring the relationship between visual art and dance. What they wanted to achieve was to explore the relationship between these unusual pairings and what would emerge.

Vincent Mantsoe in action with percussionist Micca Manganye

How would the pure art of collaboration determine new creative decisions for an audience to experience and absorb? What happens when a dancer like Mantsoe mimics the ink stains of an artist like Kentridge, or from a different vantage, when the painter choreographs their brushstrokes?

Artist Penny Siopis took to the air in almost trapeze-like fashion, painting her canvas on the floor from up high while choreographer/dramaturg Shannel Winlock-Pailman worked her magic below in mesmerizing fashion, the two artists in total union while expressing their heightened emotions.

All the while, the musical accompaniment captured the experience of the moment, enveloping the audience in the round, some wrapped in black bags to protect them from the explosive expression of art as artists flung paint creatively with fearsome flair.

The Centre for the Less Good Idea is all about the collective voice expressed in collaborative pairings, artists who work in different mediums but have creativity and exploration that binds them, pushing the boundaries, trying different ways of making new work to excite themselves as artists while also challenging and stimulating audiences constantly searching for art and creativity exploring the evolving world we live in.

Curator Neo Muyanga (left) and Kentridge (right, in the left corner) choreographing with brushstrokes while Mantsoe is on stage following the moves.

It’s exciting when artists go beyond the expected, and are given free rein to explore their storytelling genres. How can they beat that drum differently? Given the chance to fail is often the best way to reach excellence but the restrictions are many. And more than anything, it is the encouragement to stretch far beyond the boundaries, to take that leap and to experience the beginning of experiments which are allowed to grow and flourish.

This first sold-out performance of the 11th season proved that the audience is willing and determined to experience artists moving the mark. The rest of the season sounded as extraordinary and my wish would have been to witness the full week of extraordinary creativity encouraged to dare to go beyond the expected.

How blessed are Gauteng audiences (who showed their appreciation) to experience these glorious experiments inspired and empowered by William Kentridge who could have staged them anywhere in the world. Kentridge gives us the opportunity to grow together and to expand our idea of what anything and everything is. Step into the void and see what happens comes to mind.