Favourites!

Hexagon Dive, UKZN, Pmb

Fri 5th, Sat 6th, Thurs 11th, Fri 12th, Sat 13th Dec

7.00 for 7.30pm (Doors open at 6.45pm)

Picnic evenings: bring your own food, but no drinks. There is a cash bar.

Tickets R80pp (Tables seat 10)

To book, email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za

They’re back!  This is their 12^th annual show, and this time they’re singing their favourites, your favourites, everyone's favourites! The company of Erin Fourie, Helen Vermaak, Sandra Styles and Brandon Bosch have put together an eclectic selection of random songs from all styles and genres. The show is once again directed by Peter Mitchell, with St John Haw at the piano and the ever-popular Ryan Calder on drums.

This time the very talented singers have been given carte blanche to sing favourites from the 60’s through to today. Some of your choices are in the mix, so the wildly improbable appears with the crazily indulgent, but all with their own unique interpretation. Music of the Night is contrasted with All About That Bass, Evergreen with Skyfall ; songs by the Beatles are side by side with Barry Manilow, Adele,  ABBA and John Legend. Whatever your taste in music, there is something for you! 

Favourites! includes selections of songs from the movies as well as songs from Musicals, popular and obscure. Oldies like Build Me Up Buttercup are included with 'newies' like Somebody That I Used to Know. 

If you love music, good singing, and interesting interpretations of the world's most popular tunes, then Favourites! is the place to be this festive season. See you there! 

Mr Johnson Presents…

Godfrey Johnson in Cabaret

Hexagon Dive, UKZN

21^st and 22^nd November at 7.00 for 7.30pm

Tickets R85pp

Tables seat 10

Picnic Evenings: please bring food, but no drink – there is a cash bar.

Doors open at 6.45pm

To book, please email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za

Enquiries 033 260 5537.

Lovers, coffee, fanatics and noses are cabaret delights when Mr Johnson Presents.

Mr Johnson Presents is the latest solo show from award-winning musician, composer, cabaret star, director and actor, Godfrey Johnson. Following a rave-reviewed run at Kalk Bay Theatre, KBT Productions brings this musical sit down comedy cabaret to the Hexagon Dive.

Armed with only his piano, his voice, and his wit, Johnson transports you to the cabaret houses of Europe, his local gym, the 80’s, the most hipsterish of coffee shops, and the bottom of the ocean. Imagine Victor Borge meets Sid Vicious with a twist of Bach and Sinatra as Johnson entertains in his incomparable style, with songs about lovers, fanatics and noses. His dazzling range encompasses the work of Kurt Weill, Wolfgang Mozart, Tori Amos, The Sex Pistols, and maybe an Elizabethan Love Song or two.

His performances have been described as "... magnificently executed...”; "... pleasantly unpredictable..”; “4 stars”; “remarkably admirable …” and an “uncanny ability of mixing pathos with humour and a good dollop of sauciness”.

Featuring a pianissimo, forte and popular audience-choice section, the line-up might also include his unique arrangements of Prince’s When Doves Cry and Mariner’s Revenge by The Decembrists, to Leonard Cohen’s Famous Blue Raincoat. Johnson also impresses audiences with his own original songs such as Modern Man and I’m Not Gonna Sing.

Johnson has performed over twenty one-man shows nationally and internationally and has worked for many years as a musician, director, actor and composer. In 2007, he won the Fleur du Cap award for Best Performance in a Cabaret for his work in Kissed by Brel, and in 2009 was nominated for the same award for his performance in Flirting with Coward. He is well known for his interpretations of the music of Jacques Brel, and recently released the CD, The Shadow of Brel.

Johnson’s illustrious career includes accompanying Pieter-Dirk Uys in numerous cabarets and also musical direction for F.A.K Songs and Other Struggle Anthems. Mostly recently they performed together at The Fugard Theatre and The Auto and General Theatre on The Square in Fifty Shades of Bambi. Other of his acclaimed one-man shows include, Alice sal Regkom, The Importance of Being Harnessed, Songs my Lover Forgot to Sing to Me and Stories of Crime and Passion. He has also delighted audiences in cabarets such as Minnie & Johnson, The Godfrey Johnson Showcase and Coward & Cole.

The Glitter Girls - Reunion of '89

DOUBLE BILL: THE SMILE & BLACK WOMEN BOXED

The last in our season of post-graduate directors’ works.

Hexagon Studio Theatre, UKZN Pmb

Wed 1st October and Thurs 2nd October 2014

6.00pm

Tickets R30 AT THE DOOR

THE SMILE

" The same smile means a dozen different things"

We live in an age of information, and sometimes we think information  is the same as truth. We receive news. We receive data.  We seem to be told everything, but often we know nothing, because knowledge is not about facts but about experience, and experience is untidy, made up of shame, prejudice, pain, exaggeration, and the correction of these things.

The Smile is a delicious piece of Absurd Theatre that explores the notion of humour in theatre. A space were you can smile, laugh and laugh some more. It questions what makes one smile.

Directed by Smangaliso Mnguni.

BLACK WOMEN BOXED

“They cage us into a word, a definition, a label and that is why we will always be black women boxed”.

This play tells the story of three black women who each recount their own experiences of being labelled and being put into a box by society, by men and by each other.  Inspired by Brechtian elements, including the use of a chorus and of song, the play explores some of the obstacles that black women face today.   Directed by Terece Swartz

Mzanzi Stories

A lot of criticism has been levelled at the ‘Born-Free’ generation – we’ve all heard it – perhaps even said it, they’re lazy, entitled, they don’t value their freedom etc. However we seldom hear their responses to this criticism. What does this generation have to say about growing up ‘free’ – what are their stories, their hopes and fears for the future of South Africa, twenty years into its democracy? Is the legacy of Nelson Mandela and so many other freedom fighters being honoured through the actions of this generation? Is reconciliation possible? Where is the rainbow in the rainbow nation? Where do we belong in this multicultural mix? Join this talented cast of second and third year Drama students as they explore and relate stories of their own special and often complex relationship to Mzanzi told through the mediums of Dance, physical theatre, comedy, satire, spoken word, prose and song.

ANDRE THE HILARIOUS HYPNOTIST

Hexagon Theatre

26^th – 30^th August at 7.30pm

Tues R50, Wed – Thurs R75, Fri – Sat R85.

Tickets at Computicket  http://online.computicket.com/web/event/andre_the_hilarious_hypnotist/840947020/referer:highlights-index-0-7_18_204386424-0-grid   or tel 0861 915 8000.

Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist goes Mental at the HexagonTheatre! That could be the title of his new show opening at the Hexagon Theatre in Pietermaritzburg. With a bit of mentalism and mindreading included in Andre’s usual bag of strange, weird and very funny routines, Andre takes the people of Pietermaritzburg on a two hour journey of insane hilarity. 

As always a mixed blend of routines create the performance and this year Andre added a special guest performance by a world renowned pianist (or at least that would be what the volunteer believes). When you see high heels, dinosaurs and people singing “Old MacDonald” while doing the Rabbit dance you know you are officially at Andre’s performance. 

Andre, who has been performing his brand of entertainment (Stage Hypnosis), has become somewhat of a legend as he returns to theatres across South Africa yearly. If you have not yet seen Andre in action you cannot call yourself  South African!. This is your passport to continuous belly laughter, suitable for young, old and everybody in between. 

Andre Will be at the Hexagon Theatre from Tues 26th Aug - Saturday 30th August at 7.30pm nightly and with a range of ticket prices starting from as little as R50.00 on  Tuesday to R85 on Saturday, Andre has made the show available to the masses. 

Tickets for Andre’s show are available at Computicket. 

Colleen Boote School of dance presents

WILD SWANS

Hexagon Theatre 20th to 23rd August

Wednesday and Thursday at 6.30
Friday at 7.30 and

Saturday at 2.30 and 7pm

An enchanting story ballet of the Wild Swans is performed by the Colleen Boote School of Dance at the Hexagon Theatre.  The cast of 180 beautifully costumed dancers, of all ages, will keep the audience, captivated. This is a perfect outing for the whole family.

Young, Gifted and Gorgeous.

From Billie Holiday to Beyoncè

Hexagon Theatre, UKZN, Pmb

Fri 8^th – Wed 13^th August

Fri, Sat, Mon, Tues, Wed at 7.30pm

Sunday 10^th at 3pm

Tickets: R80 (R60 for seniors, R50 for students)

Booking at Computicket

http://online.computicket.com/web/event/young_gifted_gorgeous/838788275/referer:highlights-index-0-7_18_204386424-0-grid

The Hexagon Theatre’s next production celebrates Women’s Day with a dynamic show which pays tribute to the influence of jazz and blues on American music and the women who made the unforgettable songs their own. 

After World War One musical trends in America took a huge upswing as Tin Pan Alley became the focus of the music publishing business. The old spirituals sung by slaves became the basis for blues, jazz and gospel, which, in turn, later on influenced Rock ‘n Roll, R&B, Soul and eventually Hip-Hop. Composers such as George Gershwin and Irving Berlin brought these styles to the forefront of popular music, and black singers were allowed into whites-only clubs – as long as they stayed on stage! From these uneasy beginnings a huge industry developed, leaving an indelible legacy of remarkable performers and memorable music.   

This show looks at the music which swept the world and gave us some of the top female singers of the last century, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Etta James, taking in Nina Simone, Roberta Flack and Diana Ross, right up to Tracy Chapman, Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Beyoncè. And of course, the inimitable girl groups such as the Supremes, the Chordettes, the Shirelles and the Dixie Cups, just to name a few. Songs include Georgia on My Mind, My baby Just Cares for Me, Mr Sandman, Chapel of Love, Proud Mary, Killing Me Softly, Hero and Single Ladies, amongst numerous others. Not wanting to be entirely one-sided, there is a small nod to male singers such as Louis Armstrong, Ben E King and the Jackson Five.

Directors Peter Mitchell and Helen Vermaak  have assembled a talented cast of up-and-coming young singers, led by local star Erin Fourie, who bring the old and new songs to vibrant life.  Mitchell and Vermaak have been responsible for most of the big musicals produced in Pietermaritzburg over the last thirty years, including Grease, West Side Story, Godspell, Cabaret and Magical Mystery Tour. Choreography is by Paul Datlen, with musical arrangements by bandleader Jeff Judge. Costumes are designed by Sandra Styles, with lighting and sound by Marcus Henning.

Young, Gifted and Gorgeous promises to bring you exactly that: the young, the gifted and the gorgeous!

The Tortoise's Dream – A Play for Children.
Hexagon Studio Theatre 
Friday 25th July 6pm and Saturday 26th July at 9.30 & 11.30 am
Tickets: R25 per person
Tickets at the door or e-mail hexagon@ukzn.ac.za for bookings 

The Tortoise’s Dream is a delightful African tale about a Tortoise who dreams about a magical fruit-laden tree and the animals’ search to find it. Directed by Ntokozo Madlala, a lecturer at the UKZN Pmb drama department, the show is targeted at 6 – 10 year olds. It is performed by the postgraduate acting class of 2014, with delightful designs and masks by Jess Killerby.

Pre-Fest Fest

A festival of four shows on their way to the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

26^th and 27^th June at 6pm and 7.15pm

Tickets R40 per show.

Bookings: hexagon@ukzn.ac.za

Programme

Thurs 26^th  : 6.00pm  Morgue and  7.00pm Sound Gaze

Fri 27^th : 6.00pm Burn-Out and 7.00pm Prima Donna  

MORGUE

As world domination by a corporate colossus looms, Slim, a coroner with multiple personality disorder, becomes compelled to find out why three fresh cadavers have taken control of his mind. A masterful one-man comedy from the ridiculously talented Francis Mennigke is described as “…one of the most brilliant pieces of art I have ever seen.” Nolan Haukeness, Today columnist, Alberta, Canada.

SOUND GAZE: Moving Images of Marie in Woyzeck

Adapted from Georg Buchner’s ‘Woyzeck’, and based on the true story of a soldier who murdered his lover over infidelity, collaborations between South African and Zimbabwean artists have culminated in a multimedia theatre and live music experience that is ‘Southern African’ in form and universally appealing and relevant in content.

Directed by Juanita Chitepo. Featuring Juanita Chitepo, Michael Kudakwashe & Edgar Langeveldt

Live music performed by iThembalethu Academy for the Performing Arts

BURN-OUT

This is the UKZN Pmb entry in the National Student Festival.

Imagine superheroes sitting in a minibus responding to every call. No matter how big or small the adventure may be, the only thing they think of is saving at least one life. Unlike our fantasy heroes, these heroes’ shining armour is their courage and fearlessness.

Burn-out tells the stories of two paramedics - stories of trauma, blood and guts. It’s a witty, gruesome, funny, heart-warming tale. This is an urban comedy with a difference - real heroes grappling with the Grim Reaper. Based on true stories and events, this play takes the audience on a ride-along through the day to day activities of paramedics and the obstacles and threats they encounter each time they are called to save a life.

“Smile…even death has a funny side”

We are taken on a journey on the roads of South Africa by the two performers. Through the use of physical theatre and narrative, director JC Zondi takes us inside the lives of the men and women who save lives every day.

PRIMA DONNA

Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna has been given a new twist by director Brenda-Lee Cele who has masterfully adapted it to a local setting. This is showcasing classic Absurdism in a 21st century South African context and brings what is essentially a period piece, kicking and screaming into 2014! This delightful absurdist play mirrors the ridiculousness of human interactions, as two couples from different cultures let us observe their relationships. The Bald Prima Donna, Ionesco's masterpiece and one of the first absurdist plays, is a brief and sharp-witted one-act ‘anti-play’. Its main characteristic is the utter breakdown of every form of communication, leaving the characters on a stage that becomes the empty reflection of their own vapidness.

DOUBLE BILL

The third in the season of Postgraduate directed plays.

Ab/normal and Yesterday Today

Hexagon Studio Theatre

Wed 11th, Thurs 12^th and Friday 13^th June at 6pm

Tickets R30 at the Door Only.

Yesterday Today

Written and Directed Qiniso Zamandla Zungu

This piece of physical theatre ranges from 1970s to present day South Africa. Using songs and vocal sounds, the cast evoke and portray individuals who have been affected by the Apartheid struggle in multiple ways.

The play opens with a powerful dance sequence, reflecting on  the 1976 Soweto Uprising and forced removals. It then takes one through a journey in which  the clash between generations over the years is highlighted – the younger generation not paying enough attention to the traditions and values of their culture; an issue that is as relevant now as it was in the ‘70s. It also looks at the 2008 Xenophobic attacks which took place in South Africa and the lives of those who suffered from the incidents. The use of the suitcases as a symbol of their existence in a foreign environment, is a theatrical device which is heightened by the use of song, dance and poetry.

The show explores themes of peace, liberty, xenophobia, violence, slavery, tradition and culture. The audience is posed with the question of whether the present day South Africa is what the Freedom Fighters fought for.

Ab/Normal

      I am not crazy…

“There’s a fine line, a grey area between being sane and insane. Everyone has that little crazy in them. It can be a moment in time where you have no control over what you say, what you do and how you think. That moment can be a moment we choose to embrace every now and then, or it can become who we are.” 

A one act play directed and written by Thobeka Bhengu and workshopped with the cast. Using elements of music and physical theatre, the play brings the characters’ thoughts and memories to life.

Abnormal is a play about a young woman Zoe, who finds herself institutionalized at the age of 19. She introduces us to Amanda, her roommate. Amanda’s presence in the room is a little hazy. The two young women are constantly in conflict with their thoughts and with each other. Zoe’s conflict with her thoughts has resulted in her inability to differentiate between what is real and what is not. Together they come up with a plan to escape when their psychologist pays them the next weekly visit. Will they do it?

Domaine's School of Dance presents

Alice in the Land of Wonder

Hexagon Theatre

Fri 6^th & Sat 7^th June at 7pm

Tickets R50

Join Alice as she travels through Wonderland in this exciting combination of various dance forms including classical ballet, tap and hip hop. A new take on the classical tale of Alice in Wonderland.

Athol Fugard’s

Boesman and Lena

Hexagon Studio Theatre

26^th – 31^st  May at 7.00pm

Tickets R55 (R45 students)

Bookings: promptsideproductions@gmail.com

Prompt Side Productions presents the work with the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) through Nedbank Arts Affinity.

The show is directed by Brenda-Lee Cele (The Bald Prima Donna, One Lonely Light), with actors Sade Wagner as Lena, Tshepang Koloko as Boesman and Musa Nkomo taking on the role of Outa.

The classic play, also a school setwork, explores the adverse effects of a decaying apartheid era South Africa through a black couple – Boesman and Lena. After being evicted from their shanty, the couple’s challenge in setting up a makeshift home unearths a number of emotions and issues from their past. Verbal and physical fights follow until a stranger arrives.

The play presents social themes that were prominent during the apartheid regime. The brutalities experienced by the play’s characters were the stronghold of the old system – it skilfully retells the injustices of the past.

2014 being the 20-year anniversary of democracy and with the recent elections having taken place, what better way to celebrate than to revisit the past in an attempt to discover our achievements as a country, honouring how far we’ve developed. Audiences can expect a skilfully crafted and moving production, tapping into the lives and experiences of Boesman and Lena

AUDITIONS

for a Musical Revue

A retrospective of songs from Billie Holliday to Beyonce. From Jazz to Blues to Soul to R&B and everything in between!

We require singers who can move, as well as dancers who can keep a tune! The show is scheduled for August 4 - 9, and rehearsals will take place from 7 July, with a few singing rehearsals during June. Total commitment is required as rehearsals will be intense and pressured, but great fun!

Auditions will take place in the Hexagon Recording Studio on

Tues 20^th  May from 4.30pm and Wed 21^st May from 5.30pm. Please book a 5 minute slot by e-mail or by phoning 033 260 5537. You will be expected to sing a song made famous by one of the following:

Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, Diana Ross, The Drifters, The Platters, Nina Simone, Nat King Cole, Harry Belafonte, The Supremes, Percy Sledge, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Rihanna or Beyonce.

One minute of a song will be sufficient.

If you are successful you will then be called back for a dance audition.

Screwed

Written and directed by: Noluthando Ngubane

Hexagon Studio Theatre, UKZN, Pmb

Wednesday 14 May & Thursday 15 may at 6 pm

Tickets: R15 at the door

This is the second in our series of Postgraduate Directing shows.

The play tells a story of two young adults who have a sexual arrangement which starts to get complicated, because Ntombi  realise that she is developing feelings for Siphiwe, putting herself in a vulnerable position.

“We don’t talk, we don’t cuddle;  we have sex, is that clear? Now if you can’t keep your feelings in check that’s your problem not mine.” 

The arrangement is explored even further by the theatrical device of changing roles, which offers a dramatic twist and change of direction. The play looks at themes of obsession, sex, desperate love, and explores repetition as a dramatic tool. Screwed  is influenced by ‘In Your Face’ theatre made popular by Sara Kane and also draws from Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty with elements of Physical Theatre.

Strictly adults only.

After ten years entertaining the international crème de la crème at London's 5-star venues and exclusive clubs, 
The Ritz, Carlton, Dorchester, Mayfair et al; Cat Simoni is back home and delighted to be introducing herself to South African audiences! 

For Women of Colour

Hexagon Studio Theatre, UKZN, Pmb

Wed 23rd April and Thurs 24th April

6PM

Tickets R20 AT THE DOOR

The Drama and Performance Studies programme is proud to present the first of this year’s season of Post Graduate New Directors’ Plays.

‘When men are oppressed, it’s a tragedy. But when women are oppressed it’s tradition!’

For Women of Colour is based on the stories of four South African women who are facing some form of oppression by the community , employers and even family. Through the use of storytelling and music, the director and writer, Terece Swartz, explores the stories of these particular women and the different types of oppression they come up against. Through their stories the play also reveals how they learn to deal with their circumstances as black women living in today’s demanding society, and leaves us with the question “Can women indulge in freedom?”

(from left to right) Gcini Sibiya, Chase Sithole, Mandi Dladla and Anele Sibiya

Pretty Piece of Flesh

  HEXAGON THEATRE, UKZN PMB

  9 – 12 APRIL AT 6PM

  TICKETS AT THE DOOR

  R40/R25 for students and seniors.

  Once upon a time in a land far away, a Queen hosted an annual ball to choose the three most beautiful girls to join her royal court. Amidst the annual frenzy of girls trying to outdo each other, the Palace Pâtissier has been made available to help them in whatever ways he sees fit. To what lengths would a young girl go to be as pretty as her sister, to win the love of her mother or even be awarded the accolades of a Queen? And of course, the Prince is looking for a bride. But marrying a prince is not always the fairytale one imagines it to be and there's something sinister afoot in the palace.

In an era where we gorge ourselves on images of perfection, Pretty Piece of Flesh examines the concept of beauty so perfect that it is unnatural. Under the guise of a fairytale, through live action and shadow play, it explores the grotesque and horrific nature of what women do to themselves in order to achieve such unrealistic expectations.

Written and directed by Master's student, Erin Fourie, Pretty Piece of Flesh will be running at The Hexagon Theatre from the 09th to the 12th of April. Shows start at 6pm and tickets are available at the door at R40 with a R25 concession for students and pensioners. Not suitable for children.

"HAMLET"

This exciting, swift-moving, production of Shakespeare's HAMLET, is performed by some of the most talented pupils of Epworth High School and aims to give audiences, particularly those studying the play for their English examinations, a memorable experience of this text in performance.

HEXAGON THEATRE, UKZN
23 March at 3pm, 24 to 26 March at 7pm.
Tickets R50
Bookings www.computicket.co.za

School groups of 20 or more: R40 (accompanying teacher free)

School Group bookings through the HEXAGON THEATRE hexagon@ukzn.co.za
Ph: 033 2605537

Booking opens Wednesday 26 February 2014.