The Hexagon staff are taking a well deserved break. Thank you to all our loyal patrons for a wonderfull year of theatrical events and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

For some news of events in and arround Pietermaritzburg and Durban visit these websites:

Music Revival

Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre

The Snowman

Hexagon Theatre
Saturday 8^th December and Sunday 9^th December
at 10am

The Snowman leaves kids spellbound at Arts Festival 
24 Sep 2012

Estelle Sinkins

A MIX of puppets, storytelling and music performed by classically trained musicians held children in the Topsy Turvy at the Witness Hilton Arts Festival tent spellbound during the Pietermaritzburg City Orchestra’s performance of Raymond Briggs’ delightful children’s story, The Snowman.
Conductor Dave Plank drew from the musicians a top notch performance of Howard Blake’s complex score, while the warm tone of narrator, Clare Mortimer, cocooned those watching in the story of a young boy who builds a snowman who miraculously comes to life.
Adding to the charm of this work were the puppets created by Bryan Hiles and Peter Court of Creative Madness in Durban, actors, Marc Kay, Adam Dore and Clinton Small, who brought their creations to life, a storybook-style set showing a living room, kitchen and bedroom and a table which was by turns a bed, chair and deep freeze.
The Snowman was a delight from start to finish and clearly captivated its young audience. If you didn’t get tickets to see the show at Hilton, you missed a real treat. 

FROM WESTEND TO BROADWAY AND BEYOND -

The Fabulous Voice of Cat Simoni.

ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY!

Hexagon Dive, UKZN

Saturday 1^st December at 7.00 for 7.30pm (doors open at 6.45pm)

Picnic Evening – bring your food, but no drinks, there is a cash bar.

Tickets R80

Tables seat 10

To book e-mail hexagon@ukzn.ac.za or tel 033 260 5537

From West End to Broadway and Beyond showcases the sublime voice and supreme artistry of gorgeous Cat Simoni; performer par excellence.

With complete mastery of voice and song and equally at home in the stage musical, rock and pop environments, Cat’s extraordinary talent can transform well-worn numbers into new-minted gold. The show is trademark Cat. From West End to Broadway and Beyond tells the exhilarating story of how her life in London changed overnight from unknown ‘Westville girl’ pushing numbers in a City accountant's office, to a five-star ‘diva’, delivering top class, high-voltage performances at London's swanky venues; The Ritz, The Dorchester, The Park Lane Intercontinental and Berkeley Square Casino. Cat's hugely entertaining story of her crazy showbiz rollercoaster ride is at once spicy, irreverent and hilarious as she suddenly finds herself rubbing shoulders with high society's rich, eccentric and famous…!

Cat's amazing personal odyssey is the platform from which she delivers some of the biggest showstoppers from some of the biggest shows of all time…For From West End to Broadway and Beyond is Cat's homage to the greatest songwriting partnerships ever to grace London's West End and New York's ‘Great White Way’.  Unforgettable, timeless show-songs from Rodgers & Hart's wartime Carousel, Lerner & Lowe's glorious My Fair Lady & Camelot, Kander & Ebb's Cabaret and Rice & Lloyd Webber's smash hits Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Phantom of The Opera and Sunset Boulevard are all given the extra-special, inimitable Cat treatment....With her fabulously flexible voice and magnetic stage presence, she performs the show-songs that shook the world with consummate ease.

And Cat has some surprises in store...! She just can't resist tossing some of her personal all-time favorites into the 'showtime' mix.  Expect Cat's passionate take on iconic pop mega-hits like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and Killer Queen, The Eagles' Hotel California and Adele's Someone Like You…to name a few. These are the songs that turn Cat on… and guaranteed to turn audiences right on too!

From West End to Broadway and Beyond in the divine company of Cat Simoni

is world-class, thrilling entertainment and an evening to treasure.

Quite simply… Nobody Does It Better.

Ridge Nativity

Ridge Junior Primary School presents their annual Nativity

Hexagon Theatre
20^th to 22^nd November
at 6pm

to book please phone the school on 033 386 2215

SUNDAY MORNING

Sunday Morning

Hexagon Theatre
15^th 16^th and 17^th November
7.30pm
Bookings open 29^th October
to book email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za
or phone the theatre on 033 260 5537

Mat is a successful photographer who has his life exactly how he likes it - ordered, neat, and beautifully composed - until the day his girlfriend tells him she is pregnant. In an attempt to process this disturbing information he goes out for a run. Straying from his regular route, he ventures into a strange part of the city where he makes a gruesome discovery that changes everything. This fast-paced story is infused with the kind of aggressive wit, acute observation, real suspense, imminent danger, selfish need and poignant humanity that are the basic elements of urban life in contemporary South Africa.

This one-man play, written by Nick Warren, directed by Jenine Collocott and performed by James Cuningham has garnered much praise.
“Unstoppable. Sharp, sassy script. Deftly directed.” – Diane De Beer, Start Tonight
“Virtually flawless performance.” – Steve Kretzmann, Artlink
“The funniest, most enriching and most rewarding show I saw at festival this year.” - Christina Kennedy
“This is not good. It is brilliant.” – Katharina von Ruckteschell (Goethe Institut Director)

Sunday Morning was presented as part of the Solo Season by the Grahamstown Festival as part of their Main Programme in 2012.  The development of Sunday Morning was funded by the Goethe Institut and produced for a short run in their Gallery space, Goethe on Main, in 2011.

Desert Rose Dance School presents

Dancing in the Desert

Hexagon Theatre
10^th November
at 2.30pm and 6.30pm

Bookings open on the 29^th October
to book email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za
or phone the Theatre on 033 260 5537

IN OTHER WORDS...

Maritzburg Singers Live at the Dive!
The Hexagon Dive
Friday 2nd November 7pm for 7.30pm (Doors open at 6.45pm)
Picnic Evening - bring your food, but NO DRINKS, there is a cash bar.
Tickets R60 (Tables seat 10)
Bookings: hexagon@ukzn.ac.za
 
Maritzburg's top choral group is back, fresh from a successful concert in aid of the SPCA, which received a standing ovation. With a selection of songs which will delight and entertain, Maritzburg Singers, under the baton of Helen Vermaak, are bringing their special brand of choral magic to the intimacy of the Hexagon Dive.
 
This year's programme includes four sections: The Movies, The Musicals, Spirituals and The Seventies. From the swinging 'Fly Me to the Moon', through a beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein medley, and a rousing arrangement of 'Down by the Riverside', to Abba and Simon and Garfunkel.  Other numbers include Wind Beneath My Wings, Oh Holy Night and You Raise Me Up.
 
For lovers of good music in general and choral music in particular, this evening promises to be a highlight of the season as it joyfully ushers in the approaching festive season.
7pm for a 7.30pm start
Safe parking on the University grounds. entrance off Golf road, opposite Hutchinson road.

Hexagon Theatre

Friday 19^th October at 6.30pm

Tickets R70 (R50 students/seniors)

Fresh from the Hilton Arts Festival where it wowed audiences once again, comes HORN OF SORROW.

Ubejane! He smells the wind.  Ubejane! He sees as if in the mist. Ubejane! He hears the air. Ubejane!

Nicholas Ellenbogen’s  Horn of Sorrow is an extraordinary piece of physical theatre created in the mid 1980’s  with a cast of imaginative and dynamic actors in a workshopped environment.  It highlighted the plight of the rhino and the issue of poaching. Sadly, nothing could be more topical right now.  The current production is directed by Brendan Grealy who was part of the original production.

The story is  narrated by the comical Vulture who follows the fortunes of a baby rhino, called Tembalethu. He sees  the game plan of  poachers and local communities who see poaching as a means to earn money to feed their families. But what of the survival of this ancient beast, what of  South Africa’s natural heritage, what of the fatal damage to the tourist industry?

Horn of Sorrow has an illustrious history.  Public and critical acclaim, as well as countless performances world wide, have garnered it:

- a Grahamstown Pick of the Fringe Award;

- an FNB Vita Award for Best Playwright of the Year (Nicholas Ellenbogen);

- a Scotsman Pick of the Fringe Award at the Edinburgh Festival.

September is HILTON ARTS FESTIVAL month

21st to 23rd September 2012

Follow this link to the Hilton Arts Festival website.

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Hilton College Theatre

The Classic South African Play at the Hexagon Studio Theatre

Hexagon Studio Theatre

Tuesday 18^th – Friday 21^st  September at 7.30pm

Tickets R40 (R25 students and seniors) available AT THE DOOR only.

Directed by Ntokozo Madlala with 2nd and 3rd year drama students.

Originally a workshop production by the Junction Avenue Theatre Company, Sophiatown has become one of South African classic texts, reflecting historical events that have shaped our nation. This play tells of the tragic tale of one of the cases of forced removals in South Africa in the 1950’s as ordered by the government of the time under the Natives Resettlement Act.

The colourful characters include Mamariti,  a shebeen queen and  Drum magazine journalist Jakes, who dreams of telling interesting stories about the life of Sophiatown. Mamariti has a daughter Lulu, a cheeky 16 year old schoolgirl, and a son Mingus who is a notorious gangster who justifies his cruel habits by saying that he “steals from the rich and sells to the poor”.  His girlfriend Princess and sidekick Charlie, complete the characters living in Mamariti’s freehold house.

This is a typical black township community whose normality gets interrupted by the arrival of a Jewish white girl Ruth, who responds to an advert in Drum magazine to come and live with black people in Sophiatown. Out of curiousity and without her parents’ consent she decides to step into the unknown.

The journey of the play gives us insight into these characters lives and their opinions about education, politics, culture, and their possible removal from Sophiatown. The presence of the white girl makes for interesting dynamics in the house as they try and accommodate her curiosity and theirs without getting too suspicious!

This is a story of a community by characterised by jazz, freehold title deeds, gangsterism, politics and the hub of black intellectualism. Though there is evidence of poverty they take pride in what they have because it is theirs. However there is looming danger of being forcefully removed from their pride and joy, Sophiatown, and being uprooted into the new township of Meadowlands, farthest from town where the white people live, but also where the government can ensure that black people and every other racial group remains separate from one another.

Directed by Ntokozo Madlala of the Award winning Crush Hopper, this production is performed by 2nd and 3rd year drama students of UKZN Pietermaritzburg campus as part of their course requirements. This production has a chorus which functions as representative of the general population of Sophiatown and shares the responsibility of telling the story alongside the actors, through song and movement reminiscent of the era.

The cast is joined by the young musicians of Platform, a student formed organisation that provides a ‘platform’ for artistically inclined students to explore and develop their musical talents, who will render some jazz tunes to accompany the performance.

Andre The Hilarious Hypnotist heads back to Pmb

Hexagon Theatre

Tues 28^th August – Sat 1^st September at 7.30pm

Tues SPECIAL R50 at the door ONLY. (Box office opens at 6.40pm)

Wed R60, Thurs – Sat R70.

Book on 033 260 5537 or email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za.

Back by popular demand, Andre The Hilarious Hypnotist gets set for a long overdue return to the Hexagon Theatre from 28^th August to 1^st Sept

.

The man who set an eight-week sold-out attendance record at Durban’s  Sneddon Theatre and filled the Playhouse Opera to capacity, makes a welcome return to the province he was born in as he celebrates his 20th year on stage.

If you have not heard of Andre The Hilarious Hypnotist, where have you been? Known for the ability to take members of the audience and get them to perform eccentric stunts while under his spell, Andre returns to The Hexagon Theatre next week, and with special prices for different nights, it's a show the entire family can enjoy.

Suggestions range from the strange (playing in a band) to the somewhat outrageous (thinking you are a bee trying to work your way into a tin) and that is just the start of a two-hour orchestrated disaster under careful control of Andre's hypnotic talents.

For those wishing to volunteer but not wanting to miss the show, Andre promises two free tickets if you were part of the action, and DVD's are available to the public after each performance.

But the fun does not end there - this year sees Andre's brand new "Caught On Camera" viral video show, in which members from the audience are invited to join Andre for lunch (his treat) and you might just find yourself on the other side of an unexpected situation which will form part of Andre's new reality series featured on a Facebook channel near you.

And nobody can be more excited than Andre himself. Promising a new look (no not just an older face but a slimmer figure as well), a fresh fast-paced show, and a number of new hilarious hypnotic routines that will have friends and family in stitches of laughter, Andre is ready to take on Pmb and invites you to join him in the journey.

Magical Mystery Tour

A fabulously groovy 60's Beatles Show!

Hexagon Theatre, UKZN Pietermaritzburg

Tues 21st - Sat 25th August

Tues to Fri at 7.30pm, Sat at 2.30 and 7.30pm.

Tickets R70 (R50 for students and seniors)

Bookings: email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za or tel 033 260 5537.

The Hexagon presents a fabulous evening of nostalgia, history and good music in the form of Magical Mystery Tour, a groovy trip through the 60's which plots the meteoric rise of the Fab Four against the timeline of major world events. The Beatles’ music is ideally suited to a theatrical tribute because of the huge variety of styles their songs cover.

Using some fifty Beatles’ songs (some complete and some shortened or just hinted at!) the show’s large ensemble cast takes a new and dynamic look at the era and their music, from ‘Love Me Do through to Let It Be, and provides an evening of sheer musical pleasure and delight. Directed by the veteran team of Peter Mitchell and Helen Vermaak, with choreography by Paul Datlen, and a band under the baton of Jeff Judge, the show brings together some of KZN’s top singing talent, and introduces some new voices to the Musical Theatre scene.

Erin Fourie, of 2011 Idols fame, joins other established singers such as Sandra Styles, Caitlin Kilburn,  Tamlyn Calder, Daniel Rossouw, Lunga Msimang and Jon Branch. The rest of the cast is made up some seasoned theatre performers, as well as  fresh young talent, all ready to make their mark on the local music and theatre scene.

The show is certain to appeal to all Beatles’ fans who can indulge in the nostalgia of a memorable era and great music, and will introduce a whole new generation to the pleasure and enchantment of Beatles’ songs. 

Domain Keiser School of Dance presents

The Journey

Hexagon Theatre
Friday 3^rd and Saturday 4^th August at 7pm

Tickets cost R45.00

To Book, please email the Hexagon Theatre on hexagon@ukzn.ac.za
                                         or  phone 033 260 5537

If you would like to support Project Gateway, why not book a ticket to our latest fundraiser, 'In Love Again... The Noel and Gertie Show'?

The scene is a cocktail bar in Jamaica, in the 1960s.  A rather bored Noel Coward, ‘Master’ of English comedy, is unexpectedly reunited with his former co-star; the incomparable, gorgeous Gertrude Lawrence.

In the brief, deliciously funny encounter that follows, Noel and his blithe spirit and divine muse, the mischievous Gertie, relive their greatest stage successes, reminisce about their glory days – and sing the songs that made them the toast of the West End, Broadway – and the entire theatre world.

Unforgettable songs like A Room With A View, Mad About The Boy, I’ll See You Again, Some Day I’ll Find You, The Stately Homes of England, Don’t Let’s Be Beastly To The Germans, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, London Pride - and the wickedly funny ‘honeymoon scene’ from Noel’s smash hit, Private Lives.

Dates:   26,27, 28 July

Time:     7.00 for 7.30

Venue: The Dive (Hexagon Theatre, UKZN)

Cost:       R200 (50% donation to Project Gateway)

Delicious 3-course meal included

Tables seat 10

Cash Bar

To book, e-mail hexagon@ukzn.ac.za or tel: 033 260 5537... All proceeds to Project Gateway!

 Mob Feel and Privy

Hexagon Studio Theatre, UKZN

Thursday 26^th July at 6pm

Tickets R50 (R25 for seniors/students)

Tickets at the door only.

The two National Arts Festival student shows from UKZN are to be staged as a double bill for one performance only in the Hexagon Studio Theatre on Thursday July 26^th at 6pm. The award-winning Mob Feel from Pietermaritzburg and Privy from Durban were both well received at the festival, and director of Mob Feel, Kline Smith, won the awards for Best Director and Best Writer.

MOB FEEL

“In the soul of almost every being raved a seething madness, wild and passionate, with the causes lying deep. No cursory measures can remedy, no superficial explanation can illuminate. These jovial faces that can change into masks of bloodlust and destruction on smallest provocation”
– Can Themba, Mob Passion (1953)

Two robust Storytellers (TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande) mesh the age-old traditions of storytelling with physical theatre to create an intimate revisiting of the incidences of gang violence and ethnic rivalry that took place in the township of Westbury, Johannesburg in the 1950s. A young girl (Pertunia Msani) carefully observes the Storytellers as they weave the narratives of the past. She attempts to speak but is restrained, until finally her silence is substituted with fury. Throughout, live music by Mércio Langa enhances the feel of the play.

The performance is a love-story about violence and passion, about Linga, a Xhosa, and Mapula, a Sotho, (a Lethebele and a Russian!) forbidden by rival families to exchange even the slightest of glances.

Evocative, vivid and poetic language and imagery is used to articulate the detrimental effects of mob mentalities and township violence, and the dangers of losing one’s sense of individual feeling and responsibility when caught up in a mob feeling.

PRIVY

In a country like South Africa, we negotiate our way through various cultures, languages, races and beliefs, but it is often difficult to find a common ground. One thing most of us share is our use of that most inconspicuous, yet highly private object, the toilet.

Privy aims to explore South Africans in relation to the toilet, looking at how it can be used for recreation, oppression and alleviation of burdens.

Using a range of performance styles and influenced by different genres, the show presents a part of the South African story as experienced by ordinary citizens.

Written and directed by Bronwyn Botha and Jason Barber.

B-rock Dance Studio is back, this time with 

Cirque du soDancé!!!

 Hope you ready for another exciting dance show.
 This year our theme is the circus. So if you love dancing,
 and you love the circus, come and see how incorporate
 the two to bring you some entertaining dance routines!

Date: 21st July
Time: 1:30pm and 4:30pm
Cost: R50
Venue: The Hexagone Theatre, Ukzn Pmb

Hope to see you there and don't be shy to bring a friend or 5.

Bookings phone the theatre on 033 260 5537

Pieter-Dirk Uys presents
ADAPT OR FLY
Hexagon Theatre UKZN, 4 – 9 June @ 7.30pm

The Bats will be with us from the 25th to the 26th May

 THE BATS - ALL ROCKED OUT

Hexagon Theatre

Friday 25th - Saturday 26th May at 7.30pm

Bookings email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za or tel 033 260 5537

It all started in 1964 when the bats, Eddie Eckstein, Paul Ditchfield, Pete Clifford and the late Barry Jarman, burst onto the local scene and became, to many ardent followers, south africa's answer to the beatles. They toured extensively, both locally and internationally, wowing audiences here and in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) and Germany with their brilliant music and hilarious comedy show. More than just great musicians, they were also great entertainers, and it was this that kept them at the top of their game for 16 years, an amazing achievement for any band.

In the early 70's they won a Sarie award for 'Song of the year' with 'Who's that girl', and in 1972 Paul's composition 'Oh God it's beautiful' was chosen to represent south africa at the Tokyo world song festival. Paul took Eddie with him to Tokyo to perform the song and they reached the finals.

In 1980, with many hit singles, including 'In a shabby little hut' and 'Vat hom dawie' and a whole bunch of long playing vinyls under their belts, they decided to go their separate ways to pursue solo careers. This break just seemed to hone their talents because after a break of 21 years, they are better musicians now than they were then!!

After constant pressure from their fans to get back together again, Eddie, Paul & Pete, minus the late Barry who had decided to retire, were joined by Derek Gordon and got back on the road for what they thought would be a short 'come back'. Little did they know that 10 years later they would still be on the road, delighting audiences young and old.

"ALL ROCKED OUT"...........  NOT ON YOUR LIFE...