ShowBuzz by Christina KennedyChristina Kennedy01/23/2008 12:21:47 
Copyright Artslink.co.za © 1997-2008 ShowBuzz by Christina Kennedy Your guide to what’s hot and what’s not on the Gauteng theatre scene. THE AMEN CORNER (LAAGER AT THE MARKET THEATRE, UNTIL FEBRUARY 17) A play about religion could so easily go one of two ways: descend into parody or be preachy and moralistic. Luckily, The Amen Corner does neither, but instead unassumingly paints a picture of a community ostensibly united by faith, but divided by hypocrisy and prejudice. Acclaimed novelist and playwright James Baldwin knew a thing or two about being judged – not only was he black, he was gay as well. That combination certainly didn’t go down too well in 1950s and 1960s America. So he was well poised to write about his observations of an African-American community that was looked down on for being poor and, ironically, in turn looked down on those in their ranks who did not conform to their notion of piety. It’s a potent and powerful slice of theatre, although a tad long at over 90 minutes without a break. Nonetheless, the performers keep us engrossed, aided by the expert direction of James Ngcobo, who has adapted the play into a South African setting. Ilse Klink plays Pastor Margaret, a strict and unbending holy woman who heads up a congregation whose lives revolve around their faith as a refuge from the social problems that beset them. But when her prodigal husband (Elton Landrew) pitches up, at death’s door, and her skeletons come tumbling out of the cupboard, her flock starts turning on her. The play suggests that holiness does not necessarily equate to goodness; that one can be devout but when mixed with self-loathing, that faith is empty and meaningless. The charismatic church serves as a microcosm of society, where people have hidden agendas and present very different private and public faces. Thoughtful, intelligent, subtle and at times startling, The Amen Corner is a must-see for those who enjoy a substantial drama. SHWELE BAWO – A GRAVE INJUSTICE (THEATRE ON THE SQUARE, SANDTON, UNTIL FEBRUARY 2) Domestic and sexual abuse is not something we are generally comfortable seeing on our stages, as it hits too close to home in this society wracked by violence and inequality. But Motshabi Tyelele manages to coat distasteful issues in a veneer that makes the unpalatable easier to absorb and, perhaps, to process. Tyelele, of TV’s Madam and Eve fame, is a searing performer on stage. Her self-penned play Shwele Bawo has previously scooped a Naledi Award for best actress, and she certainly deserves it. However, I have problems with the play itself, which I feel skirts around issues rather than tackling them head-on. Speaking from a prison cell, Tyelele plays Dikeledi Nkabinde, a former socialite who has been jailed for murdering her abusive sugar-daddy husband. Mary Makhatho stands guard throughout, silently observing and judging, representing the masses who feel they can pronounce on a person’s morality without knowing the full facts.  Slipping in and out of an array of characters (aided by Lynne Maree’s direction and Sarah Roberts’ set design), Tyelele tells the tale of a young woman lured by the trappings of an affluent life, but who soon finds that all is not rosy. Tradition collides with modernity, and the hypocrisy and superficiality of the public and media add fuel to the fire.It’s a fascinating tale, told well and in an entertaining manner, but Tyelele does not do justice to the gravity of the issues she raises. You can’t talk of abuse effectively without providing the background and context in which it was allowed to breed; and you can’t condemn the media for a celebrity feeding frenzy without remembering that those very same stars often seek out the limelight. There are more complex roots to these problems than she would have us believe. Tyelele is an impeccable mimic and often has the audience in fits of laughter with her impersonations, but what could be a powerful, stinging indictment ultimately fizzles out and loses impact. CURRY TALES (MAIN THEATRE AT THE MARKET THEATRE, UNTIL FEBRUARY 17) Spicy, very spicy! But is it nice? That depends on whether you are an adventurous theatre-goer, or if you prefer more conventional stage cuisine. In other words, are you a biryani or boiled potatoes type of person? Curry Tales is anything but a passive theatre experience: it engages your senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, as UK writer/performer Rani Moorthy whips up tasty morsels on stage that the audience can sample, while regaling us with bittersweet tales using the kitchen as their central pivot. Moorthy is a whirlwind and often leaves us breathless and somewhat bewildered with her rapid-fire delivery. It takes a while for the audience to grow accustomed to her, but she grows on you. She tackles a range of characters: a jilted Trinidadian, a career woman, a Malaysian immigrant, an Indian peasant, a Hindu goddess. What they have in common is not only being Indian, but also the way in which they pour their problems, hopes, frustrations and dreams into their simmering pots, using cooking as a means of venting and conjuring. South Africans may battle to relate to some of these characters but there are universally resonant aspects in all of them, as Moorthy explores the factors that unite and divide the peoples of the world. It’s undeniably fascinating watching her cooking up delicious South Asian curries on stage while enacting her sketches. And the results are mouthwatering! Unusual and bubbling over with exotic flavours, I suspect this masala of drama, comedy and live cooking will appeal to the BBC Food junkie in many of us (and may tempt many to sign up straight away for Indian cooking classes). HAIRSPRAY (LYRIC THEATRE, GOLD REEF CITY, UNTIL MARCH 16) Have you ever been to a show that’s so bright, breezy and uplifting that you just can’t help falling in love with it? Grease is one such show; Hairspray is definitely another. Gold Reef City and producer Richard Loring selected the perfect show – which recently celebrated its 100th performance – to launch the casino’s gorgeous new 1 100-seater Lyric Theatre. Glorious singing, dancing, costumes, sets, wigs and characters are all thrown into a pot to make a candy-coated dream of a musical that’s so vivid, it’s virtually technicolour. Hairspray saw the light of day in the ’80s as a film by John Waters, starring Ricki Lake and Divine. It was subsequently re-imagined as a Broadway show and last year, we saw yet another movie version, starring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken. Although supervised by a crack Broadway creative team, Loring’s stage production features an all-South African cast, headed up by Harry Sideropoulos, Kate Normington and Mara Louw. It brims with ’60s tunes which, although they are new, are so catchy and typical of the period that you suspect you’ve heard them somewhere before. Newcomer Elizca Coetzer is outstanding as Tracy Turnblad, a plump but bubbly teen living in Baltimore, USA in 1962. Despite her weight, she is determined to dance on the Corny Collins TV show, and the musical tracks her journey in which she faces innumerable obstacles, yet her unrelenting optimism always seems to shine through. It’s highly entertaining fare, and the audience is barely aware that “serious” issues such as segregation and prejudice are being tackled. Sideropoulos has to be singled out for his sympathetic portrayal of Tracy’s plus-sized mother Edna. This is a role that could so easily veer into caricature, but Sideropoulos pulls it off with aplomb and we come to adore the character, forgetting that it’s a man in drag. I also loved Kate Normington as the vain Velma von Tussle, Earl Gregory as the smooth-moving Seaweed, and Vicky Friedman as the nerdy Penny Pingleton. Hairspray is a real audience pleaser – here’s hoping that audiences flock to this bouffant bonanza in their droves. THE LION KING (TEATRO AT MONTECASINO, UNTIL FEBRUARY 17) Having recently sold its 500 000th ticket, The Lion King has become the most successful musical in South African history. Pieter Toerien and Lebo M’s magnificent production has broken records and continues to fill both adults and children with awe while showing them the world of magical possibilities that live theatre can offer (that’s when pesky load-shedding doesn’t intervene, of course). And enchanting this show certainly is. Upon seeing it for a second time, my sense of wonder and awe at the sheer creativity of this musical remained undiminished. Julie Taymor’s vision for the stage adaptation of the Disney movie was bold and ambitious – some might say audacious – but it has been done, and the effect is dazzling. It is, without question, a large-scale work of art. Meticulous attention is paid to detail, from lighting and sets to costumes and props, but for me the puppetry – both the shadow puppetry and the large-scale creatures – almost steals the show. The rousing animal parade at the beginning is likely to take your breath away and bring a lump to your throat. With its uniquely African sensibility, it is fitting that The Lion King has come home, and that an all-South African cast is lovingly bringing this fable of courage, love and brotherhood to life. It is more of an ensemble production than one in which individual performers shine. Those who have seen it more than once will have their favourite actors in each of the lead roles, but there seems to be consensus about the standout performances. These include Mark Rayment, who strikes just the right balance between being thoroughly evil and pathetically desperate as Scar; and Buyisile Zama as Rafiki, the sangoma-like baboon. From king of the jungle to king of the box-office, The Lion King is nearing the end of its mighty African journey and families will kick themselves if they miss out. Also showing: Umoja (Victory Theatre, Houghton Estate, until February 3) Boogie Nights (Odeon Showbar, Emperors Palace, until March) Hot in the City (The Globe at Gold Reef City Casino, until March 8) The King and I (Johannesburg Civic Theatre, until February 24) Curry Tales (Main Theatre at the Market Theatre, until February 17) Your Mamma Don’t Dance – But Your Daddy Can Rock ’n Roll (Barnyard Theatre, Broadacres, until February 29) Blood Orange (Barney Simon Theatre at the Market Theatre, until February 17) Coming soon: Stressed to Kill (Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre, January 25 to March 9) Wits Theatre’s O-Week, featuring Lights, Camera, Action; Bang Bang; The Jellyfish Who Wanted to Be a Bird But Didn’t Really Know What a Bird Was; Many Voices – One Choir (Wits Theatre Complex, January 28 to February 1) Knypie Oppie Kant (State Theatre, from February 1) It’s Time featuring Michael de Pinna and Liz Rennie (Theatre on the Square, Sandton, January 27 and February 3, 10 and 17 at 7pm) Hello and Goodbye (Actors Centre at Joburg Civic Theatre, February 5 to 24) The Black Tie Ensemble’s Sunday Morning Concert with the Black Tie Opera Chorus (Drama, State Theatre, January 27 at 11am) BTE auditions for the Incubator Scheme and Black Tie Opera Chorus (State Theatre, January 25 from 9.30am – phone 012-322-7944) One Man, One Goat (Tesson at the Joburg Civic Theatre, January 29 to February 24) Opera Africa’s Aida (State Theatre Opera, February 2, 5, 7 and 9; and Nelson Mandela Theatre at the Joburg Civic Theatre from March 14 to 22) Porra! And Porra – The Returnsh (Studio Theatre at Montecasino, February 6 to March 2) American singer/comedian Henry Rollins’s spoken word show (Bassline, Newtown, February 8) The Rocky Horror Show (Victory Theatre, from February 12) Recital by classical piano duo Cara Hesse and Laura Pauna (Linder Auditorium, Parktown, February 7) Johannesburg Musical Society presents French duo Jérôme Pernoo (cello) and Jérôme Ducros (piano) (Linder Auditorium, February 9) Nataniël presents Men Who Fly (Theatre of Marcellus, Emperors Palace, February 7 to March 16) Best of Mamba (Theatre on the Square, Sandton, February 5 to March 15) Joburg Promusica presents a Jazz Concert with the Egon Haag band from Germany and the Bekezela Jazz Band (Promusica Theatre, Florida Park, February 1 and 2) Woman in Spirit (Arena at the State Theatre, February 26 to March 23) FNB Dance Umbrella (various venues in Johannesburg, February 22 to March 15) The Actors Centre presents Romeo and Juliet (Tesson Theatre at the Joburg Civic Theatre, February 29 to March 23) The Imperial Ice Stars in Swan Lake on Ice (Teatro at Montecasino, from March 6) Robin Auld Live (Studio Theatre, Montecasino, March 5 to 23) Please send your comments and submissions to artbeat@artslink.co.za Copyright 1997-2008, Artslink.co.za. 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