ANTAKALIPA

Barbershop Chronicles At the Market Theatre for the opening of Inua Ellam's  Barbershop Chronicles. I postponed releasing this because the show centers a lot around a very painful memory. The UEFA Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. A tie Chelsea won by deploying negative tactics, a low block, parking the bus at the Camp Nou and countering with a last minute Fernando Torres goal. The cast of the show are having a lot of fun with that result, a lot of these barbers around the world are Chelsea fans. I am very much a Barcelona fan.  The play chronicles six different barbershops scattered across London and various African cities: including Lagos, Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, and Accra. The whole story unfolds over the course of a single day, though in different times and places, giving a sweeping, episodic sense of lives, connections and conversations across the diaspora. The play covers themes of black masculinity, identity, fatherhood, absent ...

Medea At the Market Theatre for the opening of Medea. A production by The Windybrow Arts Center. For 4 performances only, don't miss it!  A Greek classic reimagined. So dramatic, Shakespearean, tragic! The performances so gripping and captivating - you can't look away, they demand your attention. The dialogues and monologues so heartfelt and expressive, delivered with so much conviction. Love, betrayal, poison, death, Medea.  I can't even lie, I was disgusted by Medea's actions. To kill your own children not out of hatred but spite, revenge because she knew it would destroy Jason emotionally! The only memory of the children that prevailed was their superhero action figures (Superman and Batman) - a signifier of their innocence. They didn't do anything to anyone, they were just playing and running around in their superhero capes. Until their despicable mother used them for her nefarious murderous ends. Deplorable, souless woman.  ...

GANGSTER III: The call of the void So intrusive, the call of the void. I am thinking crime, conditioned to think that's the only way somebody like me can get ahead. I watched too much TV to know it never works out. You can never break bad even if you are Gustavo Fring because a master manipulator like Heisenberg is in the background, pulling strings detonating bombs! Even if you avoid explosions and ignite them verbally like Saul Goodman they ultimately result in life imprisonment because you are sneaky, dishonest, a co-conspirator, a shape-shifter, silver tongue devil, a scumbag criminal lawyer! The call of the void, so intrusive, destructive. I am thinking crime but I have watched enough Scorsese to know it never works out, even if you're Henry Hill who aspired to be a gangster all his life. Cadillac's and double-breasted suits and you are never secured. Living a life of paranoia, death can come from anywhere, a volitile existence, your murderers come with a s...

Interpretation of dreams Ever since I started reading "The Interpretation of dreams" by Sigmund Freud, I have a relationship with my dreams. I am understanding myself a bit better. I should keep a dream journal. The dream as wish-fulfillment. The dream I had today was interesting. My interpretation of the dream is one of fatigue. In the dream I was walking long distances, I am with someone, female, identity not clear but we get along. We both walking but we are fatigued. The act of walking long distance is not a sacrifice, we both love it but we are still fatigued. Something has to give, we can't keep doing this, there is no reason to keep doing this, there is no incentive to keep doing this, love is not enough, we can't keep walking, we are fatigued but we are still cheerful and happy.  Intuitively I understand the dream, I've been feeling so limited. Feeling so boxed in and disillusioned with life and everything. I do feel fatigued, I can't keep ...

Sweeney Todd At the Centurion Teater for the murderous, bloody Sweeney Todd. A dark twisted, methodical, sadistic, blood spraying, cannibalistic musical masterpiece by Scenario Productions. The first couple of rows and splashing zones, people are dying, blood will be spilled, put on your plastic body suit provided by the theatre. A lot of people perished, one after another, music in the background, singing dialogue, spotlight on that dreaded seat, a barber in the guise of providing a service slits your throat. Nonchalance, a pleasure to dispose of you.  Sweeney Todd is a barber in Victorian London who murders his customers with a straight razor. He works above Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, and together they dispose of the bodies by baking them into meat pies sold to unsuspecting customers. His motive is often revenge — usually against a corrupt judge or official who wronged him and destroyed his family. The lighting dark and spooky. It was raining in real life, th...

Snowball Buffet had Kay and I have Sam, sure I am not Buffet but boy am I lucky! Always dreamed of a Kay Graham when I was reading through the pages of "Snowball". Kay was great, she was powerful, she had influence and everybody loved her - Buffet was impressionable, eager, bright and destined for greatness. His teachings are right, thank God I idolized him.  Operate with a margin of safety, have an inner scorecard, stay within your circle of competence,  read books - any type of books,  boring is good,  you'll never be rich if you're normal,  and always think long-term.  I am not exactly a millionaire but he was not one till 32. To my credit, I am surrounded by millionaires, I just have to put two and two together and stay on that wavelength and then I'll get my first million. He had Benjamin Graham, that speeds things up. I am not Buffet, he was good with numbers, rational and an MBA graduate. I was horrible at maths, I lost a lot ...

Ka Lebitso La Moya At the Market Theatre for the opening of Ka Lebitso La Moya. Winner of five Naledi Theatre Awards including best production in a play and best director for Momo Matsunyane.  We open in Ha Satane, a fictional township rife with with despair and hopelessness. Unemployment, crime, no service delivery, no electricity and no water. The residents take to the streets protesting, looting, demanding a change and the head of the current counselor.  Inside the Evangelist Church of Christ is where we find hope. The church serves as a pillar for the community. We are in the church serving as congregates. There is singing and praise for our lord and savior. The mood is festive and in high spirits, jubilation reigns. Ka Lebitso La Moya serves as a greeting for the congregation, a form of endearment that connects and unites. The pastor is charismatic and has women congregates vying for his attention. He is almost lured with Chakakalaka by an admirer but the past...

Fatherhood  At the Market Theatre for the opening of "Fatherhood", a play by the Alex Theatre Company that delves into absent fathers. The play explores issues of shame, pain, longing and manhood. Who are you when you don't have anything to validate you. No pictures, no memories. You don't exist. No knowledge of your history, heritage and culture. You don't know your clan names, you don't belong, you don't know who you are.  The show starts off with a saxophone playing in the background. It is melancholic and reinforces the themes of longing and identity. It is reflective and sombre, it serves as the music for this poignant play. Three performers are faced at the wall, backs to the audience. As they turn, the show commences. They tell stories about their fathers and how shoes, ties, hats and jackets tie in with their fathers identities. You can tell a lot about a man by his shoes. They are reflective, they are frustrated, tales lace...

First Light  At Joburg Theatre for the Final Dress Rehearsal of "First Light". A ballet production by Joburg Ballet, an outstanding show. I fell in love with Ryoko Yagyu, the dedication, precision and finesse is incredible, so beautiful. Theres classical ballet, contemporary and African. Five acts: Raymonda Act 3, Mpho, Nothing Twice, Concerto for Charlie and Classics of Spain. Raymonda Act 3 is the classical ballet, cheographed by Maruis Petipa, music by Alexander Glazunov, spinning on toes, leaps and jumps - classical music in background. High class, aristocracy, upper class and regal, stage is lit brightly, you can see everything, Ryoko Yagyu is amazing, she moves like a swan, pillars at the back and on sides, set in medieval Hungary.  Mpho Contemporary African dance, Tswana, choreography Tumelo Lekana, music by Peter Mpho Mothiba. Unique instruments, drums, African attire. Ulations, praises in the back, whistles and drums the sound, traditional, gr...