Baxter's Festive Season in Full Swing and Set to Culminate with New Year's Eve Party

This summer, the Baxter Theatre Centre's festive season programme is set to entertain and delight audiences with a feast of great theatre for everyone with servings of music, comedy, drama, romance and family entertainment. The diverse and exciting line-up will climax with the not-to-be-missed and highly popular grand finale of the year - the New Year's Eve party.

Pieter-Dirk Uys lets some secrets out the bag in THE ECHO OF A NOISE; Alistair Izobell gets the party started in KAAPSE JOL; Nik Rabinowitz gets his hands on your funny bones in FORTYFIED; and Ameera Patel and Jaques de Silva tell a love story with a difference in WHISTLE STOP.

Pieter-Dirk Uys, having performed on stages all over the world for well over seven thousand times, perfoms his one-man memoir, THE ECHO OF A NOISE, at the Baxter until 17 December. With such extensive experience, the theatre legend has learnt that every show is the first and the last performance - because each audience demands and gets a different energy, topicality and excitement. In this, his 70th year, Uys does not glance back at the successes and failures that have strengthened his belief in a constant improvement of his work, but rather, reflects on those small signposts that throughout his life subconsciously pointed him in a right and original direction. He says:

I tell the story behind the stories. Turning 70 has given me the thumbs-up to share the secrets and let the cat out of the bag.

Alistair Izobell and the dynamic cast of his latest production, KAAPSE JOL, are rocking the city - Cape Town style - as they celebrate the music, history and places of the Mother City in the Baxter Concert Hall until 14 January 2017. Together, they celebrate the story of Cape Town's sounds, from the indigenous sounds of the Khoi people to the Malay and Dutch influences that make up the rich tapestry of local music. Izobell has assembled a stellar cast comprising himself, Nur Abrahams, Sasha Lee Davids, Madeegha Anders, Abduragiem Vardien and Ashtevann Mintoor. Under the musical directorship of Donveno Prins, the band is made up of Prins, Franco Mannel (bass guitar), Grandall Vlotman (keyboards), Yvan Potts (keyboards), Keith De Bruyn (drums), Jason Ward (percussion), Tyrone Marinus (guitar) and Robin Fassie (trumpet).

Nik Rabinowitz's brand new comedy show, FORTYFIED, on at the Baxter Theatre until 14 January, is a barrel of real-life laughs with which many people can identify. Is the title of this new show a pun or a maybe a spelling error? Well, it depends on one's worldview. Rabinowitz has just turned 40 and is on the verge of a midlife crisis - except that apparently, 40 is the new 30, so now he's not sure when to have the crisis, which is a crisis in itself. He has also just had a third baby - so really, he can't have a midlife crisis - there's no time! Sounds like fun yes? In the meantime, while he is figuring all this out, he has decided that instead of buying a Ferrari and abandoning his family, he is going to put on another solo show - and this it: FORTYFIED. There will be stories, there will be moments of discomfort, there will be accents and above all, there will lots of laughter.

Love is in the air with the comedic WHISTLE STOP, which runs for a short season from 20 December to 7 January in the Baxter's Golden Arrow Studio. Telling the story of a man, a woman, a bench and all the hidden thoughts that we think and never allow ourselves to say, WHISTLE STOP is perfect for everyone who has ever fallen in or out of love. Winner of a Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award and a PANSA New Writer's Award, this quirky and funny love story is perfect summer entertainment. Directed by Frances Slabolepszy, WHISTLE STOP stars Ameera Patel and Jaques de Silva and is produced by Hijinks Theatre in collaboration with Dark Laugh Theatre Company.

The festive fun will culminate with the New Year's Eve party which takes place after the performances on 31 December when audiences will converge on the Baxter's foyers to sing, dance and party into the new year with some of their favourite stars. All the shows will start later on the night, and ticket prices will be varied to include the show, a complimentary glass of bubbly or orange juice and the traditional balloon drop. The live band, under the musical directorship of Camillo Lombard, will get and keep the party going. Light meals will be on sale. To join the party and welcome in the New Year at the Baxter, book for KAAPSE JOL, FORTYFIED or WHISTLE STOP.

Booking for any of these exciting shows and the New Year's Eve party is online through Computicket, by phone on 0861 915 8000, or in person at any Shoprite Checkers outlet. For discounted corporate or group block bookings, fundraisers or charities contact Sharon Ward on 021 680 3962 or Carmen Kearns on 021 680 3993.

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