Fear and dribbling: A tale of UK footie

WHAT IS IT to be a man in this world of crippling hyper-sensitivity and wokeness? The metaphors central to a sport which has traditionally defined all the values of male hegemony are front and central and joyfully politically incorrect in James Graham’s new play, Dear England, based as […]

I am the Mushroom! Hear me braai!

WHEN YOU HEAR complete strangers discussing their culinary habits on their way out of a theatre, you know that something has sunk into their sensibilities, and the play has reached them. You have this morning to re-arrange your plans: there is just one performance left of the delightful […]

Learned friends; true rotters

THE COURT DRAMA in the wake of a murder of passion is arguably the most enthralling context for a thrilling story to unfold. Put it in the hands of one of South Africa’s finest directors, know that it sparkles with the words of the queen of murder mysteries […]

Love, two beers and forever

IF YOU SLIGHTLY close your eyes through all the frippery and flappery of the first act of Puccini’s La Rondine, you might believe yourself to have been magically transported into an Aubrey Beardsley painting, with all its Art Deco glissandos and arches, gold leaf and quirky feathery headdresses. […]

To wish upon a King

THEATRE IS NO only alive and pumping in South Africa; it is world class. Take a gander at Ashley Dowds in one of this country’s contemporary classics, Paul Slabolepszy’s The Return of Elvis du Pisane, and you’re got the picture: gritty, funny, tragic, universal and something that will […]

Scars that map our future

JUST WHEN YOU think you’ve got your whole act together, you know something might jigger it all into disaster. It’s like when you manage to get to the post office to buy stamps, and lo and behold, there’s a madman there, shooting the life out of everyone. This […]