Kalk Bay Theatre

“DIRT”- CAPE TIMES REVIEW

simon — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:32:49 +0000

“DIRT” – CAPE ARGUS REVIEW

simon — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:29:42 +0000

THEATRICAL ALCHEMY IS A RARE FIND
ZANE HENRY IN THE CAPE ARGUS – AUGUST 31, 2010

DIRT
DIRECTOR: JENINE COLLOCOTT
PERFORMER: JAMES CAIRNS
VENUE: KALK BAY THEATRE
UNTIL: SEPTEMBER 11
RATING: *****

Guys are strange. Okes will spend hours ripping off one another, engaging in intense homoerotic banter and drunkenly headbutting each other, then nod, burp and grunt, thereby expressing unlimited levels of sympathy and support.
Dirt tells a small story about men, friendship and love that deviates from cliché. It’s not a simple bromance like those that have become popular at the movies recently and has more depth than a gag-fest. There’s recrimination, guilt, resentment and all the other good stuff that go into deep friendships.
It tells the story of best friends Grant, Sam and Wayne, who have to take a road trip from Joburg to Cape Town. Jerry, their other friend and the glue that was holding the group together, has died and they need to get down to the funeral.
Grant is an upstanding family man dealing with a newborn baby and a wife suffering from postnatal depression. Sam is an egotistical, promiscuous, generally reprehensible soap opera star. Wayne is a socially stunted, sweet-natured guy who has been looking after Jerry’s dog, Tom, for a while.
The three of them – and Tom – pile into Sam’s Land Rover and set off on a trip that will lead to bizarre encounters and test the parameters of their friendship.
Dirt provided a moment that crystallised the transcendental potential of theatre. It’s that moment when a play turns into alchemy: performance, story, sentiment and technique combine to form a new element in your head and heart, thereby changing the way you see the world from then on. It’s that moment that pushed me from the theatre into the night convinced that it was a perfect piece.
Like in Sitting Man, his other one-man show that recently finished its run at Kalk Bay Theatre, Cairns performs every role in the play, including audience favourite Tom the dog.
Each character is a different person inhabited completely by Cairns. Your eyes are magnetically drawn to his excellent performance.
Nick Warren’s script is filled with thrilling lines, ringing ironies, poignant profundities and hilarious gags. The bare set allows Cairns’s performance to take centre stage. A ladder set up in the corner gets stacked with little props that clearly and cleverly denote chapters in the story.
Dirt is not made of ideologically fashionable stuff. It doesn’t deal with racism or Aids and is not very political. But it is real and tells an accessible story in an engaging way.
It may not change your life, but it changed mine.

“THE SITTING MAN”- CAPE TIMES REVIEW

simon — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:54:24 +0000

JAMES CAIRNS DOUBLE BILL – “THE SITTING MAN” & “DIRT”

simon — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:23:45 +0000

One-man-show dynamo James Cairns is back at KBT after too long a gap. Renowned for his tour-de-force one man shows featuring multiple characters, Cairns presents a double bill at the Kalk Bay Theatre in August and September 2010.

From Wednesday 4 to Saturday 21 August, he will perform his acclaimed solo show “The Sitting Man” and from Wednesday 25 August to 11 September he presents his new comedy, “Dirt”, hot from its premiere at the National Arts Festival.

“This is the first opportunity Cape Town audiences have to see this master of the stage in “Dirt” as well as in “The Sitting Man”,” says Simon Cooper, owner of the Kalk Bay Theatre. “It’s a coup for us to have secured James to perform both shows during August and September, although each one will run for only twelve performances, so tickets will be limited.

“Cairns’ breathtaking style of theatre sees him effortlessly jump between numerous characters, deftly using props to switch settings and move the story along. His acute observations of people ensures he artfully captures each one of his interesting, and often shady, characters, and he can take the audience from laughter to tears in a few swift moves, while keeping them on the edge of their seats as the story unfolds,” says Cooper. “As the website Artsblog said, ‘Cairns is so good at what he does it’s almost ridiculous’.”

“The Sitting Man”, which Cairns also wrote and directed, has been playing to rave reviews and full houses around the country. The play follows the journey of a mysterious package that needs to get from Johannesburg to Cape Town. During the course of its wild, cross-country trip, Cairns creates a range of fascinating South African characters from different walks of life, including dodgy gangsters and innocent bystanders. “The Sitting Man” has been hailed as ‘Extremely powerful’ (Cue), ‘Flawlessly played out… a must for people watchers. ‘ (Cape Argus) and ‘… Intense and mesmerising performance…… biting humour’. (Cue).

“Dirt, described by Cue as ‘a riot of a play’, encompasses a similar road trip theme, but this time in the form of three friends and a dog named Tom who need to get to a funeral. From the soap star actor Sam, with an ego the size of Everest, to the exhausted new father Grant, who’s terrified of his post-natal wife, and to Wayne, a man whose life has fallen through the cracks but who hasn’t realised it yet, Cairns inhabits his comical characters with hilarious effect and takes the audience on a journey of fights and friendship.

Written by Nick Warren, “Dirt is directed by Jenine Collocott, who also worked with Cairns’ on the touching love story, High Diving.

A writer and popular television and stage actor, Cairns’ many credits include his one man show, Rat; Hamlet, High Diving and Brother Number with Rob van Vuuren. On television he has played, among others, Pienie Mayer, the bungling news journalist in The Most Amazing Show and the role of resident hit man Gordon Crumb on etv’s Rhythm City.

* “The Sitting Man” will be performed at the Kalk Bay Theatre on Wednesdays – Saturdays from 4 to 21 August at 8h30pm. Ages 13 years and up.

*“Dirt” will be performed on Wednesdays – Saturdays from 25 August to 11 September at 8h30pm. Ages 13 years and up.

Tickets for show only cost R100. Doors open at 6pm and theatre-goers can enjoy a meal before the show. To book and for further information, contact 073 220 5430 or visit

Praise for Dirt and Sitting Man

“Dirt”
‘A riot of a play… Wonderfully crafted story’. (Aslam Seedat, Cue)
A tour de force. …… Its funny, it’s clever….. Kill to get a ticket. (Megan’s Head)
‘Master of the craft’. (Artsblog)
‘A masterful one-man comedy from the multi-talented James Cairns… A must see show.’ (Cue)

“If there was a World Cup of performing artists, James Cairns would be Wayne Rooney. His ability to dribble a narrative through the vagaries of ten characters, and then shoot the story into closure without you second-guessing the play equals, in fact probably surpasses, the fancy footwork and game-making abilities of his northern football counterpart……It’s a pleasure to see Cairns on stage.” (Artsblog)

“The Sitting Man”
‘Cairns is so good at what he does it’s almost ridiculous.’ (Artsblog)
‘Flawlessly played out… a must for people watchers..’ (Argus)
Extremely powerful’ ‘ (Cue)
‘Intense skill and a faultless performance. Every quirk and mannerism is fresh and original.’ (Cue)
‘… Intense and mesmerising performance. A shocking storyline is neatly contrasted with biting humour.’ (Cue)

DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT

simon — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 05:08:01 +0000

JUNE 26, 2010 from 18h00 : ENERCHI EMPORIUM & KALK BAY THEATRE present
DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT

TICKETS – R100 per person and for that you get -
* a one-hour show featuring SA Ballroom Champions, Enerchi Emporium Hip Hop, Modern Jazz, Latin-American and Contemporary Dancers and cabaret performances; and
* a free glass of wine or champagne; a free snack platter, free dance lessons and lucky prize draws.
TICKETS ARE LIMITED SO BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL. CONTACT the Kalk Bay Theatre booking line on 073 220 5430 or Enerchi Emporium on 021 712 3692 or www.enerchiemporium.co.za or enerchi.emporium@gmail.com

MAGNA CARTA – SOUTH AFRICA 2010

simon — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:37:44 +0000

MAGNA CARTA TOUR : BACK ON AFRICAN SOIL

AT KBT ON SEPTEMBER 29 & 30 + OCTOBER 01 & 02

A show you dare not miss! If you are old enough to remember their tours to South Africa in the early and mid seventies and have not yet seen one of their South African tour shows, you have no excuse for missing this one……and if you are too young to remember them you have no excuse not to educate your ears to a brand of music that you will listen to one day in your wheelchair in the old-age home.
Magna Carta returns to South African shores for the 4th year in succession
Often described as Britain’s answer to Simon and Garfunkel in the early years, Magna Carta was founded by North Yorkshireman Chris Simpson in 1969. They have toured 78 countries, recorded 30 albums and sold over 8,000,000 albums world-wide. It was the albums Seasons’ and the magnificent classic ‘Lord of the Ages’, (regarded by many in South Africa as up there with ‘Dark side of the Moon’ and ‘Sergeant Pepper’) and the evergreen single ‘Airport Song’ that put them on the world map.

Another absolute classic, reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair, is their evergreen “ The Bridge at Knaresborough Town”…..but as Chris points out with a wry grin….Paul Simon did not write Scarborough Fair. Chris penned almost all of the Magna Carta songs you will hear.
On tour they have crossed the borders of more than 78 countries (and that excludes Chris crossing shark-infested False Bay in a hobie-cat), played to diplomats and nomads. From London’s Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to the Montreux Festival and Lisbon Opera House and the Canterbury Festival in Ontario, Canada, to the ancient souk in Damascus, Syria, their timeless music has woven its magic across every kind of audience and nationality, culminating in a sell-out concert at the famous Royal Theatre Carre in Amsterdam to celebrate 40 years on the road. Last year’s SA concerts were completely sold out!
For this year’s tour Chris Simpson is joined on stage by Nick Hall.
Nick Hall is best known as one-half of the well-loved acoustic duo ‘The Hall Brothers’. With this band he has toured the UK and played in Ireland and Holland and released several acclaimed albums through indie label Confidential Records.
Nick’s association with Magna Carta began many years ago when The Hall Brothers supported the band in a theatre in the UK. A friendship was instantly struck and The Hall Brothers (and Nick solo) have supported Magna Carta many times over the years. Nick has also worked with several ex-Magna musicians over the years. When Chris Simpson was asked to do a solo set for a UK festival a few years ago, Nick was the first person Chris asked to provide guitars and vocals. This worked so well that the new duo also played a local arts centre to rave reviews. It felt natural, then, for Nick to join the band!
On this South African tour Chris Simpson and Nick Hall will take the audience on a musical journey beyond compare. To see Magna Carta live is never to forget them as they will emblazon themselves in your memory as one of the finest sounds ever to cross your ears. Their music will never age and you will never forget the privilege of having seen MAGNA CARTA LIVE !

THEATRESPORTS

simon — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:09:50 +0000

TheatreSports™ is hilarious improvised comedy, it’s the high-octane, non-stop, laugh-a-minute show where you, the audience, decide on the show you’re going to see! It’s pure improvised theatre, performed by two teams of absurdly talented actors. Each show is a once-off adventure of spontaneously invented scenes, stories and music, based entirely on your suggestions.
This is how it works: The MC fields suggestions from you, the audience. The actors have to stick to a few ground rules, and voilà: live improv! The audience scores the results – sometimes wacky, sometimes weird, but always outrageously funny. Always wanted to see a musical set on the moon? A comedy of manners set in a Cape Town taxi rank? Or perhaps you simply like the idea of having ridiculously talented actors grappling with the problem of portraying a lovelorn chicken while you mark them for their efforts?
Theatresports™ is Cape Town’s longest-running show. We’ve been playing in Cape Town for 16 years and in 2009 won two of the prestigious Fleur du Cap awards, including the People’s Choice Award. Join us for an evening of creative and spontaneous improvised entertainment, with something for everyone. Something for the kids, a definite yes for a first date, and a must-see for any visit to the Mother City. Hilarity guaranteed.

TheatreSports™ plays weekly at Kalk Bay Theatre every Tuesday night, 8.30 pm; tickets R50 / R40 adults / students
To book call 072 939 3351, or for more information visit www.theatresports.co.za

theatresports june

simon — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:08:08 +0000

In June, we will be presenting special week-long run of shows, offering something for everyone whether you’re a football fan or not:
TheatreSports™: the Other Beautiful Game…
Kalk Bay Theatre 15th to the 19th June, 8.30 pm; tickets R50
To book call 072 939 3351, or for more information visit www.theatresports.co.za

LONDON ROAD BASIC

simon — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:38:50 +0000

“LONDON ROAD”

THIS WEEK WED TO SAT

Wednesday – Saturday at 20h30 from Thursday 11 March to 10 April 2010 : Ticket price R100.
English language / PG 13 [language] / 60 mins
BOOKING 073-220 5430 or visit www.kbt.co.za
READ MORE

READ “LONDON ROAD” REVIEWS

To see what the critics thought CLICK HERE

” TALES OF TRANSFORMATION”

simon — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:20:24 +0000

GAVIN BONNER presents

“TALES OF TRANSFORMATION”
featuring special guest NATALIE MASON on viola

Fresh from three years of travelling, studying, teaching and performing in Europe, Asia, The Middle East and Australia, Cape Town based Londoner Gavin Bonner with special guest Natalie Mason brings you “TALES OF TRANSFORMATION” – stories that focus on many aspects of change, from the spiritual to the evolutionary to the plain weird !

Gavin has a refreshing take on storytelling – a deep reverence for tradition juxtaposes with iconoclasm and an occasional dose of healthy irreverence. He also has a unique ability to spontaneously tell stories in rhyme while accompanying himself on Asian and African percussion instruments learned during his travels.

“Gavin Bonner is an inspiration. A poet, storyteller, musician and praise singer all in one he lets his wordplay weave and speak spontaneously to whatever is happening in a group of people .” – Ashley Ramsden , international storyteller and founder of The School of storytelling in England.

Originally from Birmingham in England, Natalie Mason’s musical life began in the womb, when her mother describes her kicking during a concert at the climax of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. As a baby she was weaned on strange Sixties music, her cradle rocked by her father’s foot as he practiced guitar. Natalie learnt to sight sing as she learnt to read and at the age of five took up violin and piano. It was around this time she began composing her first opera (alas, an unfinished opus). As a child she was thoroughly involved in the arts and soon got wise, deciding to switch her fiddle for a viola. As a youth she performed live on television and radio in an orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall and recorded for eccentric pop bands as a session musician. As an adult she graduated with a degree in Music and decided to travel to Cape Town to work for the Music Therapy Community Clinic. With this organisation and others she runs music groups for school children in Heideveld, patients at a TB hospital and teaches youth in a Junk Orchestra. She is an improvising musician with the Bonfire Theatre Company, a member of alternative folk groups Jeremiah Brimstone Band and amaBhulu? and a freelance classical performer. She finds that there is always so much to see, do and learn here and loves being a musician in the many worlds Cape Town has to offer.

“Tales of Transformation” continually surprises and delights audiences
around the world and is suitable for AGES 13 UPWARDS. Ticket price R50 p.p. – BOOK ON 073-2205430