Music
Bass virtuoso Herbie Tsoaeli, who has been at the centre of both establishing our rich jazz tradition, and keeping it alive, is playing with his quintet at Art in Jazz on 1 May. At Room 91 (just above Chef’s Warehouse) on 91 Bree Street, there’ll also be work by numerous artists exhibited, including by Blessing Ngobeni. Tickets cost R250 on Quicket and R300 at the door. Music begins at about 7pm.
With a voice like bells ringing you home, Jabulile Majola launches his EP, Isitifiketi at St George’s Cathedral on 2 May at 6.30pm. Jabulile grew up in a children’s home in rural KZN, and his music echoes the space and imagination of the rolling hills, filled with folk tales and hymns. With his sparse acoustic guitar as accompaniment, he describes his genre as African folk. GQ called him “one of the most exciting new voices right now”.At the iconic church, you’ll have a rare chance to see him supported by musicians and choir. Tickets cost R200, book on Quicket.
The subterranean old Rhodent reprobates who gather as The Buckfever Underground long ago donned the mantle of adulthood, but never put their arms in the sleeves, so they slip it off occasionally and groove away as Toast Coetzer rambles on with his surprisingly alluring free-form poems. They’re to spoken word warblings what Grateful Dead are to guitar grooves, but, like, a highveldt version as Gilad Hockman and Stephen Timm keep your head nodding to the beat. With an anti-establishment slant, they’re also categorised as punk, of a sorts. They’re certainly not commercial pop. They’re gigging at the Alma Cafe on Sunday 4 May from 6.30pm. Tickets cost R180 and book through bookings@almacafe.co.za
Hip-Hop heads can dig the beats that go with the words and vice versa at KAYA Kulture on 3 May and discover some new talent. It’s the first leg of the stayHomme CPT Tour, featuring the jozi-based collective with some of Cape Town’s best in the underground scene. Artists are SHIMII, Vicequiat, Jarry Pitboi, Passion Panther, Pumas + Roses, Meccamind, and Master Kii at the KAYA Cafe on 35 Loop Street from 7 to 11. Tickets just R80 on Quicket. If you miss them there, they’ll also be at Obscene Parrot in Obs on 9 May, keep a lookout.
Jazz drummer extraordinaire Kesivan Naidoo brings his international version of Kesivan and the Lights to the Baxter concert hall on 10 May. Joining his will be Bokani Dyer on piano, Darren English on trumpet, Fabio Gouvêa on guitar, Charley Rose on sax, and Joan Codina on bass. Kesivan has some kind of spell that makes his gigs magic, get your ticket for between R200 and R250 on Webtickets but move fast if you want to get a seat. The gig starts at 7pm.
Theatre
A killer is on the loose. The city is a powder keg. A rising-star politician is weighing the cost of betrayal. A mother searches for her son in a bloody netherworld. All of hell’s bells toll when Mrs. Mitchell Comes To Town in acclaimed playwright Louis Viljoen’s latest play, Mrs Mitchell Comes To Town. Starring Jenny Stead and Aidan Scott, shows are at 7.30pm with Saturday matinees at 4.30pm. Tickets cost between R140 and R180 through Webtickets.
Hedda Gabler is in town. Henrik Ibsen’s acclaimed play about a woman dissatisfied with her recent marriage can be seen at the Baxter Flipside theatre from 1 May. Rolanda Marais, mostly known for her work in Afrikaans film and TV, plays the titular role, alongside the amazing Albert Pretorius, along with Martelize Kolver, Ashley de Lange, Ludwig Binge, and Stian Bam. They are all directed by Christiaan Olwagen, who directed Ibsen’s A Doll’s House as Standard Bank Young Artist award winner in 2016. It was a stellar production, we expect more of the same. The play has an Afrikaans run until 10 May, and plays in English from 12 to 24 May. Shows are at 7.30pm with Saturday matinees at 3.30pm. Tickets cost between R160 and R250, book on Webtickets.
On the Ibsen thread, A Doll’s House, Part 2, written by American playwright Lucas Hnath in 2017, imagines Ibsen’s character Nora returning to her former home 15 years after slamming the door on her husband and children. (Ibsen had issues with marriage, it seems). The original was written in 1879, so if you to cast your mind back 150 years, Nora becomes rather revolutionary. It’s competently played by actors who can be seen on screen more often than on stage. If you’re a watcher of South African television, you’ll recognise Bianca Amato in the lead role, alongside Zane Meas, Charlotte Butler, and Simone Neethling.You can see it at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio until 10 May, with shows at 8pm and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets cost between R150 and R250 and you can book on Webtickets.
We saw Aldo Brincat’s The Moon Looks Delicious From Here at the Theatre Arts two years ago and we liked it. In this self-penned play, Brincat captures the past, even as it daily slips further from him, presenting us with selected events from his unusual child and teenhood in Durban in the bad old 1980s. On The Critter we said it is an important play in that it contributes to the tapestry of our shared history and trauma, inviting us conjure our own memories and confront some difficult truths while doing so. The play has won a couple of awards since then, and now Brincat brings it to the Baxter’s Masambe theatere, where it runs from 20 to 31 May. Shows are at 7.30pm, with Saturday matinees at 3pm. Tickets cost between R120 and R160, book on Webtickets.
Literature
If you’re planning on going to the Buckfever Underground gig and enjoy Toast Coetzer’s poetry, you can listen to the Bush Radio Unhappy Hour Show host’s verse at the Central Library on 3 May from 11am to 12 noon when he joins the Friends of Central Library (FOCAL) Poetry Circle as a guest. Attendance is free of charge, with juice, coffee, and biscuits after the poetry.
Festivals
The Suidoosterfees is on at Artscape until 4 May. There’s a lot on offer, including some promising plays. Check out the full programme here.