FLEUR DU CAP REVIEW OF “SHEZ SHARON”
add a commentWith acknowledgemnt to the Fleur du Cape website
SIMPLE CAPTIVATING TALE
Monday, 27 August 2007
“SHEZ SHARON”. By Nicole Franco. Directed by Megan Choritz. At the Kalk Bay
Theatre. Until September 15.
THE barber, braider or hairstylist as therapist/confessor/storyteller has been employed as a theatrical device in a number of South African stage productions.
The “Meet Joe Barber” series immediately comes to mind. Then there was Susan Pam Grant’s wonderful, “Curl up and Dye” that played across the country in the early 1990s.
Like the laundry, bus stop or doctor’s waiting room, the hair salon provides a neutral social space where strangers congregate and where anything can happen.
And while Nicole Franco’s chatty hairdresser, Sharon, proprietor of Shez Sharon in Sea Point, functions in this seemingly public space, hers is a much more intimate and personal universe.
While “Joe Barber” depends on the chemistry between the performers Oscar Petersen and David Isaacs, and locates the action within a broader context, “Shez Sharon” is more inward-looking and pivots entirely on the minutiae of the character’s life.
Sharon may at first come across as a rather predictable stage creation but it is in the slow layering of the narrative that Nicole Franco’s stage creation is given depth, nuance and pathos.
Sharon is a thirtysomething divorcee and recovering substance abuser who has created a new life for herself. Her equilibrium is suddenly upset by the arrival of her 16-year-old son who lives with his father, Sharon’s first husband, in New York. While Sharon’s tale is neither shocking nor original, it’s simplicity, honesty and familiarity is what makes it strangely captivating.
Franco has a good ear for dialogue and Sharon’s anecdotes, opinions, reminiscences and stories are littered with mispronunciations, malapropisms and strange logic.
“Shez Sharon” requires a fair amount of audience participation so brace yourself as Sharon stalks the theatre for “clients”.
This is a small, beautifully-realised theatrical vignette, tightly directed by Megan Choritz, and well worth seeing for Franco’s comfortable ease on stage.
To book go to www.kbt.co.za
SIMPLE CAPTIVATING TALE
Monday, 27 August 2007
“SHEZ SHARON”. By Nicole Franco. Directed by Megan Choritz. At the Kalk Bay
Theatre. Until September 15.
THE barber, braider or hairstylist as therapist/confessor/storyteller has been employed as a theatrical device in a number of South African stage productions.
The “Meet Joe Barber” series immediately comes to mind. Then there was Susan Pam Grant’s wonderful, “Curl up and Dye” that played across the country in the early 1990s.
Like the laundry, bus stop or doctor’s waiting room, the hair salon provides a neutral social space where strangers congregate and where anything can happen.
And while Nicole Franco’s chatty hairdresser, Sharon, proprietor of Shez Sharon in Sea Point, functions in this seemingly public space, hers is a much more intimate and personal universe.
While “Joe Barber” depends on the chemistry between the performers Oscar Petersen and David Isaacs, and locates the action within a broader context, “Shez Sharon” is more inward-looking and pivots entirely on the minutiae of the character’s life.
Sharon may at first come across as a rather predictable stage creation but it is in the slow layering of the narrative that Nicole Franco’s stage creation is given depth, nuance and pathos.
Sharon is a thirtysomething divorcee and recovering substance abuser who has created a new life for herself. Her equilibrium is suddenly upset by the arrival of her 16-year-old son who lives with his father, Sharon’s first husband, in New York. While Sharon’s tale is neither shocking nor original, it’s simplicity, honesty and familiarity is what makes it strangely captivating.
Franco has a good ear for dialogue and Sharon’s anecdotes, opinions, reminiscences and stories are littered with mispronunciations, malapropisms and strange logic.
“Shez Sharon” requires a fair amount of audience participation so brace yourself as Sharon stalks the theatre for “clients”.
This is a small, beautifully-realised theatrical vignette, tightly directed by Megan Choritz, and well worth seeing for Franco’s comfortable ease on stage.
To book go to www.kbt.co.za
“ANGELS ON HORSEBACK”
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“ANGELS ON HORSEBACK” – a truly unique South African country and western cabaret.
Ticket prices R70 – doors open @ 18h00 – light meals available a la carte – the bar is open – the show starts @ 20h30.
Drawing inspiration for the original compositions from local life experiences, it offers an iconic, hilarious and wildly entertaining insight into current culture.
Made up of Candice Darcy and Fiona du Plooy, both members of South African longest running improvisation theatre group, TheatreSports, and with an impressive CV of film, television ,dance and stage credentials between them, and Jaimie Jupiter and Gene Kierman who have between them studied classical music in the states, rocked local audiences with The Honeymoon Suites and Moodphase 5 and provided soundtracks for local commercials and film.
“ANGELS ON HORSEBACK” is a collection of original songs inspired by South African experiences and sung in the country & western tradition. John Denver and Dolly Parton ‘s influence is rife, but the music is fun, funky and modern as opposed to nostalgic and/or retro! The performance look is glamorous and fun; a sheriff’s outfit for the bandleader, denim, sexy corsets and cowgirl boots for the country gals. The performance style is interactive, warm, foot tapping and incredibly slick with sharp choreography and instruments ranging from harmonica to banjo!
Country music is famed for its tongue in cheek humour ……… for example in the ballad “Don’t call me, I‘ll call you” about a relationship turned bad, she sings of how “he promised her the world, but he gave her Bloemfontein”. And there’s more of that where that came from.
It’s cheeky, entertaining, enterprising, original, subtle, raunchy, tragic and hilarious, and it’s skilled and experienced performers offer an unforgettable ride into the sunset
SOME BACKGROUND ON NICOLE FRANCO
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By Zane Henry
RCaffe
I love my job. I’ve walked past RCaffe for ages and always wanted to check it out.
Alas, I never had the chance until Nicole Franco pegged it as her favourite table and the site for our interview. Thanks Nicole. I’ve found my new favourite eatery. Franco is warm, very bright and … real. There’s not a whit of pretence about her. Strange, for an actress. She is the writer and sole performer of Shez Sharon running at Kalk Bay Theatre. It’s a one-woman play starring Franco as a hairdresser with wholesome wisdom and a knack for dispensing advice. It’s fully interactive with audience members invited to join in the fun onstage. The wonderful Megan
Choritz directs.
“I never really wanted to do a one-woman play,” Franco says. “I love the flow of energy between fellow actors on stage. But Shez Sharon just sort of happened.” It happened at Grahamstown this year where it got enthusiastic reviews. Despite a positive reception, Franco was close to giving up hopes of producing it in Cape Town. Money was, as it so often is, the problem. Thankfully, Shapes for Women, a new all-women gym-chain, stepped in and offered to sponsor the show. After blabbing for ages we eventually get around to ordering. She’s a
vegetarian and delights in their veggie options. She orders the Camembert, berry preserve, sundried tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, rocket and cranberry vinaigrette on pecan bread. I opt for the sliced medium-rare sirloin roasted in a herb and honey-mustard sauce with rocket, chives and alfalfa sprouts on whole wheat. I can honestly say that I felt the earth shudder when I bit into it. It is a thing of beauty. Mmm …
She’s been coming to RCaffe ever since it opened about two years ago. The owners come up to her and give her a peck on the cheek, asking her about her little one. “I love this place,” she says. “The sandwiches are my favourite but the pastries are divine too.” Franco is part of the guerrilla improv group Improvision which presents TheatreSports, a weekly improv show at Kalk Bay Theatre. Her day job is – wait for it … teaching Mandarin. Yep. That’s right. Mandarin.
Most people pick up a virus when they travel. Franco picked up a language. “I also teach English to foreigners,” she says. “I love it.”
Shez Sharon runs at Kalk Bay Theatre until September 15. Tel: 073-220-5430.
Published on the web by Tonight on August 23, 2007. © Tonight 2007. All rights reserved.
MENU FOR “SHEZ SHARON”
add a comment- Starter [both options]
A trio of pates [humus, smoked aubergine & red pepper] served with garlic pita and fresh green salad
- Main Courses – R220 menu
Fresh Linefish grilled with garlic & herb butter served with vegetables & potato
OR
Crispy Duck sauted with cajun spice wrapped in a savoury pancake & served with vegetables
OR
Succulent lamb kebabs marinated in soya, chilli & rosemary, served with vegetables & potato
- Main Courses – R200 menu
Canneloni filled with ricotta, oyster mushrooms and walnuts, baked to perfection in a bechamel & napolitano sauce
OR
Roast Chicken served with brown onion & peaches topped with a golden pastry lid and vegetables
- Dessert [both options]
Chilli Vodka Chocolate mousse
OR
Cheese & biscuits
Coffee
“ELECTRIC JUJU”
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from December 05 to December 23 @ 20h30 [doors open 18h45] with Rob van Vuuren and directed by Helen Iskander & James Cunningham
Ticket prices :
Show only – R100 p.p. [Please arrive by 19h45]
Meals off an a la carte menu are available – website post on menu for details. If you are having dinner, please arrive by 18h30 / 18h45.
“ELECTRIC JUJU”
“A breathtaking experience” – Peter Tromp
“A most extraordinary and original talent” – Garth Asquith
First there was Mung…then Tangkupa. Now Vita and Fleur du Cap nominee Rob van Vuuren concludes his one-man epic adventure theatre trilogy. The grotesque-fantasy comedy, “ELECTRIC JUJU”, premiered at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in 2006, traveled the country, played to standing ovations at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival this year, and is now back in Cape Town for all those who missed its magic!
Visually arresting and physically demanding, “ELECTRIC JUJU” is a beautifully told tale of loss and redemption in a magical landscape of gods, giants, monsters, and heroes. A young girl is sent through a mysterious porthole in space and thrust into an alien world. She encounters harsh climates and peculiar characters as she embarks on a perilous journey to overcome evil and help her warrior friend fulfill his family vow.
Although Rob van Vuuren is well known as one of the co-creators of The Most Amazing Show, he also has an impressive theatrical background, based in his training under Andrew Buckland at Rhodes University. Directors Helen Iskander and James Cuningham are the famous creators of “Baobabs Don’t Grow Here”, “Wood for the Trees”; directors of “Black and Blue” and “De Wets Dream”, and more recently “2 for the price of 1″. The couple have become well-known for their brand of original visual theatre which finds a particularly poignant expression in “ELECTRIC JUJU”.
Rob van Vuuren’s outstanding performance allows one’s imagination to wander into the phantasmagoria of a fantastical world of giants, gods and monsters. The story of little Susan’s venture into this world is woven with a father’s loss and genial emancipation, flavoured by the electrifying wit of TMAS (The Most Amazing Show).
