Category: Theatre

More beautiful than a summer’s day

THEATRE REVIEW: ROMEO AND JULIET. THERE IS SOMETHING eminently satisfying and comforting in this world, where everything is off kilter, of knowing that certain traditions are being upheld with a great sense of fierceness. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London has, in its wisdom and generosity, established a free […]

Little girl with the face of an adult

REVIEW: AFRIKAANS RADIO DRAMA: DIE SWERFJARE VAN POPPIE NONGENA. THE POTENT TREASURE of the complicated situation of standing still in a place where history is in the making, turning and swirling on itself and all that it may mean to future generations feels particularly prescient in this age […]

The meaning of treasure. And cheese.

THEATRE REVIEW: TREASURE ISLAND. PATSY FERRAN IS a Spanish-born actor, who at the time of the stage debut of the National Theatre’s Treasure Island was in her early 20s. The enormity of her presence, the wit and poetry of the manner in which she articulates and inhabits the […]

A waitress’s lament

AFRIKAANS RADIO THEATRE REVIEW: SJARRAP EN EET JOU KOS! IF YOU DIDN’T hear Radio Sonder Grense’s delightful Afrikaans-radio drama offering a contemplation on the vagaries of being a waiter, a couple of years ago, or even if you did, there’s a treat awaiting you this Thursday evening. The […]

The rise and fall of Ms Eyre

THEATRE REVIEW: JANE EYRE. IF YOU’VE REACHED the point of misremembering the magic of theatre, having not seen anything live and outstanding since lockdown was declared a couple of weeks ago, look no further. Sally Cookson’s whopping three hour long production of Charlotte Brontë’s great 1847 classic Jane […]

Gossip and its discontents in Golgotha

AFRIKAANS RADIO DRAMA: DIE LËE GRAF SOMETHING RATHER EXTRAORDINARY happens to the New Testament narrative around the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ under the pen of Helena Hugo and in an Afrikaans radio drama. Die Lëe Graf tells the story of Easter from the perspective of Nicodemus […]

Ode to an orange tree

AFRIKAANS RADIO DRAMA REVIEW: DIE GOUE KRING A parable of citrus fruit and blindness, generosity and the plight of others, this week’s Afrikaans language radio drama, Die Goue Kring (The Gold Ring) by Uys Krige draws from Radio Sonder Grense’s archives and presents a tale of a prodigal […]

Moonshine and black coffee

AFRIKAANS RADIO DRAMA: AS ONS TWEE EERS GETROUD IS As you barge into the Van der Merwes’ household this evening, all the miseries of lockdown will miraculously disappear, albeit for just one hour. Tonight sees the start of Radio Sonder Grense’s Afrikaans-language radio theatre season, and the organisers […]

Bring back our heroes

THEATRE REVIEW: RETURN OF THE ANCESTORS WITH A POTENT nod in the direction of the 1981 classic South African play, Woza Albert!, Mike van Graan’s Return of the Ancestors is a provocative essay on what has become of the world in which we exist. It offers a premise […]

The Boy and his Bear Necessities

CHILDREN’S THEATRE REVIEW: DISNEY’S THE JUNGLE BOOK KIDS. EASILY THE BEST show yet by the creative team at the People’s Theatre, Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids will have your child jiving in the aisles to songs which may be older than you are. It’s a deliciously messy, rambunctious […]