Jaime Uranovsky

Pantomimes aren’t easy – at once they must captivate children for upwards of two hours while also catering to the sensibilities of the adults in the audience. RED RIDING HOOD manages to ace both of these components. In fact, this might be my favourite of the annual pantos at the Masque Theatre – the show is fun, slick, and just all round excellent.

I never saw the first iteration of GAME OF NAMES, which was staged by Pinelands Players in 2017. If you’re in the same boat, this shouldn’t deter you from going to see GAME OF NAMES: SEASON 2. This musical game show extravaganza combines elements from game shows and musical theatre to create a unique hybrid experience.

SOLO FEST was created with the intention to “make more spaces for more south African stories to be told, more often”. Indeed, theatre-maker Sophie Joans explains, “Everyone has a story to tell. The hard part is getting started. I wanted to create a weekly structured space for people to come together and write in community, to explore their stories, and share them with others. So our first course, ‘So, You Wanna Write a Solo Show?’ was born. I was amazed and heart-warmed at how many people signed up. And every week, each class was captivated by the stories that came out of the session. Thus, Solo Fest was born as a moment for the writers to showcase their new work.”

The music of Alan Menken dominates many a beloved musical or movie musical – whether you know it or not. His melodies invariably imbue these works with meaning, beauty and depth. PART OF YOUR WORLD includes thirty songs from eleven of these legendary works: ALADDIN, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, HERCULES, POCAHONTAS, THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, TANGLED, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, NEWSIES, SISTER ACT, and KICKS – THE SHOWGIRL MUSICAL.

Game of Names is back, and this time it’s bigger and better than before!   Join Pinelands Players for a night of live dinner theatre that is part musical revue, part game show, part quiz night, and 100% fun! The show celebrates the music of TV and movies, and the audience picks the run of events with the spin of a wheel and a draw from a hat.

This show blew me away. Days after having witnessed it, I am still ruminating over the lushness of it all. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve experienced a few pieces this year that deal with or draw from Greek mythology.

The Masque continues its tradition of whacky fairytale fun for the summer holidays and presents RED RIDING HOOD - fun for all the family this festive season. The Masque’s annual holiday show always features a quirky take on a popular story.

MY LEFT BREAST is a one-woman show, starring Shannon Esra as Susan, a “one-breasted, menopausal, Jewish, bisexual, lesbian mom” as the character emphatically states during this engaging comedy-drama.

INVISIBLE SCARS is another superb piece showing at the Baxter Theatre Centre, which has its roots in the annual Zabalaza Theatre Festival. Written and directed by Themba Baleni, the show garnered Zabalaza Awards for both Best Production and Best Direction earlier this year.

There are, unfortunately, many marginalised individuals in South Africa – people who remain forgotten, despite the immense contributions they have made to this country. Black members of the (then) South African Defence Force, who fought for the country during apartheid, constitute one such group.

Darkroom Contemporary Dance Theatre presents a truly unique experience with this show. Audience members are guided to an industrial-looking studio/warehouse. We immediately observe six performers moving frantically on a platform. Each has a bob-style haircut, and the uniformity in look and the frenetic nature of the movements suggest cyborgs.

TRIAL AND ERROR follows 19-year-old Amari Davids (played by Mamello Makhetha) of Georgia, who stands trial for negligence and manslaughter (culpable homicide in South Africa), after being involved in a car accident that leaves two people dead

I’ve loved Greek mythology since I was little. This probably had a lot to do with Rick Riordan’s fabulous Percy Jackson series. It’s been a while since I engaged with the content and this production sucked me right back in and reminded me how enchanting Greek mythology is. But it takes a special kind of show to outdo sacred childhood nostalgia.

Agatha Christie’s hit novel, DEATH ON THE NILE, has spawned multiple film adaptations, most recently Kenneth Branagh’s 2022 take on the modern classic. Of lesser knowledge, however, is that Christie personally adapted DEATH ON THE NILE for the stage, renaming it MURDER ON THE NILE.

Review: HOLLYWOOD at Theatre on the Bay Is Another LAMTA “Blockbuster”

Of the four baked Shakespeare productions that have been staged in Cape Town since 2021, I have been lucky enough to have seen three of them. 2024’s show, THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA is, in my book, the group’s best production yet and provides a fun, relaxed, and interactive night at the theatre.

GOLDEN GIRLS is one of those TV shows – you know the ones I mean. Those with a fan base whose members would murder to preserve the sanctity of the show in question. It was brave then to stage a show comprising four episodes of this beloved sitcom – but it proved an excellent choice because GOLDEN GIRLS at the Masque Theatre is superb.

I’ve always loved seeing plays at the Flipside at the Baxter. Something about observing a production performed in the actual backstage area of the theatre makes me feel like I’m on hallowed ground – I’m somewhere that is sacred, special and usually off limits to the public. These feelings became even more heightened during TROUBLE IN MIND.

Most of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals comprise a large cast and elaborate sets. TELL ME ON A SUNDAY is different: this understated, one-woman musical tells the story of Emma, a Brit who journeys to America to find a man and who ends up finding herself along the way.

Just because you saw ROUND OF APPLAUSE in 2023 does not mean that you’re exempted from seeing Round 2.0. On the contrary, the follow-up to Marianne Thamm’s performative journalism is an absolute must – especially for those who attended last year’s show. It’s one of those rare occasions when the sequel is somehow even better than the original.