Check out the amazeballs trailer for Fully Committed, then go to Alexander Bar and book for the one off performance on Sat 30 March! Love it.
Tag: Pieter Bosch Botha (Page 1 of 2)
Fully Committed – Great news from afar
There is nothing quite as lovely as creating work, sending it out into the universe and then kicking back, far away, and relaxing as it does brilliantly. That is exactly what is happening with the delicious little play I directed called Fully Committed, starring the incredibly talented and versatile Pieter Bosch Botha. It is currently on at The Old Mutual Theatre On The Square in Sandton, Jozi, and to be honest, I have not received such universally brilliant praise, both on twitter and facebum, an officially in the reviews, in a very long time.
It is so cool reading about all the really good stuff, and we both feel so validated for the creative choices we made, funny great ideas we had, and hard work we put in. Yes, we both feel a little bit brilliant I think.
But check it out yourself. Here is a list of links to the reviews.
1. The Tonight (my favourite)
2.
4. Artslink
I will update the list when the others come out, but right now I couldn’t be prouder. If you are in Jozi, go and check it out.
30 Exciting things before the year ends. And after. And latkes.
So Christmas has just been, and in a special twist of lucky fish fate it was a divine family one, with Big Friendly’s true blood in the Cape to celebrate. It was delicious, and seven year old Kai crowned me the best cooker. What an award.
But before I even relax a teeny bit I am getting ready to jump into a few things before the year is out. I am in the recording studio over the next two days, directing voice overs for GreatGuide, who have more than one or two projects on the go that I am involved with. And tomorrow (Thurs 27th) w are performing our first monthly long form experimental improv show called Jam Sandwich, at The Alexander Bar. The teeny theatre above the bar seems to have taken off with wings, and we are delighted to be part of it. I think we are all sold out for tomorrow night. How cool? Cool.
Then, rehearsals are under way for Fully Committed. I worked on directing this show at the very beginning of the year with Pieter Bosch Botha, who performed this decadent marathon of a one-man-playing-37-characters, before he took it to the Festival of Fame in Jozi. Well, now on the first two weekends of 2013 it is going to have its first showing in Cape Town at The Alexander Bar. I can’t wait. Pieter Bosch Botha is inspiring. It will be on on Friday and Saturday the 4th and 5th and again the following weekend of the 11th and 12th. Book here now because the small venue sells out fast.
And then, on the 9th of January I am winging my way to Prague, of all places, for two weeks. It’s also for GreatGuide. We are going to be designing and writing commentary for walking tours of Prague and I cannot wait! Prague. Winter. Oldness. Eastern Europe. 1st time.
I come straight back and jump into our most exciting Improv Festival at the Kalk Bay Theatre from 30 Jan to 9 Feb.
Gung ho for next year I tell ya.
But right now it is latke time with our favourite family, the Noodles. Here is my made up recipe for the most flawless, delicious latkes. Grate peeled potatoes on the fine grate. Do an onion too. Squeeze out as much juice as you can. Mix in an egg and some flour. Put blobs of the mixture in hot oil. Turn them often and try your hardest to wait until they go a delicious golden brown. Eat with sour cream, apple sauce (apparently), marmalade (not my cuppa) or even dijon mustard. Yum.
Swooping Swoop
I have to confess, the last thing I felt like doing was dragging my adult self to a children’s show at 11am this morning, but I am so chuffed with myself that I did. I missed Swoop the first time it was on, but today I got to see its first performance at the Theatre Arts Admin Collective in Obz, and I am so bladdy excited that there is a clever, fun, original piece of live theatre for kids this holiday.
Swoop, based on a story by Hilda Cronje, worked on by Karen Jeynes and directed by Pieter Bosch Botha is an action packed, multimedia, environmental piece that will delight and entertain even the most jaded of 6 to 12 year olds. And it is local. And it is local.
Swoop tells the story of a young boy, Sam, who moves with his mom from Cape Town to Durban and how he befriends Jabu, who sparks an interest in him for swallows. This leads to all sorts of things happening; at home, at school and even at the airport! It is action packed, modern, age old, hilarious and even moving (I did. I shed a tear) with songs, and dancing, and puppetry and a brilliant table that can do and become everything. Talented young performers Iman Isaacs, Harrison Makubalo, Shaun Acker and Shaun Gabriel Smith make a beautiful meal of it all. I loved them equally and very much.
So here is my challenge. Dear parents of Cape Town, break the mould. Get off the beaten track. Take your kids to something different, in a different space. Swooping great story, brilliantly told and 100% enjoyable.
Song and Dance – A charmed beginning
Last night Ntombi Makhutshi won Best Director for Song and Dance, my play that was a finalist (and runner up) in the PANSA staged play reading competition for new South African plays. Once I had (irrationally, you know what happens when you suddenly find yourself being all competitive and ‘competition brained’) gotten over my disappointment of not winning, I was able to get back to the real stuff, and I want to pay tribute and give thanks here to that; the real stuff.
First of all, thank you PANSA. This competition is an amazing platform for us writers. What a brilliant way for the scripts to get a first outing. It is a long-waited for, very valued part of the theatre calendar. What is also so important here is that the staged readings feel safe, creative and fun as well as competitive. It is a fantastic thing to be part of. Thank you Brian, Angela, Nono and Max (the PANSA people I harassed on an almost daily basis) for your support, problem solving, enthusiasm and encouragement. And Paul, thanks for the butternut soup. Also, thank you Magnet Theatre; I loved being in your space.
The director and cast of Song and Dance were a dream come true. Ntombi Makhutshi understood what I wanted to say with this play right from the start, and then she set about making it happen with confidence and a deliberate intention. I thought that it was extraordinary that she was able to get so much of the physical comedy and timing into the piece with only a few days’ rehearsal. This was helped by our brilliant casting of Deon Nebulane, Anele Situlweni and Zondwa Njokweni, who rose to the challenge and made my script look brilliant. To be honest, my biggest sadness that Song and Dance didn’t win Best Play is that the cast is not going to go to Durban for the final. I would have loved them to have gone.
I was so happy that so many of my friends made the effort to come and see it. And I was delighted to receive such positive, constructive and helpful feedback from the judges Lara Bye, Tess Fairweather and Mzi Vavi, as well as from the audience. This steers me in the direction of how to make the script better for when it happens for real in a full-scale production.
I was delighted and humbled by the standard of the company I kept, with winning writer Peter Hayes (for his play Suburbanalia), Karen Jeynes (previous winner for Everybody Else Is F***ing Perfect) and Fred Benbow-Hebbert (whose plays have been in every PANSA finals). I was beyond excited that Ntombi not only held her own but took the honours in  company with the brilliant and experienced Tara Louise Notcutt, Pieter Bosch Botha and Jaqueline Domisse.
There will be very little resting. We may not be off to Durban, but the plans will start soon. Thank you team. This is just the beginning of Song and Dance.