All we want to say is: billionaires, like Musk and his fellow Trump bootlickers, must just vokof to Mars. Also: having a good time while being kind is an act of resistance.
Theatre
We saw Jamie-Lee Money in that fantastic patriarchy-bashing punk play In Whorefish Bloomers alongside Donna Cormack-Thomson and were very sad when Jamie moved on from our little Mother City to the sprawling smoke of London. But she’s come back (for a brief visit) with her new play Spin Cycles, which apparently went down well at the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s been at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio since 19 February but you’ve only got two nights left: tonight (28 Feb) and tomorrow (1 March – when you can get a matinee). Jamie gets on her bike by 8pm and also on Saturdays at 2pm. Tickets are from R150. Book on Webtickets.
The irrepressible bright spark of Cape Town theatre, Sophie Joans, has another Solo Fest at the Theatre Arts (the church hall on the corner of Milton and Wesley Streets in Obs) at which you can enjoy an evening of short solo performances by established and upcoming actors on 10 and 11 March. Shows start at 7pm and tickets cost R150 or R100 if you’re a student.
There has been a mini revival at the Baxter of great South African classics from about 30 years ago, such as Andrew Buckland’s The Ugly Noo Noo. Considering how theatre is so ephemeral, it is fantastic, and best done while the original creators are still alive. So we’re fully excited for Faustus in Africa, which was a very deservedly award-winning production by William Kentridge and the Handspring Puppet Company back in 1995. The basic plot is that Faustus goes on safari to enjoy everything Africa has on offer, for it to become a rampaging journey of greed and passion. (Do we need to spell colonialism?) The larger theme is the betrayal of one’s better judgement for short term gain, which in a post-colonial age has resonance with climate change and capitalism’s destructive trade-offs. This restaging features the wonderful Jennifer Steyn, marvellous Wessel Pretorius, and Atandwa Kani. It is running at the Baxter Flipside until 22 March at 7.30pm with 2.30pm matinees on Sundays. Tickets cost R200 to R340 and can be booked on Webtickets.
Also becoming a theme at the Baxter (if two examples make a theme), the Baxter is welcoming works that have done well at the Edinburgh Fringe, where Noma Yini got great reviews for their version of Kafka’s Ape, which is an adaptation of Franz Kafka’s A Report to the Academy, which is a classic. If you are unfamiliar with the story, the ape is Red Peter, who was captured and taken back to civilisation and taught to be, well, civilised. The play makes us ask the question: is it the captor or the captured who has more humanity? It plays at the Baxter Studio from 26 March to 12 April at 8pm with matinees at 3pm. Tickets cost between R110 and R200 through Webtickets.
Dump State, from 12 to 15 March at Theatre Arts promises to be worth the evening out, partly because it’s written and directed by Qondiswa James, who is one of the best writer and director from the theatre school of the mid-2000s. She takes no prisoners. This play is about four people living on the street who are threatened by a terrible secret. Theatre Arts is at the corner of Wesley and Milton in Obs. Tickets cost … the website doesn’t say but it’s probably not too much, and the shows are at 7pm with a Saturday matinee at 3pm.
Music
Every heard of Moonchild Sanelly? Us neither, until one of the coolest queer kids we have the good fortune to know was like all really excited about her headlining Cape Town’s hottest, dopest, coolest, queerest party, being the Death of Glitter. I think we heard this month’s iteration is D.O.G’s birthday party. Don’t hold us to it, but there are people literally travelling 1,200km across the country to get to this party tonight. Yes, Tonight, 28 February, at Alley Cape Town in Paarden Eiland, which is kinda opposite The Shred in Auckland Street. D.O.G are fully queer friendly and anyone who is kak will be out the door so that those who are kind can relax, feel safe, and jol. Tickets cost from R250 and can be got on Quicket.
Smoking, sultry Buhlebendalo plays at Selective Live at 189 Buitengracht Street on Sunday 2 March from 6pm to 9pm. She’ll be playing through her album Hele, which she dropped last year, accompanied by Khaya Njikelana on drums, Inganam Batala on keys, Grant Allison on bass, and the talented backup vocalists Sia Mzizi and Koketso Langa. Bonus is contemporary uHadi instrumentalist and vocalist Odwa Bongo will be opening for her. Odwa is influenced by Simphiwe Dana’s vocal style and traditional Xhosa music. Tickets cost from R350. Get them on Quicket.
Highly popular with the cats who know their stuff, is Mandisi Dyantyis who gets some proper South African jazz going on at Kirstenbosch on 9 March. It’s Kirstenbosch so picnics and blankets are of course part of the scene. Concert starts at 5.15pm, gates open at 4pm. Tickets cost between R235 and R310. Book on Webtickets.
Workshops
There’s a Creativity is Currency art management workshop at 38 Lower Main Road, Obs (opposite Voom Voom records and vintage) on 6 March from 5pm. The Compass Rose Collective promises to help “emerging artists unlock their full potential”. The workshop is in their brand new studio and “aims to support artists struggling with self-branding and monetizing their art”. Gain insights into business management, professional communication, funding proposals, and more, led by Nicola Hetz. There’ll be a launch party for the new studio afterwards, at 7.30pm, with a performance by composer Wesley Wolhuter and “captivating acts” by Uncool Ant. Workshop tickets cost R100 with booking via Instagram (@compassrosecollectivedesign). The launch party is free of charge but RSVP via the ’gram.
Festivals
Here’s a fun game: count how many times you can spot the City of Cape Town or DA branding at the Cape Town Pride Parade and Mardi Gras on Saturday. Bonus points if you see a City or DA float with the mayor on it. Then remember that elsewhere in the world, like in New Orleans and Mainz and Frankfort, Mardi Gras is supposed to be the one day in the year when the authoritarian order is turned upside down; satire is the order of the day. Then while you wave your flag, think about how we’ve let the politicians rule the roost at our jol. There’s bands and performers and stalls and all sorts of kak so it’s bound to be fun, but claim your space, skop die grootbekke uit on 1 March. Tickets for the stage act (also weird – tickets at a Mardi Gras when as of 26 Feb they haven’t even confirmed the acts) are R65 on Quicket. Personally, we refuse, but we accept not everyone will agree with out principles.