David Fick - Page 12

In Christopher Hampton's LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, Rosamonde says 'The only thing which might surprise one is how little the world changes.' This is certainly one thought that comes to mind upon viewing David Ives's VENUS IN FUR.

The Sugar-daddy Theatre Company's production of LADY LUCK is a pretty bleak affair. Relentlessly nihilistic, the play is set in Cape Town's seedy underbelly, a world in which exotic dancers mingle with mobsters and where loan sharks circle their unfortunate prey.

What is presented in UNONGQAWUSE, THE GIRL WHO KILLED TO SAVE is the seed of a brilliantly revisionist production of Dhlomo's dramatization of this most disturbing chapter of South African history.

Play Club is a relatively new initiative in Cape Town, a book club for theatre lovers with the aim of building a sense of community within the local arts scene. With THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS, Play Club is well on the way to achieving their goal.

The experience of SANTA'S STORY as a theatrical performance is thought-provoking, not only in regard to its subject matter but also as an exercise in theatre-making. While the story clearly deals with meaningful issues and ideas, the production handles them in all too pedestrian a fashion.

With De Wet's death from leukaemia last year still fresh in the minds of South African theatremakers, the opportunity to see her work on stage is the ultimate tribute to a playwright who was known for her richly imaginative and deeply haunting work.

While everything does not quite come together in UCT Drama's production of LA RONDE, the production is still rewarding, with several moments in which the play springs vividly to life.

That most intimate of Capetonian theatre venues, the Alexander Upstairs, is currently home to the professional premiere in South Africa of Oskar Brown's play BETWEEN, an intense exploration of human relationships, heartbreak, heartache, love, lust and social performance.

BROTHERS IN BLOOD is one of those plays that arrives with a distinguished pedigree thanks to a strong production history, while also owing a great deal to Mike van Graan's reputation as a self-styled cultural activist.

DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER makes for a good night of light-hearted fun. The play does not demand much of its audience, simply that you go along for the ride.

Currently playing a season at The Fugard Theatre, CHAMP is an outrageous comedy that pulls no punches.

Somewhere between the traditional feminine archetypes of maiden, mother and crone, there lurk other types of women. In THE SPINSTER, Kyla Davis presents one of these othered figures, challenging the audience's generalised perceptions of old maids and loose women through the story of a person who has chosen to shun typical interpretations of womanhood in the way she lives her life.

This new production of 'MASTER HAROLD'... AND THE BOYS, directed by Kim Kerfoot, illuminates the material well, not only in its relevance to South Africa's past, but also in its significance to the country's current situation.

'Our passions are kindled when the fuse to our heart is lit.' These words are an accurate description of what happens during VOICES MADE NIGHT, a revival and revisal of one of Magnet Theatre's many physical theatre productions.

March 20 is the ASSITEJ World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People. Just one South African school who took up the challenge to take pupils to the theatre was Springfield Convent Senior School.

Junkets Publishers has announced a new title in their set of play anthology, 'The Collected Series': SA GAY PLAYS 2: AN ANTHOLOGY OF PLAYS 1994 - 2013.

DESTINATION... LERATO is a mixed bag, but there are several highlights in the hour-long performance.

The commercial success of DIRTY DANCING on stage is a testament to the enduring popularity of the 1987 coming-of-age drama that inspired it.

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS is no fairy tale, but a thrilling political satire and a completely absorbing piece of theatre.

KALAHARI KAROO BLUES brings to the stage an eclectic group of folk musicians who make magic by sharing their music.