April, 2013 | Megan's Head

Bloody #Rooiland

On April 25, 2013

Rooiland was a couple of shows away from being one of the ones I didn’t get to, so I am really pleased I made it to The Baxter last night to see it. I had been warned about how hectic it was, seen the publicity pics and I know the content; based on the numbers gangs of Pollsmoor Prison.

Even so. Even so I wasn’t quite prepared to see it played out quite like that. Played out right until the end. Played out with not a single diversion. It is totally, gruesomely bleak. Four men, in a cell. Four men in hell.

Charleton George delivers a performance like very few I have ever seen on stage before. I shudder remembering the ‘granny knitting’ and what he is hiding. The thing about him is his extraordinary ability to switch from the mundane to high Afrikaans poetry in a heartbeat, transcending the actual and going to the theatrical string of pain and beauty. Eina.

Brendon Daniels is riveting and hideous. He embodies his character and doesn’t miss a beat; from his sleepy, slit eyed slouch, to his Â brutal madness. He is who I will have nightmares about.Â Wilhelm van der Walt and Leon Kruger are agonising and seriously good too.

Rooiland is the exact opposite of a fun night out at the theatre. It did my head in. Jaco Bouwer directed this piece brilliantly, to its most horrible conclusion. Bravo to all involved.

Mr P (is a girl) and other tiny miracles in a rescued kitten

By megan

On April 23, 2013

In Cape Town, deeply personal, inspiration, small furries

532784_10151342041945824_101132115_n When the kids called Big Friendly on Friday evening and he called me to help I saw two teeny faces sticking out of his fists. He is known in our street as a soft touch when it comes to animals in need. “Uncle, doesn’t your cat need a cat?” they asked. They had found the two in an abandoned lot in our road. We put them in the spare room, shut the door and I went back to cooking; we had people coming for dinner.

Later that night I went to see them (Big Friendly had gone to get cat sand and we had given them some wet cat food that we had for Chassie in case of emergencies) and they were curled up in the back of the gas heater. That’s where they were when I went to check on them the next morning. The little whiter one was feisty, the other, most beautiful one totally shy and scared. In no time my friend arrived to take possession of one of them and she went home with the beautiful and shy Finally. We flashed past the vet for a quick word, a sexing and to find out how old Finally was – 4-5 weeks!

I have been actively searching for a home for Mr P, who up until today I thought was a boy. Mr P has been holed up in the spare room and entertained with very frequent visits by me and Big Friendly, and our hearts are lost to her even though we really want her to find another home; for many reasons, one of them being this street is not good for cats, and another is that our pups are only 10 months old and still pretty demanding. Nonetheless, having her here has been entertaining, delightful and mind blowing.

Mr P is the size of my hand. She knows how to use cat sand. Her tail stands up straight when she runs to the door to greet me. Her tiny ribs are like bands of elastic in her chest, above her ever expanding round belly. Her eyes look at you and she blinks. She chats. She has a loud purr and a little, questioning meow. She chirps and whistles in pleasure and curiosity. She jumps with all legs off the ground. She rubs herself sideways along the pillow and then bliksems straight off because she has misjudged the space and length. She comes straight back for more. She holds my hand. She puts the teeniest cold paw gently on my nose. She runs when I talk. Her paws are the size of smarties. Her claws and teeth (the few she has) are like cactus thorns. She has a tiny kitty stinky bum. She is hilarious.

Get cracking Kraken

By megan

On April 17, 2013

In Cape Town, show reviews

For just under an hour this evening I badly wanted to be a 10 year old boy. I just knew how much better, realer and more amazing Get Kraken would have been. It is Jon Keevy’s new script for young audiences, directed by Kim Kerfoot and performed by the energetic and dynamic Jason Potgieter, Shawn Acker, Stefan Erasmus and Dylan Esbach, on for a short run at The Intimate.

It is the fast-paced adventure of a young boy and his fisherman grandfather and how they end up in the sea, then on a submarine, then in a spaceship in a whale, and then back on the surface of the water, with tons of craziness in between.

Jon has written a fun and funny script and Kim has directed the cast with vigour and cleverness. I loved it. I loved voices and great team work, the jumping around of scale and location, the great ‘puppet-hands’ that were fish, boats being tossed on huge waves, periscopes, watery depths, drowning bodies. I loved the crazy, clever story and I loved the little inside jokes. I loved the style of ‘making’ the characters and locations by saying the things that were there, or dressing them.

Find a kid and take them to see the show.

A little more about Me (part 7)

By megan

On April 15, 2013

In Cape Town, deeply personal, G'town, inspiration, me on stage, theatre stuff, world of work, writing

I woke up this morning with words running through my head. This is a good thing. You see, I have started learning words for my self-penned one-woman show Drive With Me, that will be premiering on this year’s Grahamstown festival’s fringe. I have forgotten how hard it is to learn words for a one-person show, but I am so thrilled that I am doing this that the learning is a joy. As it should be. I am feeling so different about this show. I am deeply proud of my writing. In Drive With Me I have come as close as possible to really saying exactly what I intended. Now to honour it with some good acting.

I am also filled with creamy bubbles of excitement because Song and Dance enters its second week of rehearsals today, for a run at The Kalk Bay Theatre starting on 1 May. I popped in to the rehearsal room on Friday and director Ntombi Makhutshi and perfect cast Anele Situlweni, Deon Nebulane and Zondwa Njokweni are doing hilarious and amazing stuff. It’s the first time I have written something and then completely handed it over to others to make, and it is thrilling.

So, truth is, I feel like one of the luckiest people again.

The List

By megan

On April 14, 2013

In Cape Town, show reviews

I do not have any children. This makes me one of a very few women of my age who don’t know what it’s like to look after and grow them. And it is possible that that is the reason why I wasn’t entirely swept up by the script of The List, in spite of being entranced, moved, mesmerised and awed by Susan Danford’s performance.

The List, written by Jennifer Tremblay, directed by Leila Henriques and embodied by Susan Danford, opened at The Baxter last night. And it is a like an arrow to the heart in terms of performance, regardless of (for me) its rather ‘for chicks’ subject matter.

I must confess, I didn’t like the set except for the projections of the words, like chapters, and I wasn’t crazy about the lighting, but who cares? Susan was brilliant, and she held me and moved me. She is a godess of acting.

A Funny Thing at the Alexander Bar

By megan

On April 13, 2013

In Cape Town, show reviews

I always get so delighted when I go and watch stuff at Alexander Bar. I am so proud that I know Nicholas and Edward and that I can ‘chat to the owners’ of Cape Town’s most delicious bar and theatre. So it wasn’t hard to propel myself there last night (on Nicholas’ recommendation) to watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Talent Show (I know, I know, not great for the second longest title in the world).

I knew very little about the show, other than Roxanne Blaise was one of the two performers. She shares the stage with Greg Parvess in Ian Tucker’s script, and it is a real cutie. Two contestants for a talent show are forced to share the same make-shift dressing room as the competition runs a bit late and, let’s just say that they are very different. Roxanne plays Angel, a wannabe stand-up, to absolute perfection. She is delicious, funny, intense, energetic and so totally lovable in the most irritating way. Greg plays the actor with a physical intensity that I love (but I just wish there was more why in the script to justify the extremeness of his action).

I laughed out loud a lot at this local, clever, cute and delightful show. If you are reading this today, go and see it tonight. Bam.

Megan's Head

A place where Megan gets off her head.

Month: April 2013 (Page 1 of 2)

Bloody #Rooiland

Mr P (is a girl) and other tiny miracles in a rescued kitten

Get cracking Kraken

A little more about Me (part 7)

The List

A Funny Thing at the Alexander Bar

STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE.

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