This Week & Beyond
February, the perfect month (for outdoor shows) in Cape Town
February is such a gorgeous month in Cape Town, with special thanks to various sensational outdoor events. On the weekend, Soul II Soul took us Back To Life, Back To Reality of the 80s and 90s during a Liberty and Showtime concert at Kirstenbosch.
As the Kirstenbosch concerts always do, this show attracted its own special crowd. Every event, from Msaki to FreshlyGround to Goldfish to Soul II Soul, draws its own special crowd off the beaches and out of the malls. The people-watching is often as good as the show, and the setting is just sublime.
We always arrive a little early, stand in the queue chatting to strangers or friends we haven’t seen in 15 years (no exaggeration this time) and have a little picnic before the show starts.
That reminds me that this time last year we were camping and swimming at the glorious Beaverlac … oh to be there again! There is just not enough time.
Back to what makes Cape Town so perfect in February, another favourite is Maynardville. We didn’t make it to anything on the weekend but got some notes from our friends, Julia and Inge, a couple of opera virgins who went to Cape Town Opera sings Shakespeare In The Park on Sunday evening. They had what sounds like a truly wonderful baptism of opera in nature. Read about their glorious, guided journey through an enchanted forest of opera:
Next up for us at Maynardville is Sunday in the Park with Sondheim on February 16 (also showing on Feb 23). This musical tribute to the legendary Broadway composer features a stellar cast, including two personal favourites (Jonathan Roxmouth and Kate Normington), accompanied by the Vivox Choir and The Winelands Philharmonic Orchestra. Be warned the shows are selling out this year (as they should do every year). Book tickets
The Tempest is still in full, stormy sail in the perfect setting of Maynardville.
After gigs like this, going back indoors for theatre takes a little getting used to. We were very glad we managed it to see the very moving Cry Of Winnie Mandela at the Baxter Theatre.
The run at Baxter continues this week before the show goes back to the Market Theatre in Joburg for another run.
A little relief from all the culture: Bella Italia (Derry Street, Vredehoek) won our flash ‘We Survived January’ Margarita challenge. Joint runners up: Sky Bar in De Waterkant and Tiger's Milk in Long Street, once again proving that local is the most lekker. We love our neighbourhood Italian. There is Stella Artois on tap too!
We will be crossing over to Camps Bay this week to see Conrad Koch, the brilliant satirist-ventriloquist and his puppet, Chester Missing, in Despicable Hehe (February 10-15) at Theatre on the Bay. Tickets
Poetry and wine: On February 11, the Book Lounge is hosting the launch of I Cannot Be Good Until You Say It, a book of poems that ‘intricately weave Quranic verse, psychology, and the hip-hop soundtrack of Sanah Ahsan’s childhood … reach for divinity in the body … intertwine belief and unbelief, goodness and badness, the material and spiritual … and reclaim queer love and desire as holy’. The poet will be in conversation with Koleka Putuma at the event.
Also at the Book Lounge this week (February 13), the launch of Good Luck To Us All, a graphic memoir by Cape Town artist Karen Vermeulen that ‘reflects on the absurdities of contemporary womanhood – from romance and friendship to the ever-elusive self-care’.
In addition to literary brilliance and juicy chitchat, there will be wines from Spier at both events. Make sure there is a glass for you by RSVPing
Last time we looked, there were still some tickets left for Ashley Dowds’ performance in Circle Song, a play about remembering, at Theatre Arts in Observatory on February 11. Tickets
BOOKING AHEAD (we have!): Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance in A Lifetime of Standing Ovations is on during August in Cape Town and Pretoria. You really should see Irish dance at least once in your life! Tickets
Now I’m longing for a margarita in Vredehoek!