Jaime Uranovsky - Page 2

When I slumped into the Theatre on the Bay on last week, I admit that I was not in the highest of spirits. The heaviness of the world just felt like a bit too much and, in all honesty, I wasn’t particularly in the mood to leave the comfort of home. But I’m so, so grateful that I did: This show feels like a warm, genuine, beautiful hug.

From the producers that brought audiences the unforgettable HERE’S TO YOU – THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL SONGBOOK, VR Theatrical proudly presents this year's highly anticipated musical tribute: UP ON THE ROOF – THE CAROLE KING SONGBOOK, a second instalment in the Staged Songbook genre.

All I knew when I stepped into the theatre to see WHEN THE DEAD ARRIVED was that it included a warning that the show contained blood – a lot of blood. As a rule, I’m a sensitive viewer and I stay away from anything even slightly horror related. Suffice to say, I went in knowing that this production was out of my comfort zone.

THE WAITING GAME, a new show set to music and dance, is currently showing at the Masque Theatre, after its debut at the Wave Theatre in Cape Town. The production, which has a large cast (18 people), tells a new story while using songs from existing musicals (and changing the lyrics where necessary).

There are few who can claim to know South African goings-on like veteran investigative journalist, columnist, author, satirist, stand-up comedian, and Associate Editor of the Daily Maverick, Marianne Thamm does. There are even fewer who can remain optimistic while knowing what they know.

She is back! The phenomenal Lana English, the unforgettable Christine in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, who has a considerable number of years graced the international waters, has decided to anchor in Cape Town. Her new show A MUSICAL DELIGHT hits the Wave Theater on 26 and 27 August.

“If music be the food of love, play on” –  and Bonny White does: her beautiful soiree of songs, involving nine knock-out performers and a fabulous accompanist, is a feast to experience. What makes ON THE TABLE so great is that most of the songs are not well known – they are not the ‘before-interval’ numbers of the biggest Broadway musicals.

TWELFTH NIGHT is, without a doubt, my favourite of all Shakespeare’s plays. It is, probably for this reason, also the Shakespeare play I have had the honour of watching the most times. Despite this, I have never emerged from this play feeling like I have seen a repeat of the same production.

EDUCATING RITA is one of my all-time favourite plays. Willy Russel’s rich script is a lush playground for the two actors lucky enough to inhabit his words. The story is not unlike PIGMALION or MY FAIR LADY in some ways: Rita, a young Liverpudlian woman, working as a hairdresser in the 1980s, seeks a better life for herself through education.

Everyone has been acquainted with the story of CINDERELLA in some way, shape or form. What not everyone has experienced is this timeless tale told through a mixture of opera, ballet and acting. Indeed, this self-aware adaptation of Pauline Viardot’s chamber opera CINDERELLA (CENDRILLON), presented by Cape Town Opera with AM Productions

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE, written by acclaimed Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, and presented by How Now Brown Cow, will have its Cape Town premiere at the Baxter Theatre in August. The production stars Jennifer Steyn, Julie-Anne McDowell, Bryan Hiles, and Sven Ruygrok, and is directed by multi-award winner Charmaine Weir-Smith.

Whenever I have the privilege of attending a LAMTA show, I just know that I am going to be blown away – it is inevitably the highlight of that week for me and for whichever lucky friend or family member has successfully vied for the plus-one ticket.

Cape Town Opera’s production of Bizet’s THE PEARL FISHERS is a feast for the senses. The staging is minimal yet ethereal and allows the audience to float gently along the azure waters suggested onstage.

South African author, satirist, and social activist Pieter-Dirk Uys brings his latest show, SELL-BY DATE, to Pieter Toerien's Theatre on the Bay later this month.

If South Africans know how to do one thing, it is to laugh – especially at ourselves. Award-winning playwright, Mike van Graan, has harnessed this famous South African humour and penned and directed a satirical revue that will be performed throughout 2023/24 in the build-up to the 2024 national elections.

It is near impossible to pinpoint what exactly the essence of ‘British music’ is. It is far too varied to be distilled into a single type or genre. Indeed, it spans centuries.

What did our critic think of CRUISE at Homecoming Centre?CRUISE, originally written and performed by Jack Holden, was one of the first plays to open after the COVID-19 lockdown in London, after which it moved to the West End, garnering an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play.

SUEÑOS, which translates to ‘dreams’ is an ode to Andalucía in Spain and is the third collaboration between internationally acclaimed and 2020 SAMA-winning guitarist James Grace, and leading choreographer and principal dancer of South Africa’s foremost Spanish dance company, Compañía Sophia, Carli Olivier.

IKRELE LE CHIZA…THE SERMON, presented by the Baxter in collaboration with the Magnet Theatre, is a difficult to put into words – largely because of how experiential it is. Choreography and movement-heavy, this play is aptly described as ‘dream theatre’ by Director, Mandla Mbothwe.

The 13th annual Zabalaza Theatre Festival took place from 24 March until 31 March 2023. This year, the Festival boasted a whopping 37 productions and 189 participants. The very next day after the festival ended, the ZABALAZA AWARDS were held in the Golden Arrow Theatre at the Baxter Theatre Centre.