As tradition has had it, the Hexagon staff take a short break over the summer holidays. This year is no different. We hope to see many of you in the new year as we kick off the theatre season.

Some things to look out for;
    Godfrey Johnson With Horns
        Multi Award winning performer Godfrey Johnson brings us his hilarious show with tales of gyms,
         health food and fashion interwoven with captivating songs and a healthy dose of comedy and pathos.
        Sex Pistols in the style of Noel Coward.

    The Songs I Love
        Helen Vermaak premiers her new one woman show, a warm personal presentation of well loved songs.    

The Pig and Whistle Presents

Cafe Cappuccino

a show with a strong Italian flavour featuring well-known tunes by Patrizio, Luciano Pavarotti, Dean Martin, Josh Groban and many more.

Hexagon Dive

Thursday 1st December and Friday 2nd December
7pm for a 7.30 start.
Tickets R80.00per person (or R75pp for Parties of 10)

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

Ridge Junior Primary present their annual Nativity

21 to 24 November

Dance School presents their annual event

Hexagon Theatre
Saturday 19th November @ 2.30pm & 6pm

To book please Phone 033 260 5537
or email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za

Once again it's time for the Hilton Festival 16 to 18 September

Visit the Hilton Festival web site for details.

Media and Cultural Studies Present

Assegai

Come and join us as we celebrate the best films of the year at the Assegai Awards Ceremony. This Glitzy evening showcases the Media Students work. Come and mingle with the stars as they strut their stuff on the red carpet. Dress formal.

Hexagon Theatre
September 14 @ 6.30pm

Tickets available from the media department
    R3o each and R5o per couple.

SUNSET HEIGHTS

Hexagon Studio Theatre

8 - 10 September at 6.30pm

‘Sunset Heights’ is the latest offering from the UKZN Pietermaritzburg Drama and Performance Studies programme. Directed by Rhodes University and University Of Cape Town graduate Emily Stockil, the play forms part of the second and third year production module.

‘Sunset Heights’ centres around a ubiquitous block of flats located somewhere in Pietermaritzburg. Workshopped by the cast, it explores a multitude of performance styles and genres and offers a glimpse into the varying realities that can co-exist within a very small space. In being open to various performance aesthetics, the play offers a colourful depiction of humanity and the varying rhythms that govern the way we live and the way we interact with each other. 

A literal dissection of a shared living space, the play contains elements of comedy, realism, farce, physical theatre, dance and music. The production runs from the 8^th of September to the 10^th of September. Tickets R40 (R25 concession) available at the door.

Yes He's Back...

B-Rock Dance Studio present

TWISTED FUNK

Hexagon Theatre
Saturday 27th August at 2pm and 5pm

Tickets are R45
To Book phone 033 260 5537, or email hexagon@ukzn.ac.za

Colleen Boote's School of Ballet presents

Mary Poppins

Hexagon Theatre
17th to 20th August at 7pm

and 20th August at 2.30pm

Claire's School of Dance presents

A Cinderella Story

Hexagon Theatre
6th August @2pm and 6pm

Fresh From the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown

This years entry to the National Arts Festival of Student Drama in Grahamstown is 'Metamorphosis', an adaptation of Franz Kafka's remarkable short story. It is set in a rural isiZulu homestead and traces a family's evolution after the eldest son and breadwinner is transformed into a gigantic insect. The play juxtaposes surrealism and earthy humour, and explores timeless themes of stigmatisation, self-sacrifice, exploitation and economic hardship, finding resonance with contemporary South Africa.

A dance extravaganza for all ages based on favourite movies. Relax & enjoy STUDIO 1's fun filled show including Hip Hop, Contemporary, Modern and Ballet Dancing.

Fri 10th June at 6.30pm

Sat 11the June at 12.30 and 6.30pm

The RCB returns to the Hexagon Dive for three intimate shows from Thursday to Saturday. Bring a picnic dinner, drinks on sale at the bar. Tickets are R60, and the evening is 7 for 7.30pm. Bookings at 033 260 5537.

Theatre Art Projects International, in Association with Rajesh Gopie,

 Present

 

The Coolie Odyssey

After a critically acclaimed international tour and direct from the Market theatre in JHB, The Coolie Odyssey – Rajesh Gopie’s delicate and insightful production looking at the lives of indentured workers from India, who arrived in Natal to work on the sugar plantations, comes to Pietermaritzburg’s Hexagon Theatre  for a commemorative season honoring the Indian legacy and heritage in South Africa

The Coolie Odyssey is written and directed by Rajesh Gopie, who is perhaps best known for writing and performing in the multi award winning one-hander hit Out of Bounds.

The Coolie Odyssey premiered at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 2002, before enjoying a highly-successful season at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. It focuses on the indenture of workers from India for the sugar plantations in Natal between the years 1860 to 1911. It combines compassion with humour to reveal important insights into the identity of South African Indians, their role, significance and contribution to out country’s narrative, and the ongoing issues of race relations and nation-building.

Its plot unfolds as the story-teller - a monkey, with memories of previous human incarnations – types up his story on an old typewriter. His story unveils the life of Ramlal Kilhari, an indentured labourer, who arrived in Durban in 1888. We follow Ramlal as he searches for identity, belonging and salvation against the backdrop of those pioneering colonial times. The scope of this play is panoramic, yet detailed and nuanced with pathos, live musical accompaniment and theatrical imagination.

The cast includes newcomers Yateen Dayaram, Avershree Maistry, Don Mosenye as well as seasoned actors Conrad Kemp and Rajesh Gopie. The live score is sung by Mumbai based Sufi singing star, Anuraag Dounidyal. 

“Beautifully conceived and presented, The Coolie Odyssey is a labyrinth of three stories, deftly folded together, about the arrival in South Africa of three Indian immigrants who decide to leave the grinding poverty and hopelessness of their native Calcutta. Tied together, the stories tell of the complex ties that have been forged between the past and the present, modernity and ancestry, and ultimately, between living on the fringe and truly belonging.” Tanya Jonker-Bryce, Eastern Cape Daily Dispatch.

“Comes the moment, comes the play. A classic immigrant’s tale infused with sympathetic magic and empathic insights, The Coolie Odyssey is the finest of rebukes to Mbongeni Ngema’s hateful anti-Indian songs. Gopie has crafted a humane and engaging piece of theatre that affirms and gently asserts the role of Indian South Africans in our history while being unflaggingly engaging. This is more than a journey, it is a homecoming.” Darryl Accone, then-Cue Arts Editor.

All bookings @ The Hexagon Theatre: 033-260 5537

 Performance Schedule:
 
19 May Thursday: School show, 11 am
    7.30 pm
20 May Friday: School Show 11 am
     7.30 pm
21 May Saturday 7.30 pm
22 May Sunday Matinee, 3 pm
24 May Tuesday School show, 11 am
25 May Wednesday 7.30 pm
26 May Thursday School show, 11 am
     7.30 pm
27 May      Friday  School show, 11 am
     7.30 pm
28 May Saturday 7.30 pm

 

Production information

Author   :  Rajesh Gopie
Director  : Rajesh Gopie
Lx Designer : Glen Olsen
Set Designer : Hugo Le Roux
Costume Designer : Andrew Verster

 

Performers 

Yateen Dayaram
Don Mosenye
Avershree Maistry
Conrad Kemp
Rajesh Gopie
Anuraag Dounidyal

 

SPECIAL OFFER

Special offer to all organizations, clubs and schools for a fundraising option. Buy an entire performance of the show between 18-22 May for half the price and fundraise for your school. R15 000 buys you 300 seats (R50 a seat). Normal price is R 100! 50% off.