ANTAKALIPA

An Ode to Motown  There is something quietly thrilling about seeing performers outside the frame that first introduced them to you. It disrupts familiarity. It redraws the boundaries of expectation. Sitting inside the theatre for the final dress rehearsal of An Ode to Motown , that disruption came early — and it came powerfully. Lerato Mvelase was the first revelation. Known to many through the language of television — where her craft is contained within the borders of a camera lens — she arrived on stage as something altogether different. A vocalist. A narrator. A commanding presence. Her performance didn’t merely interpret the material; it carried it. She threaded the history of Motown through her voice with conviction and personality, revealing vocal depth and range that transformed surprise into admiration. On stage she expanded — larger, freer, and more electric — embodying the kind of theatrical vitality that only live performance can hold. ...

Giselle  At the Joburg Theatre for the opening of Giselle. Angela Malan curated a masterpiece! I was thoroughly enthralled, the second act was mezmarrizing, Ryoko Yagyu was jumping on her toes, sticked the landing perfect, an impossible task she made look so easy and effortless. She takes my breath away. Monike Cristina is also there. All the dancers were unbelievable! So amazing. We also had a show at Interval, outside the auditorium, getting a drink, chilling, anticipating the final run. It was beautiful, in hindsight the costumes made sense. It was all there.  Happy 25th Birthday, Joburg Ballet!  There are evenings in the theatre when admiration quietly turns into awe — when what unfolds on stage transcends performance and becomes something close to revelation. Experiencing Giselle at the Joburg Theatre was one of those evenings. This cornerstone of Romantic ballet did not merely present technical excellence; it demonstrated the extraordinary ca...

Pinocchio At Joburg Theatre for the opening of Janice Honeyman's Pinocchio. So much excitement - we got goodie bags filled with sweets and snacks! Pinocchio is one of my favorite fairytale's of all time. I love the character of Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio's conscience. We all need a moral campass to help us get through life. The show doesn't disappoint, colorful costumes and vibrant sets. Energetic, South African, interactive and beaming with life. Laduma! Madame Pussy Galore (The Fat Cat) and Madame Ill Fortunato (The Fox) are so humorous. They might have stolen the show, so effective as a comedic duo. A lot of comedic moments, I loved the puns and dramatic irony, breaking the fouth wall at times. Pest control was needed for Jiminy Cricket, he was doomed! Pinocchio is the journey of a wooden puppet who magically comes to life and dreams of becoming a real boy. Katlego Nche plays Pinocchio, he is wonderful and he transforms into a real ...

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...

Dancing the death drill At the Joburg Theatre for the opening of "Dancing the death drill", packed house, energy palpable, euphoric. So much excitement, there were even soldiers in uniform. My all time favorite performer stars in it, Sharon Spiegel-Wagner. A truly beautiful woman. She speaks French in this one, I rest my case. What a wonderful theatrical production. I was ecstatic to see Thuli Thabethe, she used to star in a sitcom I used to love "City Sesla". She played Phumzile, I used to have the biggest crush on Phumi. She plays Matshidiso in this one, the mother of the lead, Pitso Motaung. Her biggest contribution to her son is "don't be a desserter like your father". Pitso is a mixed breed, his father is white and his mother black but he identifies as a black Sesotho man. The play is in English but contains dialogue in Sesotho for realism. Clint Brink is a revelation, he speaks Sesotho so well. He plays a character who is ...

Belinda Davids Day 3 at the Joburg Theatre to watch the Whitney Houston tribute show. Whitney Houston is Sharon Spiegel-Wagner's favorite artist of all time. Sharon is also born in August. Happy Birthday great man, long live antakalipa, live long!  Sam and Stew have watched this four times and they don't rule out a fifth. Best birthday ever, I can't conceive of anything better. I never saw Whitney, however she taught me the greatest love of all. I have made up my mind, Belinda Davids is my favorite performer of all time. Belinda Davids is Whitney Houston maybe even better, sacrilegious, I know, I don't know what to say after watching something like that. She is truly amazing!  After the show, I followed Belinda on all her socials because I want her to stay with me forever. So in love with Belinda Davids, that voice, the technique. She is so beautiful. She is perfect. I've never experienced anything like that, couldn't stop singing and cla...

Carmen At Joburg Theatre for the opening of "Carmen", full house, mature demographic. Always wanted to go the opera since "The Godfather". It has that appeal, the voices, drama, emotion, gusto, heritage and culture.  I love this form of storytelling, they sing dialogue, less to do with words and more about emotion, feeling and execution. Sing your heart out, be expressive and articulate, take your time, the stage is yours. The opera is sung in French and  English subtitles to translate, it helped with continuity and following the story. Don't have the vocabulary to describe the voices, such beauty, heavenly is my attempt. The choruses are mezmarrizing, in sync, perfect delivery and immersion in the current moment. In flow and in love with what they were doing. You have to have a voicebox, good pipes and deliver high notes. Tone deaf and you don't have a chance! Even when they were laughing, they were in tune. This is not idols, no woo...

SARAFINA At Joburg Theatre to watch SARAFINA. Beyond ecstatic to watch this masterpiece. Full house, every seat taken and it's like that for the remainder of the run. The movie is pretty great but there is nothing like the theatrical production. Bantu education, exuberant youth in black and white uniform, soldiers, police, violence, despair and hope. I'll extend my neck and declare that it's the greatest show of all time! Perfect choreography, heavenly voices, boundless energy, relatable South African characters, world class performers, fabulous lighting that moved the story and the content is king! The lighting throughout the show is just wonderful. The set evokes the 1970's, wide stage that is separated by a fence. One side is the students world and the otherside, the soldiers world. On either side of the students world is scaffolding. When there was a monologue, the students dispersed to the scaffolding, making the stage bigger for the perform...

Hidden giants If only schools taught physics like the "Hidden giants" lecture. An out the box lecture with live original score by composer Yasheen Modi who plays the piano and violinist Siobhan Lloyd-Jones. The sound is immersive and the visuals by Darius Botha cinematic and bold. That lecture is so cool, it is an experience, it has life, it has feeling, it's the type of show that makes you fall in love with science. Science for me at school was never that cool, if it were, I'd have a PhD in Physics. That's how good I feel about Physics and the Universe right now!  Dr. Luca Pontiggia serves at the lecturer for the show. He simplifies the Universe for the common man. He makes it fun and strips away all the fear factor. It's not intimidating, the visuals on the screen paint a picture, they tell a story. We learned so much about the nature of the Universe, it's inception, how old it is and how it expanded. We learned about Isaac Newton...

Bee Gees show  Joburg Theatre, the Bee Gees show, we came in a bit earlier, thought the show was at 7:30 pm. Oh well, being early never hurt anybody, relax, it's chilly, it's cold, let's get some hot chocolate, the show starts at 8:00 pm. We watched people enter, excitement, a turn out, while we were waiting for the show, "Across 110th street" is playing on the speaker, priming people for the experience. It was a fantastic show as expected. Showtime Australia the culprits, fingerprints all over. Incredible performers, they were totally in sync with us, the audience, even gave us 3 bonuses after we demanded for more, but that's expected, how can you stop the show after "Staying Alive" - highly improbable. They also performed "You should be dancing", "Tragedy, "Jive Talking", Nights on Broadway", "Night Fever", "More than a woman", "Spicks and Specks", "Words"...

You strike a woman, you strike a rock!  SamSays delivered the through ball and I controlled and finessed for the match ball, hatrick! I deliver over and over again. Thank you Sam, SamSays on the credits.  I was at Joburg Theatre to watch "You strike a woman, you strike a rock" (Wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokotho). Live theatre at the highest level. The play is set in the Apartheid era, PW Botha is the president, the story world is plauged by inequality, social injustice and poverty. The story opens with a Helicopter scattering, hovering and surveilling the location. The residents hate the roaming Helicopter, they call it a bird, they see it for what it is, spying, surveillance by the government. They curse and swear at every time it features in the show. This describes the relationship the people of the story have with the  government and unjust system. It's hate, resentment, they feel oppression and utter contempt for the system. We are ...