This Week & Beyond
Plenty of loveliness and so much connection, even in this divisive time
From Makhanda to Edinburgh: Great news for arts lovers everywhere is that the former CEO of South Africa’s very own National Arts Festival, Tony Lankester, takes over as Chief Executive Officer of the Edinburgh Fringe in April. This is a clear reflection of the shift we see happening across so many spheres of life with Africa rising (and the others sinking a bit).
Noting that the National Arts Festival is what started his love affair with the arts world, Lankester said he is going to Edinburgh “with the winds of Makhanda at my back”. We can expect the winds to blow in both directions soon. Don’t be surprised when the well-trodden path from Makhanda (once was Grahamstown) to Edinburgh becomes increasingly popular in reverse.
Tony Lankester to run Edinburgh Fringe
The former CEO of South Africa’s very own National Arts Festival, Tony Lankester, takes over as Chief Executive Officer of the Edinburgh Fringe in April.
On another happy note for a fractitious and divisive time, the Pride and CTL Family-Friendly Picnic this Saturday in Greenpoint Park offers to be a bit of a balm. The organisers (CTL, Cape Town Lesbians) say: We use the term ‘Lesbian’ as an inclusive umbrella term. It is a label that helps you find a community, not a prescription of who is allowed in this space. This group welcomes and celebrates all sapphics, women who love women (including bisexuals and pansexuals), and all trans and gender non-binary folk.
From 2pm on Saturday 8 February at Greenpoint Urban Park, South Gate Entrance (entrance closest to Virgin Active, Green Point). Look out for the rainbow flag.
RSVP This event is free to attend.
Bring: a blanket to sit on, something to drink (alcohol is not allowed in the park and they do check), something to eat (preferably something that can be shared), and something warm to wear in case it gets cold.
The perfect place to connect with others and make new friends, the event is open to everyone. Show up by yourself, even if you’re shy. If you show up by yourself and don’t know anyone, “please introduce yourself to Lara, or one of our volunteers”. They will “look out for you and introduce you to others”. Children welcome too. 💗💗💗Got to love the lesbians.💗💗💗
🏃♂️🏃♀️🏃🏃➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃➡️🏃🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♀️➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃♂️🏃♀️🏃🏃➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃➡️🏃🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♀️➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♀️➡️🏃♀️➡️
More hope, connection and community is offered by Call Off The Search reader Denver Van Der Bergh, who plans to run from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg, covering a distance of 1,687 km, followed by the 90km Comrades Ultra Marathon. Hope, gratitude and the determination to help people struggling with addiction is driving him.
“Someone reached out a hand to help me and, through an intervention, I ended up in rehab, where I changed my life around for the better,” says Denver, who plans to share his story of hope and raise funds for charity. His story: Denver's Serenity Run. Please make a donation, however big or small, on Denver’s Back A Buddy page
Dammit! Loadshedding is back … maybe: If you want to cross over to the light side but are put off by the hefty installation costs of a solar system, read on. We have been renting our solar equipment for nearly two years and couldn’t be happier. Read more: Renting our own little piece of the sun
Cast your vote: Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite of the artworks shortlisted for the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize, which are on show at the Norval Foundation from 4 February to 20 April 2025. The most popular artist will be awarded the Public Vote Prize of US$2,000.
Planning slightly ahead, Ashley Dowds will be performing a solo play at Theatre Arts in Observatory on February 11. Circle Song, a play about remembering, is “spoken to the audience from a narrator’s perspective across an arc of time”.
A little of the backstory, which really caught our eye: Rajesh, Aldo and Ashley sit under the trees in the Company Gardens in Cape Town talking. The conversation turns to stories of connection, “connection with the people whose choices led us to this point in time, whether it was to take a ship to South Africa to become labour in the cane fields, to leave a family behind in the collateral damage of a failed relationship, or to find love during war in Egypt. “Those were the stories that still float part of our imagination about who we are in a country that has become our home but is not the soil of our ancestors.” More info and bookings (tickets R150)
Never miss a trick: Discover the art of magic at the College of Magic’s open days on Saturday 8 or 15 February. With alumni including Stuart Taylor, Riaad Moosa, Larry Soffer, Olwethu Dyantyi and Conrad Koch, the College of Magic has been nurturing the talents of magicians and entertainers for more than four decades while also teaching such vital life skills as confidence, creativity and communication. The open days include a behind-the-scenes tour, an interactive workshop (learn your first magic trick), and a chance to meet many magic makers. More info
DON’T MISS THIS: Cape Ballet Africa presents Breathwords from March 25-27 at Artscape Opera House. To celebrate the company’s first birthday, this triple bill of works includes a further development of Kirsten Isenberg’s gorgeous, dreamlike meditation, Reverie, set to Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2. Bookings
Read about Cape Ballet Africa’s recent work:
South Africans rock in Salt
Three of the four pieces in Salt, Cape Ballet Africa's debut show, which opened at the Baxter Theatre on September 21, held us in delighted breathlessness. They were all written by South African choreographers.
And last but not least, The Tempest is in full sail at Maynardville. I was expecting a beautiful, dreamy night under the stars and a fantastic show; being able to keep up throughout was an added surprise on the night. I am not sure which of the many subtle differences in Sylvaine Strike’s adaptation made it so accessible, but I didn’t get lost once nor did the show feel a moment too long. Book tickets for Tempest or other shows at Maynardville, the most magical of places