From the ongoing energy crisis to the negative effects of load shedding, poverty, unemployment, violence against children and women, crime and corruption, the future of our beloved South Africa seems very bleak.
“My Fellow South Africans” by award-winning playwright Mike van Graan shines a spotlight on these issues and more. This hard-hitting production hits the Artscape on Wednesday, May 3.
The show is scheduled to run until Saturday, May 20.
The play will be performed over the next year as a contribution to the discourses that will shape the 2024 national elections.
The revue comprises older, updated and new sketches that comment on contemporary South Africa in ways that make the audience think, and perhaps squirm, even while laughing
Multi-talented actress Kim Blanche Adonis performs this solo piece that combines comedy, singing, poetry and drama, at times, while playing multiple characters.
The revue features cartoons by Zapiro and sketches by Rob van Vuuren and Daniel Richards.
Tickets are available at Computicket from R90.
“Firefly”
Where: Pieter Toerien Productions' Theatre On The Bay.
Where: Until May 14.
Starring thespians Andrew Buckland and Sylvaine Strike, “Firefly” is directed by Toni Morkel.
The pair are accompanied live by Tony Bentel on piano, who is also responsible for the musical arrangements and some original music.
“Firefly” is described as an unforgettable journey into the underbelly of wonder in all its awful splendour.
A passionate tale of moon-crossed love, betrayal, revenge and desire, the production sees Buckland and Strike deliver performances that will move, thrill and delight audiences.
In the performance, the audience will be transported from reality into a mesmerising story filled with passion and intrigue.
“Île”
Where: Baxter Theatre.
When: Until May 6.
“Île” is a one-woman show, written and performed by award-winning theatre-maker and comedian, Sophie Jones.
It is a coming-of-age story about mothers and daughters, dodo birds, lava lamps and volcanic islands.
The production follows the story of an 18-year-old girl who visits her ancestral home in Mauritius.
A trip to a tropical island to connect with her extended family (and have some fun away from her mother) gets too real as she uncovers strange characters and realises that beneath paradise, a volcano is waiting to erupt.
“Île” won a Gold Standard Bank Ovation at the National Arts Festival 2022 and was nominated for Best Actress at Woordfees and Best Performance in a Solo Show at the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards.
“Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa”
Where: Star Theatre.
When: May 8 - 27.
The 13th Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa (SSFSA) is set to showcase at the Star Theatre, District Six Homecoming Centre, under “Unplugged and Illuminated in 2023!”
“As a team, we are passionate about building optimism, especially post-pandemic, to share hope for the future in what many find to be an unsettling time,” said festival founder and CEO, Kseniya Filinova-Bruton.
“The SSFSA is a catalyst for youth empowerment and over more than a decade we have developed a non-competitive, fully inclusive environment where school-going youth can build confidence, improve on life skills and have their voices heard, acknowledged, encouraged, challenged and respected.”
According to the press statement, the festival welcomes learners with different abilities and physical challenges such as the De La Bat School for the Deaf and the Pioneer School for the Visually Impaired who, like their peers, continue to deliver ground-breaking and moving theatre year after year.