Add your event to Creative Week Cape Town
Creative Week Cape Town is just around the corner! This 10 day event (9-18 September 2011) was created as a forerunner to the Loeries with the aim to showcase local creativity in design, music, film, theatre, business, innovation, digital media, fine arts and crafts in Cape Town. Creatives in Cape Town are invited to add their event, exhibition or other creative happening to the Creative Week Cape Town website. The idea is that all events are independently planned and organized and then promoted using the website and a centralized marketing campaign.
A couple of events have already been added. You can check them out here.
Win Double Movie Tickets with Spl!ng and The Labia
One lucky reader will win double tickets to a movie at the Labia Cinema complex in Cape Town.
To enter, all you have to do is answer this simple question: Who directed The Conspirator?
Email your name, contact details and answer to info@capetowncreatives.co.za:
Competition closes on 12 August , 10h00.
Terms and Conditions:
You (and partner) must be available to attend a film at the Labia in Cape Town between the 12 – 19 August 2011.
Tickets are not transferrable and cannot be redeemed for cash.
Valid for Labia Screenings only. Terms and Conditions apply.
Prizes courtesy of the Labia Theatre. See what’s showing: http://www.labia.co.za
The Conspirator Movie Review: Powerful Propaganda with Finesse
They say film-makers need a point-of-view. Well, Hollywood actor-turn-director Robert Redford has made this a cornerstone of his directorial career. Best known for starring in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, the on-screen veteran has followed a similar trajectory to Western icon, Clint Eastwood, taking his experience behind the camera. While his directorial debut began in 1980 with Ordinary People, he’s racked up a collection of quality films including: A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, The Horse Whisperer and now The Conspirator.
Lions for Lambs was politically-charged, armed with a soapbox tag line “If you don’t STAND for something, you might FALL for anything.” It was clear that Redford was delivering a scathing attack on the U.S. Government at the time, using Hollywood heavyweights like Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep to champion the cause. The result was entertaining and thought-provoking, but came across like mild propaganda in an effort to persuade his audience that something was wrong.
Michael Moore’s documentaries have been criticised for being too biased with his anti-Bush agenda, but it’s more difficult to spot in a feature film drama. Instead of trying to generate a “debate” like he did with Lions for Lambs, Redford has simply juxtaposed two periods of U.S. history in The Conspirator. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a massive turning point as John Wilkes Booth pulled a trigger and changed the course of American and world history.
However, Redford has focused on the post-assassination trial drawing on the fact that it was a group of conspirators that carried out plans to avenge the South. The story opens on Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a young counselor who must bag his own political beliefs to come to the aid of his defendant, Mary Surratt (Wright). As a legal drama and thriller, The Conspirator sets out to portray the events that followed Lincoln’s assassination as a nation bent on revenge carried out a swift brand of justice.
Redford’s interest in the unpopular story of Aiken and Surratt is the key in positioning it against the current political climate. To aid him in his poignant retelling of American history, he’s employed the talents of an underrated, yet sturdy ensemble including: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, Evan Rachel Wood and Colm Meaney.
McAvoy keeps getting better with age, leaving a trail of quality films in his wake. His likability and youth are both strengths and weaknesses, giving him the qualities of a hero out-of-his-depth. Robin Wright is famous for her title role in The Princess Bride, but has been staging a comeback since that solid turn in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. She’s back on the map with a stern no-make up performance you’d expect from an in-form Laura Linney. The two stars deliver solid performances, which carry Redford’s vision, cushioned by the collective experience of their co-stars with the unfortunate miscasting of Justin Long, who just isn’t at home in the genre .
The performances are the main reason to see The Conspirator. Robert Redford can direct and delivers this story with a firm hand. His point-of-view feigns objectivity, but is simply an interpretation of documented events. The attempt to rely almost entirely on natural lighting gives the film a distinctive visual character, which is fitting – yet difficult to pull off with one shaft of light streaming in through the window becoming more of a cliche than a symbol.
At just over 2 hours, The Conspirator is a bit of a stretch… especially if American history is of little interest or consequence to you. The story’s juxtaposition with the here-and-now is thought-provoking, the performances hold strong and the film’s visual style is fascinating enough to draw comparisons with The Assassination of Jesse James. Unfortunately, the “subtle” propaganda slant taints the production a little and it has an unavoidable TV element with the legal court room drama taking precedence. The Conspirator remains powerful, despite its minor flaws.
The bottom line: Powerful.
Stephen ‘Spling’ Aspeling
www.spling.co.za
www.spling.mobi
The Best of August 2011
Hermanus Food and Wine Fair 6 – 8 August 2011
This fair offers three days of indulgence with a wide array of world-class premium wine and an assortment of fresh, local culinary creations.
Learn Africa, Love Africa Festival Until December 2011
The African Arts Institute will present a unique series of events featuring an all-Africa line-up at a number of popular Cape Town venues from 29 July 2011 through December 2011. The programme consists of monthly music parties, film nights, art talks and book chats, hosted at the Kimberley Hotel on Roeland Street, the Labia on Orange Street, 6 Spin Street and the Book Lounge, also on Roeland Street.
Tretchikoff Exhibition Until 25 September 2011
A retrospective exhibition of the artist, Vladimir Tretchikoff, will be open to the public at the Iziko South African National Gallery until 25 September. While Tretchikoff is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most controversial artists, there can be no doubt that he has become a cultural icon and remains a favourite artist to many South Africans.
Zip Zap Circus – The Caretaker 5 – 8 August 2011
Following the success of Zip Zap’s Easter Show ‘Just Kidding’, this new production guarantees laughs, thrills and fun for the entire family.
Jiving with Madiba by Zapiro Until 27 September 2011
Jiving with Madiba celebrates the life and contributions of South Africa’s greatest citizen, his struggle, successes and shortcomings, as portrayed by our country’s leading political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, better known as Zapiro.
Cracks and the City 1 – 13 August 2011
The Cracks as they are now known, return with a two-week run from August 1 to 13 in the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio. Audiences can look forward to a new full-length show, Cracks And The City II, with fresh material and sketches that are sure to get you laughing as well as thinking. The show is directed by comic whizz, Alan Committie.
Swan Lake at Artscape 19 – 26 August 2011
Swan Lake is one of the greatest classical ballets ever choreographed. The mystery and romance of the story is embodied in the ethereal choreography and Tchaikovsky’s poignant score.
Defending the Caveman Until 10 September 2011
Alan Committie is back in the record-breaking “date show” that explores the differences – and similarities – between the sexes.
Latest work from Cape Town Illustrator Doug Powell
Illustrator and artist Doug Powell has given us a sampling of some recent work. The portfolio below covers work for clients as diverse as PLAY energy drink and Marbrin’s Olive Farm highlighting the versatility and creativity of the artist. Doug works comfortably in a wide range of media and is available for both commercial advertising and fine art commissions.
Bells Limited Edition. This was one of two engravings for a Bells presentation tin.
This was one of several humorous posters (pen and ink) to encourage the cyclists on The Argus cycle tour.
Marbrin’s olive farm label. It was illustrated in pastel crayon and designed not only to show their estate but an olive tree and their dog Stanley!
Two sections from a mixed media illustration for Richelieu presentation tin.
A pastel crayon illustration of a Knysna loerie for a brandy label.
New engraving logo of griffin for PLAY energy drink.
One of four sections (mixed media) for a Bond theme Take II popcorn 3D header card.
This design formed part of a new engraving logo for Westlake Primary school.
Visit Doug Powell’s profile on Cape Town Creatives to view more designs.
Cracks And The City II
The Baxter Theatre celebrates women’s month in August with the hilarious Cracks and the City ll, featuring the all-female quartet that stars comedians Shimmy Isaacs, Anne Hirsch, Anthea Thompson and Marianne Thamm. The Cracks as they are now known, return with a two-week run from August 1 to 13 in the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio. Audiences can look forward to a new full-length show, Cracks And The City II, with fresh material and sketches that are sure to get you laughing as well as thinking. The show is directed by comic whizz, Alan Committie.
The original Cracks And The City began life at the Flipside at the Baxter in the middle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in July. Critics immediately picked up on the troupe’s maverick and unique comedy style. Continuing in this tradition the all-new Cracks and The City II will see the comedians explore South African identity, travel, celebrities as well as a range of other contemporary issues.
Cracks and the City enjoyed a successful three-week run at On Broadway after the original Baxter Flipside run. Later, as Cracks Only, the women attempted an ambitious comedy first, presenting new material every last Friday of the month
Individually, all four Cracks are involved in a range of other work. Shimmy Isaacs has been touring with her award-winning show Allie Pad Funny Worcester and more recently wowed audiences at the Vodacom Funny Festival. Anne Hirsch is due to star (along with actor Stephen Fry) in the BBC series, The Borrowers soon to be filmed in Cape Town. Anne is a sought-after performer on the Cape Town comedy circuit as well a regular member of the award-winning Theatresports troupe. Anne has performed and co-written three successful one woman shows and went on to win SABC’s So You Think You’re Funny? (Season 2) crowning her the funniest new stand-up comedian in the country. Since then she is the only white woman to have ever performed as part of David Kau’s Blacks Only comedy tour performing to sold out audiences in Bloemfontein, Joburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Anthea Thompson has had a busy year and starring in the acclaimed local production of Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass sharing the stage with Sir Antony Sher. She also wowed audiences as Kate in the Maynardville production of Taming of the Shrew and has just completed a run with the award-winning Not The Midnight Mass. She is due to open her one-woman show Living Remote at the Kalk Bay Theatre.
The award-winning Marianne Thamm continues to work as a columnist and social commentator. She has just finished adapting Douglas Rogers’ Zimbabwe memoir The Last Resort for the stage. A production of the play is due to be staged early next year. She is also currently working on a memoir of DA leader Helen Zille, due out in the near future.
Director Alan Committie is one of this country’s most versatile, prolific and sought-after comic talents. His work ranges from several acclaimed one-man shows including Stressed to Kill, One Man One Remote! TV or not TV, The Clown Jewels parts I and II, Titanic on Ice and Dick and I. For the last three years, Alan has performed the stage phenomenon, Defending the Caveman, at theatres around the country.
Tickets cost from R85 to R100 with block bookings available, and all booking at the Baxter box office and via Computicket or 08619158000.
The Dark Side by Frieda Lühl
Frieda Lühl recently completed a new range, aptly titled The Dark Side. For this range, Frieda experimented with oxidising the silver to create a blackened matt effect. The dark feel of this range is further emphasised by the use of faceted Garnets and Tourmalins. Frieda also used dendritic agates which are reminiscent of a snowy winter landscape. Other interesting stones used in this range include black drusis as well as star rubies.
The range consists of long dangly earrings, long necklaces and statement rings and is currently exclusively available at 36 Boutiques.com
Visit Frieda Lühl’s profile on Cape Town Creatives to view more designs.
Freeworld Design Centre Women’s Day Celebration
Join Freeworld Design Centre on the 4th of August for a Women’s Day celebration in aid of the Safe Spaces campaign. Safe Spaces is a public art and education campaign that focuses on the creation of safe spaces for girls and women across Cape Town. As part of the initiative, benches designed by local artists will be installed city-wide. Each bench is linked to a toll-free number that connects young women to resources, support and inspiring stories of successful South African women. For every bench that is installed in the City Centre, a sister bench will be placed in a surrounding disadvantaged community. The first Safe Spaces bench, designed by Tim Lewis and mosaicked by Lovell Friedman has already been installed at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Its sister bench was installed at the Red River School in Manenberg on 10 June 2011.
Freeworld Design Centre is showing its support by hosting a Safe Spaces bench, the unveiling of which coincides with the launch of the next Freeworld design exhibition, Spring Break, featuring interiors by Frank Bohm, Inhouse Brand Architects, Jay Smith Collection and Sam Scarborough. The unveiling is to be held in partnership with Rock Girl, the organisation that started the Safe Spaces campaign, and Grassroot Soccer, who use football to drive home HIV-prevention messages amongst the youth. Grassroot Soccer also run the Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha, where Freeworld Design Centre’s sister bench will be housed. The evening’s activities, which start at 17h00, will include:
- An address by Premier Helen Zille, Western Cape Provincial Government.
- A speech by new Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille
- An exhibition of photographs from Life and Soul: Portraits of Women Who Move South Africa, taken by photographer and Rock Girl co-founder Karina Turok
- A soccer match between girls from the Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha
- The auctioning off of soccer balls decorated by award-winning South African creatives Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro), Brandt Botes, Charles Maggs, Lauren Beukes, Tracy Lynch and others.
- City residents forming a human chain across the pedestrian bridge at Waterkant Street to signify their commitment to ensuring safe spaces for all in Cape Town
Freeworld Design Centre is also supporting the campaign beyond their walls. Says Lauren Shantall, head of the design centre, “Safe Spaces took its inspiration from Manenberg and a group of Grade 6 girls who were seeking out ways to make their school safe. Our design team, along with local artists Nathan and Andre Trantaal, have decided to return to where things started – with these girls. We’re going to create a mural at their school and help them install their own Safe Spaces bench.”
Says human rights lawyer India Baird, Rock Girl and Safes Spaces co-founder, “We’re so excited that Freeworld Design Centre has come out in support of Safe Spaces for women, and I’d like to encourage the creative community to follow their lead. Artists and designers are invited to submit their own bench designs. We also have an SMS campaign kicking off in June: Members of the public can donate R20 to the cause, and vote for the location of the next bench.” To make a donation, SMS: 31546 SAFER.
GIPCA’s Great Texts/Big Questions On Cultural Boycotts
The Gordon Institute for Creative and Performing Arts (GIPCA) invites you to participate in a panel discussion on Thursday 4 August at 17:30 in Hiddingh Hall as part of the Great Texts/Big Questions public lecture series. The topic is: South African artists and cultural boycotts: should the latest call for a cultural boycott of Israel be heeded?
South African artists, including Nadine Gordimer, William Kentridge and the Cape Town Opera, have faced calls for a cultural boycott of Israel. Is this justified? Would it be effected? Should the Israeli occupation matter to South African artists and intellectuals? And is the experience of the boycotts of the 1980s here in South Africa relevant? We are inviting academic Andrew Nash, artist William Kentridge, activist Zackie Achmat and judge Dennis Davis to advance the discussion, which will be chaired, by Dean of Humanities and chairperson for the Gordon Institute Board, Professor Paula Ensor.
Speaker’s Biographies:
William Kentridge’s work has been seen in museums and galleries around the world since the 1990s, including Documenta in Kassel, Germany (1997, 2003), the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1998, 2010), the Albertina Museum in Vienna (2010), Jeu de Paume in Paris (2010). Kentridge’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute was presented at Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Festival d’Aix, and in 2011 at La Scala in Milan. He directed Shostakovich’s The Nose for the Met Opera in New York in 2010 (the production goes to Festival d’Aix and to Lyon in 2011), to coincide with a major exhibition at MoMA. Also in 2010 the Musee du Louvre in Paris presented Carnets d’Egypte, a project conceived especially for the Egyptian room at the Louvre. In the same year, Kentridge received the prestigious Kyoto Prize in recognition of his contributions in the field of arts and philosophy.
Andrew Nash teaches history of political thought at the University of Cape Town. Before that, he taught philosophy and politics at the universities of Stellenbosch and the Western Cape, and was editorial director of Monthly Review Press in New York. He is the author of The Dialectical Tradition in South Africa (Routledge, 2009) and he is currently chair of the UCT Palestine Solidarity Forum.
Zackie Achmat is a political activist, most widely known as founder and a chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and for his work on the behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. Zackie joined the African National Congress in Victor Verster prison in 1980 as an anti-apartheid organiser. From 1985 to 1990 Zackie was a member of the Marxist Workers Tendency of the ANC playing a leading role in establishing its underground structures during the last years of apartheid. Zackie co-founded the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality in 1994 and remains active in promoting equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Africa and elsewhere. Zackie lives with HIV and in 1998 co-founded the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). In 2008, TAC helped coordinate the efforts of civil society to assist people displaced by xenophobic violence. From these efforts, Zackie joined others to found the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), an organisation dedicated to promoting safety and security for all people in South Africa. Currently, he serves as a member of the SJC secretariat. He also helped found and currently serves on the board of Equal Education, a social movement dedicated to achieving quality and equality for all. Furthermore, as a member of Open Shuhada Street, Zackie also works directly with Palestinians and Israelis resisting the Occupation through grassroots and non-violent methods. Zackie has written and directed four major documentaries on children’s rights, the Afrikaans language, South African lesbian and gay history and the Constitutional Court. Today he serves as the Co-Director of Ndifuna Ukwazi, a non-profit organisation involved in leadership development and providing strategic support to other organisations.
Dennis Martin Davis, judge of the High Court in Cape Town was educated at Herzlia School, Universities of Cape Town and Cambridge. Judge Davis has also been Judge President of the Competition Appeal Court since 2000. He was Professor of Law at UCT (where he currently still teaches as Honorary Professor), and at the University of Witwatersrand where he was the Director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) between1990 and1997. While at CALS he acted as legal advisor to the multi party conference that drafted the South African constitution. He is author of 10 books, the latest being Precedent and Possibility -the use and (ab) use of law in South Africa (2008) with Michelle Leroux). He has also authored some 150 academic articles on legal theory, constitutional law, taxation, labour law, competition law, administrative law and South African history. He has held visiting professorial posts at Toronto, Melbourne, Harvard, NYU, Florida, Brown and G eorgetown. Judge Davis is married to Claudette and they have two children Liat and Joshua. He is a keen Manchester United supporter.
This event will take place at Hiddingh Hall, University of Cape Town (UCT) Hiddingh Campus, Orange Street, Cape Town on Thursday 4 August at 17:30 and is free. Refreshments will be served from 17:00. No Booking is necessary. For more information on the series, please contact 021 480 7156 or fin-gipca@uct.ac.za.
Call for Auditions for Kat and The Kings
A New Production of David Kramer and Taliep Petersen’s Award-Winning West End and Broadway Hit Musical Kat & The Kings Comes to the Fugard Theatre in May 2012.
Eric Abraham and the Fugard Theatre will present David Kramer and Taliep Petersen’s Olivier Award winning musical Kat & The Kings and there is an opportunity to audition for this smash hit musical at the Fugard Theatre on 20 and 21 August 2011.
The producers are looking for 4 young men (must pass as teenagers, so late teens or early 20’s) and 1 young woman (in her 20’s), who can sing, act and dance their socks off!
Set in South Africa in the 1950s, the musical explores the journey of teenager Kat Diamond, who is convinced that he is the best singer and dancer in District Six. He forms the a cappella group the Cavalla Kings with his friends Ballie, Magoo, Bingo, and young Kat. The quintet, with their American doo wop and rock and roll influences becomes a sensation, graduating from street corners to “whites only” nightclubs, and a recording contract.
After touring South Africa, the original production of Kat & The Kings was invited to the Tricycle Theatre in London in November 1997. The production transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End.
Kat & the Kings won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1999, and the whole cast won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in the same year.
The show received Tony and Olivier Award nominations in the Best Choreography category. The Broadway production opened on August 19, 1999 at the Cort Theatre, where it ran for 157 performances.
Slots for auditions for the 2012 run of Kat & the Kings at the Fugard Theatre in District 6 can be booked by e-mailing boxoffice2@thefugard.com or calling 021 461 4554. Times for the auditions will be confirmed via return mail or telephone call.
