This warm weather is making it feel like Dezemba, and whilst most of us are dragging ourselves towards the end of the year, there are lekka pit stops to refuel your creative cup. Enjoy!
Theatre & Performance
Chopped. Sliced. Diced. The Craving is an immersive psychological thriller staged inside a ‘restaurant’ at The Outlore Base on Hout St. And obviously, things begin to unravel around the chef. On until 17 October. Arrive from 7.30pm for an 8pm start. Standard tickets are R250. No under-18s. Tickets via quicket.co.za.
Want to experience it all but only have an hour? Framed Sessions combines gig photography, live visual art and music at Gorgeous George on 3 October, with Dierbaar, Operation Khataza and Toughguy on the line-up. It runs from 4pm–10.30pm, with tickets from R150. Tickets on quicket.co.za. Photo credit: Brig Stanford
Stellenbosch is absolutely worth the drive from 3–11 October for Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees. More than 400 programme items take over the town, spanning theatre, music, comedy, dance, film, books, visual art, food and wine. Go for the Theatre, the wine is secondary.Ticket prices vary by production. Full Woordfees programme on woordfees.co.za and tickets via Quicket.
My pick of the month: Bad dates, Grindr and the looming horror of turning 30 (it’s actually the best!). Roland Du Preez and Jacques Adriaanse take on FAG/STAG at The Antique Theatre on Kloof St from 10–15 October. Tickets cost R200, no under-13s. Bookings via theantique.co.za.
Graham Hopkins steps into the life of activist and lawyer Albie Sachs: Father, Sons and Soft Vengeance at the Baxter Studio from 13–31 October. Written by Gail Louw and directed by Fiona Ramsay, the one-man play moves through Sachs’ activism, exile, family life and survival of the 1988 car bombing. Tickets cost R250, available on webtickets.co.za.
A blind date gets considerably worse when everyone in your head starts singing. First Date: The Musical opens at the Avalon Theatre, Homecoming Centre (Old Fugard), from 21 October–1 November. Please report back if you went to the show about a blind date, on a blind date. Tickets from R290, available on their website, firstdatemusical.co.za.
Music & Jols
My second top pick of the guide: Voices of the Ages at Artscape from 8–10 October. Louis Mhlanga opens with Living For The Living, Internet Athi follows with Polymorphism: Love In All Its Forms, and Zolani Mahola closes with People Power. Each gets a 70-minute set with their band from 8pm. Tickets range from R300–R650 depending on the night. Tickets are divided by evening and performer, so Louis Mhlanga, Internet Athi and Zolani Mahola are all on webtickets.co.za.
WOOF! Pups, handlers, furries and the curious are all invited to WRUFF at Roxy’s Woodstock on 10 October. The queer, kink-friendly night promises three DJs and six hours of dancing. Pawfect! It runs from 8pm–2am, tickets cost R200, available on fixr.co.
Don Giovanni seduces and deceives women without conscience. But when one of his conquests leads to the murder of the girl’s father, a sinister force is unleashed from beyond the grave. He confronts death in operatic splendour at the Baxter, with Opera UCT and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. Sung in Italian with English and isiXhosa captions. Runs from 22–25 October. Tickets cost R210–R550, with discounts for pensioners, students and under-18s. Tickets available via webtickets.co.za.
If Halloween jols aren’t your vibe, Umngqungqo Orchestral Experience offers a rather different 31 October. Baritone Dumza Maswana joins a full orchestra at Artscape, fusing isiXhosa indigenous music with jazz, orchestral arrangements and storytelling. It runs from 7pm–9.30pm, with tickets from R250–R400, available on webtickets.co.za.
Comedy
Marc Lottering has managed to turn a moonboot into a show, which feels about right. ANKLE MARC is at Artscape on 23 and 24 October from 7.30pm. The 85-minute show is for audiences 16 and older, with tickets costing R220. Booking on webtickets.co.za.
For some fun funnies with local comedians, Ground Culture Café squeezes another Headliners Only into its Obs room on 31 October. Doors open at 6.30pm and the show runs from 8pm–10.30pm. Tickets cost R150. Tickets via Ground Culture, go to groundculture.co.za.
Dance
Take a cheeky peek into this sexy burlesque, drag, singing and comedy show. VarieTease! packs the lot into Greenhaus in Sunningdale on 2 October. Be warned, audience participation is mentioned in the blurb, though, as always, it’s consensual ;). This is a celebration of self-expression! Doors open at 6pm, the show starts at 8pm and tickets cost R200, available on quicket.co.za
Eight South African dance companies, two Dutch National Ballet dancers and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra pile onto one bill for The Legacy of Dance Gala at Artscape on 24 and 25 October. The Saturday show starts at 7.30pm, with a Sunday matinee at 2.30pm. Tickets cost R350–R550 and the production is for ages five and up. Bookings via webtickets.co.za.
Film & Art
From 1–3 October, unearth deep-seated memories within the land at Live Art at Masambe – The Soil Remembers, a combination of live and video art. It includes Kopano Mashike, Laphakade Myataza, Lutho Magubu, Kwakhanya Mboniswa, Page Dina and Siphesihle Nkantini, curated by Carin Bester. Includes a Q&A on opening night. Tickets cost R120, and R100 for pensioners. No under-12s. Available on webtickets.co.za
The Deep South turns into one big gallery for Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly from 9–11 October. More than 30 artists across 20 studios open their doors for painting, ceramics, sculpture and plenty in between. The event is free on Saturday and Sunday, 10–11 October, and studios are open from 10h00–16h00. There is a paid preview in aid of breast cancer NPO Project Flamingo on Friday, 9 October, with tickets available on quicket.co.za.
Obs gets its own film festival on 24 October. Formerly the Obs-cene Film Festival, Observatory Film Festival gives independent and student filmmakers a screen at the Observatory Community Recreation Centre, with a local art and craft market alongside it. It runs from 6pm–10pm and tickets start at R65. Tickets via quicket.co.za
Other Cool Stuff
Lower Main Road stays up late for Late Night Thrift on 1 October. From 5pm–8.30pm, Observatory’s thrift shops, record stores and bookshops stay open alongside buskers, food trucks and pop-ups. Entry is free! Just somme rock up.
Ja, but we love a classic activity. Cape Town International Kite Festival is at Youngsfield Military Base in Ottery on 24 and 25 October from 10am–6pm, with giant local and international kites taking over the sky in aid of Cape Mental Health. Under-fives get in free; day tickets are R60 for children and pensioners and R90 for adults, while weekend passes cost R100 and R160 respectively. No dogs (sorry Pups!). Tickets via quicket.co.za