POPArt Centre celebrates 5 years of tangy, razor-sharp theatre
POPArt Theatre & Performing Arts Centre celebrated their 5th year in existence this weekend with another instalment of 24 Hours in The City. At 6pm on Friday evening, six writers randomly drew a different genre and began writing six short scripts. After a speed dating session of sorts between writers, directors and actors, the pieces were cast and rehearsals started on Saturday morning, continuing until 6pm that evening. The end products were a scintillating adventure in dreams, heartache, nostalgia, decadence, laughter and insanity. Split personalities born from repressed and unfulfilled dreams comfort, and compete for first place in the mind of the main character in A Blemished Mind. In Queens of Yeoville two very different women try very hard to resurrect long-shattered dreams by reminiscing and resenting. Velvet Curtain, a fabulously kitsch soap opera parody featuring Baker Street (UK) as theme song, had the audience in stitches with closeted lesbian lovers, dangerous liaisons, amnesia and attempted murder. Sound and light effects used in the paranormal noir Leila proved that a stage production can raise the hair on your neck as well as any mystery thriller on screen. Madness flowered onstage in Who is Michaelangelo?. The audience looks into a flat where a pair of lovers has deteriorated into delusion, isolated irreality and hurtful derision. Concluding the evening, Fat Cat – The Musical thrilled the audience with brilliantly exaggerated characters and absurdist metaphors for addiction. Clever, sharp tragicomedy that sidles up to the audience with an ominous sexiness. Founders Hayleigh Evans and Orly Shapiro have created one of the most edgy cultural spaces in Johannesburg. From the small, poster-clad entranceway that also houses the bar, to the dark performance space where you sit within reach of the acts, POPArt is brimming with all the raw and gritty shimmer of the underground art scene. If that’s something you thought only existed in Paris, London, New York or Berlin, think again – you can find it here at POPArt. For upcoming shows and events go to https://popartcentre.co.za/ or follow them on: Facebook: P.O.P. Art Twitter: @POPArtJHB...
This is cashmink: FRAAS – The Scarf Company Opens Flagship Store in Joburg
FRAAS – The Scarf Company opened its South African flagship store Wednesday evening in The Mall of Africa in Midrand, Johannesburg. The name may be unfamiliar to many, but the company is the largest manufacturer of scarves in the world. The word ‘manufacturer’, however, does not do their craft justice. In fact, words generally fail to fully describe the creations you’ll find in the FRAAS boutique. Painstakingly prepared fabrics are finely woven into a range of scarves, wraps, ponchos and ruanas. Each item will enthrall you with a delicacy and a softness so incredible that you will find it virtually impossible to keep your hands to yourself. As you stroke over the collection of cashmere, silk and virgin wool, it feels as though the fabric caresses you back. The FRAAS House is built on a near-religious passion for textiles. Established in Germany in 1880 by Valentin Fraas, the company has well over 100 years of innovation experience, woven into every new item. Andreas Schmidt, executive director and 5th generation head of the company, recounts how this continuous innovation process led to the creation of their unique, trademarked fabric known as cashmink: “We didn’t set out to make this or that. But we have always been working towards creating, towards discovering, something new and wonderful. When the weavers first presented this fabric, soft as cashmere with the sheen of mink, someone said ‘This is cashmink’.” Cashmink® is a synthetic fabric and no animals are harmed in order to obtain the raw materials, making it a sustainable and ethical alternative to real furs. If you’re bored with simply hanging your scarf around your neck, join FRAAS’s online community and keep an eye out for their new lookbook featuring SA fashionistas and styled by Joburg mode-maker Kennedy Molekwa: Facebook: FRAAS Twitter: @fraas_scarf Instagram: @fraas.scarf...
SA Taxi makes some noise to draw attention to those with hearing disabilities
Imagine what it would be like not to hear a sound – no music, no voices, no laughter. Mphosho Shabangu doesn’t have to imagine it – he lives it every day due to a severe hearing disability. Mphosho’s family realised that something was wrong when he stopped responding to their voices at the age of about 18 months and showed no further signs of speech development. Shocked and confused, they were initially at a loss to help him. Fortunately, a family member who also had a deaf child suggested certain medical care and education options. The family had to adapt to this difficult situation, firstly by finding new ways to communicate with Mphosho. Although his family learnt to use sign language, Mphosho was largely isolated from other children and people, and experienced much frustration. Mphosho was given hearing aids at school, but he had to return these at the end of his school career. A lack of financial resources has kept him in deafening silence since then. His isolation has continued, and many opportunities have been outside his reach. Even free movement is not fully possible for him as he runs the risk of walking in front of approaching cars or injuring himself in the depot where he works as a mechanic for SA Taxi. Sadly, people have taken advantage of his disability to abuse or steal from him. Because he does not speak, he is unable to assert himself or easily ask for help. His brother Bheki has taken the selfless decision to live with him and keep a watchful eye over his vulnerable brother. Bheki says that even the slightest restoration of hearing would phenomenally change Mphosho’s life. He would be able to engage with people, make friends, stand up for himself and grow his self-esteem. Most touchingly, he would be able to communicate with his grandmother, who cannot use sign language and has never been able to freely communicate with him. As part of our Making a Difference initiative, we have decided to help one of our own and support Mphosho on his journey towards hearing again. If you would like to help us cover the costs of medical visits, hearing aids and speech classes, please make a donation to the SA Taxi Foundation: Account Name: SA Taxi Foundation NPC Account Number: 06 147 0848 Account Type: Business Current Account Branch Code: 007205 Bank: Standard Bank Reference: Make Some Noise If your organisation would like to get involved on a deeper level with our initiative, please contact Nomty Malevu at...
The SA Fashion Week SS16 Collections – Part 6: Athleisure, Edge & Glamour
The common problem with fashion writing is that we either overlook the most brilliantly conceived and painstakingly produced elements of a collection – or we ramble on, praising, criticising, fainting and gasping to a point where it’s no longer clear whether we’re talking about coats, shoes or an obscure branch of 19th Century philosophy. So we set ourselves this challenge for the SAFW SS16 Collections: reveal the essence of each collection – in less than 50 words. AfrikanSwiss SS16 A hardcore collection with lots of denim, stiffened leather and heavy zipping. Harsh paint splash detail, black ‘oil streaks’, exaggerated patchwork and rough dye patterns on overalls and jumpsuit-styles come together to create blue-collar chic. Esnoko SS16 Relatively plain and conventional arrangements are cut from fabric printed with kaleidoscope patterns. Old school lines and newspaper boy caps contribute to the fanciful mood of the collection and remind of carnivals and colourful townships. Touch of Bling (ToVch) SS16 Looks from 80s New York street-style (think Beastie Boys) gradually merge into sleeker, classical cuts with African hints. Sharp, cool and very much for the night. D.O.P.E. SS16 The perfect streetwear collection for residents who live in cities where temperatures skyrocket in summer. It’s nonchalant, unconcerned and breezy. The racquetball prints on pale colours are fun and pretty without being childish, and the cuts comprise the best of shapely athletic...
Tomorrowland UNITE Opens 5 New Stargates
The dream-makers of Tomorrowland have opened 5 new portals to throw the biggest party in the universe. Sixteen years ago, the Concorde Millennium flights bent space and time with the edgiest New Year’s Eve party idea ever – board a flight in Paris at 00:15 on the 1st of January 2000, fly across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound, and land in New York at 21:53 on the 31st of December 1991. Like Concorde, the Tomorrowland Festival has been offering partygoers a unique experience that transcends boundaries, and this year they too will bend and meld time and space with an expanded Tomorrowland UNITE. On the 23rd of July, a satellite connection will livestream the Festival in Belgium to Colombia, Mexico, Germany, Israel, India, Japan and South Africa. The Love, Unity, Madness and Magic of the Tomorrowland main stage will be beamed from De Schorre across three continents and several time zones. Live local DJ sets will also be streamed between the different UNITE sites and the main event in De Schorre. The connection will go live at 20:30 CET, when the Colombians are finishing lunch, and terminate at 00:00 CET when dawn breaks in Japan. The mythic and miraculous Mirror to Tomorrowland will ‘hang’ at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg. The full international and local line-up as well as ticket sale details will be announced on Monday, the 16th of May. Take a sneak peek into the Mirror at http://www.tomorrowland.com/en/unite if you need any more convincing that this will be one of the most spectacular, mythic, music dream-experiences that the world has ever...
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