Recipe for Heating up a Cold Jozi Night
Thanks to Heather for her tips on how to stay warm this winter but still get out on the town: After hibernating for the past couple of months, I decided to break the cycle on one of the coldest weeks Jozi has had so far! But I think I got it right…. A romantic dinner for two, some red hot jazz and drinks with friends AND I managed to do it all in one place! Yes, I would say that the most important ingredient for this recipe is The Market Theatre. That old lady is like going home to Mom’s cooking, and she’s made foie gras. Gramadoelas welcomed, with their buffet and red wine to warm the senses. How fabulous to roll out of the restaurant at 19h58 and walk over to the theatre and seated by 20h00. Currently on at The Market Theatre is the Total MIAGI festival 2007. No MIAGI is not a Japanese Karate Master, MIAGI stands for Music Is A Good Investment. Indeed. On until the 27th of May – all around Jozi Last night we caught all female Jazz Quartet (but there were only three – best I get Nancy Drew on this). Think Erikah Badu, crossed with Cassandra Wilson and through in a bit of Billy Holiday and you kinda get what I’m talking about. They were supported, and I mean supported, by their band. You really go the feeling the band enjoyed making music with them, they had a lovely rapport. Melanie, Denys and Mandisa each took their turn to shine on the stage graced with rose-petals. There were a couple of technical hitches – the techie on stage adjusting microphones and a bit of confusion as to the playlist, but somehow it didn’t bother me. It seemed charming and gave insight into them as people. I think they love what they do. After a quick wine during the interval, the extremely talented Jonathan Crossley was on with his band of merry men from Knysna. Now this is someone who plays the guitar as if he was making love to it. He seems to enter a state of transcendence when he plays and up to a point if felt almost voyeuristic watching him. This performance was hampered by what seemed like quite a big technical glitch, in that (and please forgive my basic music knowledge) something came loose on the amplifier so as the band was really getting into their session, there was an irritating thumping from the amp. It was very distracting, and marred some fabulous piano work by Martin Wolfaard. You could see this was almost painful to Jonathan. The...
Represent Review: Triptych @ the Market
Thanks to Debs our resident Represent theatre guru for her time and words: A triptych (pronounced “trip-tick) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into three sections. The central panel is the most important one, and this is flanked on either side by two lesser but related paintings. The whole is intended to be greater than the sum of the parts. Wikipedia This aptly named play is currently showing at the Market Theatre. It is a play about three women: a wife, a daughter and a mistress. Each is in love with the same man: the husband, father and lover. To continue the theme, I suppose that it is appropriate that I should be in ‘three minds’ about the play. Let me break it down… Edna O’Brien’s writing is clever, funny; ironic and heartbreaking. This makes for a very solid script and foundation for the show, giving the play a wonderful balance of laughs and tragedy. The design, both for production (Nadya Cohen) and costume (Margo Fleisch), is innovative and interesting, yet functional.The configuration of the performance space, a passage with audience on either side, creates the illusion of constant transition and passing of time. The costumes have been carefully selected to give an insight into the characters through their individual style of dress. The star of the show, and the main character/central panel, is brilliantly portrayed by Terry Norton. She is captivating. She has a very light touch, allowing us the luxury of choosing how we feel about her character. She doesn’t ever seem to say ‘watch this part, this is really sad!!!’ or ‘This is very funny’. She just flows between the two with ease and we flow with her. Her co-star is the incomparable Dorothy Ann Gould; she plays the other woman – magnetic, skilful and powerful. She speaks volumes with her silence. It must be a real privilege to share the stage with these great actresses, but this is a double edged sword, it only serves to highlight ones inexperience and limitation. Cody Caprari is the 16 year old actress who plays the daughter; it’s a good try but she still has a long way to go. All the ingredients are there, I’m just not absolutely sure the batter has been fully blended. Perhaps the show needs to run in a little more or perhaps the Director has taken the cake out of the oven a little early. That said; the play has been playing on my mind since. I’m glad I saw it, catch it if you can. TRIPTYCH 6 April – 6 May 2007 Market Theatre – Barney...
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