Soccer Cinema, Children's Theatre, Political Art, Die Antwoord, Fynbos Gardening

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

Sometimes there seems to be some kind of binding theme or spirit to the events planned for the week ahead in Cape Town, some co-incidence based on content or geography or mood.  And sometimes there's something happening that is so exciting that all by itself it creates the spirit of the week.  And then there are weeks, like this one, when there's a fairly random collection of events that need an introductory note to string them together.......




SOCCER CINEMA AT THE LABIA

The Soccer Cinema Festival is coming to the Labia, screening what they promise to be "the best soccer documentary films ever made."  The preview night this Friday features two films that approach the subject from really interesting angles, and the first one sounds particularly worth seeing. It's a BBC documentary called The Game of their Lives  which tells a  David and Goliath story from the 1966 World Cup, about the unknown team from North Korea who knocked the favourites Italy out of the quarter finals.  It uses archival footage and interviews with the seven surviving players (in the picture below), and highlights  the relationship between the North Koreans and their host town Middleborough.
Later the same evening there's Offside, " a mixture of comedy and catastrophe,"  about a group of young woman in Iran who are such passionate football fans that they dress up as men and risk arrest to get into a match. 
Labia Cinema    021 465 5805
Friday 4 June   18h15 and  20h15
Cost: R 30 per screening

AESOP'S FABLES AT THE FUGARD

On the children's theatre front, there's a bit of light on the horizon after countless years of cheap Noddy-style adaptations at our mainstream theatres every single holiday.  Isango Portobello's production of Aesop's Fables is previewing at the Fugard Theatre  from 4 June, with music, direction, design and acting from the team that created the celebrated Magic Flute and the Mysteries. In this version Aesop, who is a Greek slave, is joined by the animal character of his fables as he journeys to his freedom.

There's a nice co-incidence between the launch of this show and a three-day workshop to be facilitated by Janice Honeyman this weekend on the theme of the adaptation of children's literature and stories to stage.  The workshop is hosted by ASSITEJ South Africa (an organization dedicated to children's theatre); it runs from 4 to 6 June, costs R700 and has space for only ten participants. For more information contact Lunga at artsadmin@mweb.co.za.

Aesop's Fables preview dates
4 – 9 June   19h00
R70  Children Under 12: Half-price on all tickets




POLITICAL ART AT MICHAEL STEVENSON

An exhibition of work by local and foreign artists "characterised by a heartfelt yet nuanced approach to politics" opens at the Michael Stevenson this Thursday.   This is Our Time features artists Jane Alexander (born 1959, South Africa), Marc Bijl (1970, The Netherlands), Shepard Fairey (1970, USA), Meschac Gaba (1961, Benin), Simon Gush (1981, South Africa), Thomas Hirschhorn (1957, Switzerland), Anton Kannemeyer (1967, South Africa), Natasja Kensmil (1973, The Netherlands), MADEYOULOOK (founded 2009, South Africa), Sabelo Mlangeni (1980, South Africa), Zanele Muholi (1972, South Africa), Lucia Nimcova (1977, Slovakia), Serge Alain Nitegeka (1983, Burundi), Berni Searle (1964, South Africa), Penny Siopis (1953, South Africa), Frohawk Two Feathers (1976, USA), Akram Zaatari (1966, Lebanon).

Opening Thursday 3 June  18h00
Curator Joost Bosland will give a walkabout of the exhibition on Friday 4 June at 11h00. Cost is R20; all are welcome.




DIE ANTWOORD

For my two known readers (and any others) who are fans, a reminder of the last performance of Die Antwoord before they leave for an overseas tour.  The group became famous overnight through the enormous YouTube success of  their song Enter the Ninja; their genre is "zef-rave rap" which I'm told is distinguished by "huge amounts of Cape slang."

3 Arts Theatre, 260 Main Rd, Plumstead
Saturday 5 June   19h00
Cost: R100 (online) R120 (door)
www.computicket.com
www.dieantwoord.com




FYNBOS GARDENS

I'm glad that the Cape Horticultural Society welcomes visitors to their meetings, because next Monday, the 7th, they are hosting a talk that sounds very useful and inspiring to the gardeners among us.  The title is "Fynbos Gardening; Common Myths, Lessons from Nature and Practical Tips for Success."  The speaker is Marijke Honig, a well known landscape designer and specialist in indigenous gardens. One of her works is a roof garden at the Civic Centre that I didn't know about till now, with seven courtyards designed as different South African veld-type landscapes; visits to this garden can be arranged by calling James van As at 021 4001224.

Monday 7 June  20h00
The Athenaeum, Boundary Terraces (next to WPCC), Campground Road, Newlands. 
Entrance fee, which includes tea, is R15.00 for visitors.  There is no need to book.

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  Natural swimming pool with Cape Town views
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Abdullah Ibrahim, Star Speakers, Godot, New Plays, Politics, Biodiversity, Fashion and Art

THREE HIGH-POWERED TALKS TODAY

1.
If you are free at lunch-time today, there's a talk at UWC by big star intellectual Mahmood Mamdani.    Mamdani became familiar to many of us when he lived in Cape Town and taught at UCT in the late 90s; after that he became Professor of Government at Columbia.  He specializes in the study of African history and politics and today he addresses the topic “From Human Rights to Human Wrongs: An alternative to Nuremburg as a paradigm.”
Monday 24 12h30 for 13h00
Library Auditorium  University of the Western Cape  Modderdam Road   Bellville

2.
Later today, some more high-powered talk in a debate about Israel between Steven Friedman, visiting Professor of Politics at Rhodes University and Dennis Davis, Judge of the SA High Court.  I  was impressed with Dennis Davis's deeply felt piece in last week's Mail and Guardian about the Goldstone affair and the tensions between universalism and particularism in the Jewish tradition   http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-05-14-the-death-of-a-communal-mind
 The Book Lounge, cnr Roeland & Buitenkant Sts   021 462 2425
17h30 for 18h00
Cost: Free


3.
"My Life in the Gush of Boasts" is the mysterious title of a  public lecture by British artist Phil Collins at Michaelis this afternoon.  Not to be confused with the musician, Collins was short-listed for the Turner Prize in 2006, and is described on the Tate Modern website as "instigating unpredictable situations  (and operating) within forms of low-budget television and reportage-style documentary to address the discrepancy between reality and its representations."
Monday 24    17h30
Commerce Lecture Theatre, Hiddingh Campus   021 480 7170




ABDULLAH IBRAHIM AND THE WDR BIG BAND

Book early for this one - a once-off Cape Town concert by the great Abdullah Ibrahim performing with Grammy Award-winning WDR Big Band from Cologne.  They are playing compositions from the new CD Bombella which has had rapturous reviews.
Re-printed here is one such review, from the Guardian:

....Ibrahim, now 75, is teamed here with Cologne's fine WDR orchestra, and the session is in part a dedication to British arranger Steve Gray – who died last year, but whose Ellingtonesque reworkings of the South African's classic themes are modest masterpieces. In working with Ibrahim, Gray made the sound of a jazz orchestra veer between that of a Salvation Army band and a Saturday-night Harlem jam-session, thus embracing the composer's principal influences: church hymns and 1940s American swing. The smoky sax melody of Song for Sathima represents Ibrahim's soulful lyricism at its best; the gleeful strut of Mandela emerges first in a piccolo solo over breezy swing and ends up sounding like Ellington, Basie and Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath bands combined; and when the orchestra picks up the insinuating harmonic shift in the brooding District Six it tingles the spine....

29 May    20h00
Auditorium 1, CTICC
Cost: R 200  from Computicket
021 410 5000




DAMON GALGUT'S WAITING FOR GODOT AT THE LITTLE

Don't miss this Godot, it's wonderful,  a great masterpiece illuminated by brilliant acting.  The balance between comedy and tragedy, absurdity and reality, is so beautifully judged, and the great double act of Oscar Petersen and David Isaacs as Vladimir and Estragon  brings layers of the relationship to the fore.   My only quibble was with the costume and lighting design which seemed too crude to match the rest of this wonderful work.

Little Theatre Hiddingh Campus
18 May to 5 June
19h30  Tuesday to Saturday
(021) 480-7129
Tickets: R85




BEST OF IKHWEZI AT THE BAXTER STUDIO

Every year the Baxter holds the Ikhwezi Theatre Festival for new and indigenous work, and a few years ago they established the follow-up "Best of Ikhwezi" season.   A  number of the winning plays have gone on to win accolades on mainstream stages and festivals.  This year's two winners are both autobiographical one-handers, and are on as a double bill for two weeks at the Studio. 
A Plague of Heroes is written by Durban-born Vusi Mazibuko, directed by Maurice Podbrey, and acted by Thami Mbongo.  It tells Vusi's story of growing up in Kwamashu and falling under the spell of the local crime syndicates, the ‘heroes' of the township.
Allie Pad Funny Worcester is directed by Rob van Vuuren with writer and actress Shimmy Isaacs, who won the competition last year as well with Dens With Me.  She uses stand-up comedy and physical theatre to tell the story of "her journeys as a confused coloured woman" after leaving her home town of Worcester to pursue her dream of being on stage.

Tuesday to Saturday 19h00
Baxter Theatre Studio

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE CINE CLUB

Alliance Francaise's cine-club features a long documentary this Wednesday about the history of Elle magazine.   It looks fun enough for anyone the slightest bit interested in magazines and fashion to spend an evening in this lovely venue, watching the movie for free with a drink or some good food from the bar.
Wednesday 26    19h00

Alliance Française, 155 Loop Street
Free entrance

TALK ABOUT THE BOTANICAL DIVERSITY OF ANGOLA

In Kirstenbosch's Free Wednesday Talk series, one of their horticulturists Adam Harrower will give a talk entitled Into the Wilds of Angola  which will "highlight some of the spectacular scenery and plant life that we witness in this rapidly changing and biologically rich country."   Angola remains the most unknown territory in southern Africa for most of us, and I'm curious to go to this talk and get some impression of the country.

Wednesday 26     10h30 - 11h30
Lecture Hall (Gate 2), Kirstenbosch NBG
Free entry.  Booking is not necessary

FROM PIERNEEF TO GUGULECTIVE AT SANG

I finally saw the re-hang of the National Gallery this week, whirling through this massive exhibition much too briefly -  it will take several visits to see it thoroughly, so I can't engage too profoundly with the different opinions it has generated.  But I can recommend it as essential viewing, whatever the overall verdict -  there's lots that's beautiful enough to stop you in your tracks, and it feels like a huge relief to see the whole space refreshed!

Waiting for Godot, Art Books on Sale, Good Week for Books

CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL IS ON HOLIDAY FOR A WEEK

so here the briefest of notes.

WAITING FOR GODOT AT THE LITTLE THEATRE

The one event most definitely not to be missed in Cape Town this week is  Waiting for Godot at the Little Theatre, directed by the writer Damon Galgut, with  Oscar Petersen and David Isaacs as Vladimir and Estragon, and Martin le Maitre and Graham Weir as Pozzo and Lucky.

Little Theatre Hiddingh Campus
18 May to 5 June
19h30  Tuesday to Saturday
(021) 480-7129
Tickets: R85



INTERNATIONAL MUSEUMS DAY

On Tuesday 18 May  visitors will have free access to all Iziko Museums in Cape Town (except for the Castle.)  Worth going to is the sale by Iziko Arts Collections Library of a wide range of exhibition catalogues, books, journals, pamphlets and posters spanning many different genres, at the SA National Gallery just for this one day from 10h00 to 15h00.

 A GOOD WEEK FOR BOOKS

The Book Lounge hosts two of SA's most interesting writers,Ivan Vladisclavic (Monday) and Ingrid Winterbach (Friday), plus Muriel Barbery (Tuesday), French writer whose novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog has been a huge best seller.
17h30 for 18h00.

The East City Precinct, Solo Performances, Intimate Shows

THE EAST CITY PRECINCT

There's a talk on Tuesday called Taking a Fresh Look at the East City, hosted by the East City Design District initiative.  The East City refers to the precinct where Cape Town's central city meets District Six, an area including the Castle, the Granary, the City Hall, the Grand Parade, the District Six Museum.  Right at the moment, this part of town is a miracle of a wonderful place --  full of historical buildings, the museum, a few design institutions, the bookshop, the new theatre, a venerable tavern or two, businesses old and new --   all growing organically around the open, undeveloped spaces where the layers of the past are not covered over.   So I quake in my boots  a little when I read the generic language used to describe this week's public talk: "Nick Leon of Design London and Lorelle Bell, coordinator of the World Design Capital 2014, present a talk on on how elements of creativity, innovation, design and media contribute towards a world class city."   I hope my fears are unfounded; in any case they are a good reason to go to the talk, and engage if possible with the City initiative which hosts it.

Tuesday 11       17h30
Townhouse Hotel, Corporation St     
Free of charge     021 557 0246     Bronwyn@capetownpartnership.co.za

LOOKING FOR ERIC AT THE ALLIANCE FRANCAISE

It feels as if Cape Town is drawing a breath between the very busy Easter season behind us, and the hectic  goings-on expected in the World Cup month ahead.  Evita Bezuidenhout, bless her, has declared that her place in Darling will be a "soccer-free zone" for the duration.  A few venues meanwhile have started featuring soccer-themed material -  like the Alliance Francaise who this Tuesday will launch a photographic exhibition about amateur football in South Africa, and  and on the same evening will show the Ken Loach film Looking for Eric.   Reviewers were charmed by this 2009 comedy about a postman whose life is in crisis and who turns to his football hero, "famously philosophical" Eric Cantona.

Alliance Francaise  155 Loop Street
Tuesday 11    18h30 exhibition launch, thereafter the film
Entrance free

BOOK LAUNCH: EGGS TO LAY, CHICKENS TO HATCH

On Tuesday Chris van Wyk will be at the Book Lounge - another Eastern City landmark - to launch his new book Eggs to Lay, Chickens to Hatch.  It's  the sequel to Shirley, Goodness and Mercy, his funny and immediate memoir of growing up in Riverlea, which has been a best-seller in South Africa.   The focus of this volume is the young Chris's relationship with Agnes, the Zulu housekeeper, and the title comes from the catch-phrase she would use when she was pressed for time.  Van Wyk is a wonderful raconteur in real life as well as  on the page so this should be fun.

Tuesday 11    17h30 for 18h00
The Book Lounge

AT THE CASTLE FORGE

The Castle, a major landmark of the East City,  is the venue over the next two weeks for daily demonstrations of the ancient art of blacksmithing, presented by the Forge from Montebello Centre.  Having spent some time at the Forge (when my son chose it as the subject for a matric art work a year or two ago) I can recommend it as quite a thrilling  process to watch.
Monday to Saturday until 25 May  9h00 to 14h00
Castle of Good Hope, Darling St      R 20
Information    021 686 8494       nicolas.lehmann@yahoo.co.uk
www.forge.co.za

 IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRASSENS

For one known reader (at least) I include this information about an evening for Brassens fans.   There's a three-course meal featuring wines and specialities from Sete in the south of France (where Brassens came from) costing R150, and later in the evening a free concert. 

Alliance Francaise   155 Loop St
Wednesday 12     19h00 food    20h00 concert

CLASSICAL CONCERT

On Saturday there's an outstanding classical concert by Russian pianist Katya Apekisheva who has received some  illustrious awards including the London Philharmonic Orchestra's "Soloist of the Year."   She plays solo at the Baxter Concert Hall a programme including Chopin, Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky.  

Baxter Concert Hall
Saturday 15 May    20h00




ANDREW BUCKLAND AT THE BAXTER

Here is this week's programme for virtuoso physical actor Andrew Buckland's three shows at the Baxter:
Monday 10  and Tuesday 11 May Between the Teeth
Wednesday 12  and Thursday 13 May Mistero Buffo
Friday 14  and Saturday 15 May The Ugly Noo Noo

Golden Arrow Studio    Baxter Theatre
20h15   021 685 7880     www.baxter.co.za

GAETAN SCHMID AT THE INTIMATE

Gaetan Schmid, another physical performer extraordinaire, is doing his solo show Rumpsteak, set in the kitchen of a French restaurant at rush hour, where split-second timing is all!  This is billed as the "final helping" of this show which has had a number of return runs.

The Intimate Theatre
11 to 29 May  20h00

TABULA RASA: A SPACE TO WATCH

Hidden away at the corner of Hope and Canterbury streets in Gardens is this new theatre, which I've included here mainly because the concept is so appealing -  a laundry by day, theatre by night. Also the name:  Tabula Rasa.  It opened its doors at the end of last year as "an intimate performance venue with an atmosphere as fresh as the clean laundry."    If you like cabaret-style shows, this week and next they have pianist/singer Godfrey Johnson with "stories of crime and passion." 

 072 112 1566 or e-mail bookings@yawazzi.com. 

RAMKRAAL PRISON: A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

"A 115 year old prison becomes a haven amidst an uncertain future."  These photographs by young photographer George Hugo are on exhibition at the Cape Town School of Photography till the end of  this week.  They are taken in Ramkraal, an old prison building outside of Bloemfontein - for nearly a hundred years a prison, now a home for "numerous souls on the fringe of society, including Zimbabwean refugees, artists and crafters, homeless children and Rastafarians."   Have a look at the slide show of this project on the photographer's web-site - I found it a very eloquent and powerful piece of visual story-telling, and the  building itself is extraordinary.
http://georgehugo.com/
Cape Town School of Photography   4th Floor 62 Roeland Street (East City again) 

021 465 2152   info@ctsp.co.za

MAKING PRINTS @ THESE FOUR WALLS

On Friday I'm planning to go to the opening of Making Prints @ These Four Walls, an exhibition of prints by Jill Trappler, Eleanora Hofer, Judith Conway and Penny Rivett-Carnac.  The image below is from their invitation.


These Four Wall 169 Lower Main Road   Observatory 021 447 7393
Opening Friday 14   18h00   Till 5 June

Taking it Easy

AN APOLOGY

Dear Readers, I have succumbed to a miserable bug and am writing in the midst of sniffing and sneezing etc. - so please excuse a rather minimal blog today. 
It anyway seemed like a low-key week  (apart from the high energy performances of Andrew Buckland) and  I was thinking it would be a good time to take an art day and catch up on some on-going  exhibitions. 




ANDREW BUCKLAND AT THE BAXTER

At the Baxter  a season of three one-man plays by the amazing physical theatre performer Andrew Buckland starts this week - the legendary Ugly Noo Noo, Between The Teeth (both written by the actor), and  Mistero Buffo by the Nobel Prize-winning Italian theatre maker Dario Fo.   The pieces alternate on different nights so it'll take quite a commitment to see them all; my first choice will be Mistero Buffo, only because I've seen the other work (though long ago.)  The Fo piece "by distilling the popular and irreverent elements of medieval mystery plays, functions as a political and cultural onslaught against the repressions of religious institutions and landowning classes throughout history...  The work is sophisticated yet simple, wildly physical and extremely funny."

 Performance schedule for this week
 Tuesday     4     The Ugly Noo Noo
 Wednesday 5     The Ugly Noo Noo
 Thursday 6     Between the Teeth
 Friday 7       Mistero Buffo
 Saturday 8      Mistero Buffo

All performances are at 20:15




OPEN DIALOGUE: CURRENT REALITIES IN ZIMBABWE

On Wednesday there's another Open Dialogue organized by the Wolpe Trust  (see notes from last week's blog), this time on the subject of Current Realities in Zimbabwe.  The speakers will be Ben Cousins and Tendai Murisa on "Impact of Land Reform", Brian Raftopoulos on "Political Dynamics" and Richard Saunders on "Blood Diamonds."

Wednesday 5    17h30 for 18h00
Kramer Building, Lecture Theatre 3, Middle Campus, UCT




POETRY LAUNCH: KILIMANJARO ON MY LAP

To be launched at Kalk Bay Books this week is Kilimanjaro On My Lap, a collection of poems by Rwandan writer Epiphanie Mukasano, now living with her family as a refugee in Cape Town.  It is edited by wonderful poet Gabeba Baderoon who will also speak at the launch.  Baderoon's own voice as a poet is evident in these words about this collection:
"In Kilimajaro on My Lap Epiphanie Mukasano has written a collection of poetry as sanctuary.  The stories and images recounted here are honest in their recollection of suffering, yet do not dwell there nor seek too quick a solace.  Indeed, they feel both necessary and serene.  In the collection, the speakers contemplate the buffeting political forces that have displaced them and the distances they have travelled since.  Even more than war, the poems reveal the breathtaking power of poverty to render people invisible."

Thursday  6       18h00 for 18h30
Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay
books@kalkbaybooks.co.za    021 788 2266.




AN ART TOUR IN WOODSTOCK AND THE GARDENS

David Koloane at Goodman Gallery Cape

Studies of "the friction, bustle and shifting landscape of Johannesburg's city centre" plus  new work "that engages playfully with soccer frenzy sweeping the country."
29 April - 27 May


Anton Kannemeyer and Zanele Muholi at the Michael Stevenson

Anton Kannemeyer: A Dreadful Thing Is About To Occur
This exhibition explores through Kannemeyer's trademark cartoon and comic book imagery "an array of fears, misconceptions  and stereotypes that polarize the debate around race in South Africa on a daily basis"

Zanele Muholi: Indawo Yami
"In 'Indawo Yami', which mean 'my place' or 'my space'  Zanele Muholi continues to explore the issues around and implications of being black and queer, which have in recent weeks brought her work under the spotlight when it was denounced by the Minister of Arts and Culture as 'pornographic' and 'offensive'. In contrast the work on show offers a variety of  subtle interpretations of gay culture."
22 April - 29 May



Us by Various Artists at Iziko South African National Gallery

"Us, curated by Bettina Malcomess and Simon Njami is a continuation of a show that took place in 2009 at Johannesburg Art Gallery. It takes as it starting point the xenophobic violence of May 2008 and focusses on the the 'twin' - that which is the same but different - as its central motif.... It also reflects on the notion of the African Contemporary itself, as well as the museum's own display of traditional and art objects....At Iziko South African National Gallery, it forms an integral part of the re-hang of the collection, 1910 to 2010: from Pierneef to Gugulective."

15 April - 15 October

 

Subtle Thresholds  at Iziko South African Museum, extended till the end of July.
"Fritha Langerman spent over two years developing this exhibition and has combined thousands of elements - including (her own) new artworks and artefacts from the Iziko South African Museum, the University of Cape Town and the Wits Adler Museum - to examine the historic and current visual representation of disease."
Until 31 July 
Enquiries: Olga Jeffries 021 481 3897     ojeffries@iziko.org.za