If a child lives with no hugs

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT they live is an iconic poem written by Dorothy Law Nolte in the 1950s. With catching rhythms of repetition, it presents the different values that can shape a child. But one not taken into consideration is that of utter emotional abandonment. In the Irish film, […]

Love is transient; land, forever

IF YOU TAKE a slice out of the formalities of matchmaking and weddings from Fiddler on the Roof, and slot it in alongside some of the more potent scenes involving the beautiful widow in Nikos Kazantzakis’s Zorba the Greek, sprinkle the concoction rather heavily with romanticised farmgirl wholesomeness, […]

Chekhov to the max

WHAT IS IT about Chekhov that makes us relate so beautifully to his characters that we can be unbridled in our laughter, cringes and agony of recognition at their psychological turmoil and suffocating family closeness? Director Sam Yates and writer Simon Stephens have cooked up a fresh and […]

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 […]