THEATRE Durban listings October 3 to 9, 2003 Compiled by Alex Sudheim from the Mail & Guardian. Listings for inclusion in this guide can be mailed to oneply@mweb.co.za. Plays marked with a star are recommended. Click on the Computicket icons to book online. A CELLAR FULL OF NOISE. Playhouse Cellar, Smith Street. The management team of the successful harbour-front venue the Dockyard has taken over the venue and celebrates its new look with A Cellar Full of Noise, which runs until October 5. Based on Brian Epstein’s biography of the same name, the show features the music of The Beatles, Helen Shapiro, Jerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black. With a high level of authenticity in the sets and costumes, the Cellar is the ideal venue to recreate the ambience of the Cavern club in Liverpool, where these up-and- coming Liverpudlian acts originally performed. Tickets are R135 for the show and a three-course meal. There are also Sunday and Tuesday shows at R110 for the show and a two course meal. Book at Computicket or Tel: 369 9505. COPPÉLIA. Playhouse Drama. The Fantastic Flying Fish Dance Company presents the full-length, three-act comic ballet Coppélia here. See Pick of the Week. Book at Computicket. DEFENDING THE CAVEBRATS. Catalina Theatre, Wilson’s Wharf. Opening on Tuesday October 7 is Aldo Brincat’s celebrated Defending the CaveBrats, a wry, funny and clever take on generational warfare, which returns to Durban after a successful run in Johannesburg. Brincat has honed his fresh and original take on the trials and tribulations of being a parent to new levels of wit and insight as he takes an incisive look at the impulses that set many of us on the path to parenthood. Drawing from a wealth of material, the play will resonate with anyone from die-hard singles to parents; from in-laws and grandparents to their weird and wonderful offspring. Until November 2. Performances are from Tuesday to Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 6pm. Tickets cost R65 (R50 for pensioners and students). Tel: 305 6889. DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN. Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, University of Natal, Durban. That old chestnut of a comedy that Durbanites have an insatiable appetite for, Defending the Caveman, slouches back toward Durban for a run at this esteemed theatre until October 12. Playwright Rob Becker’s humorous exploration of the differences between men and women has been a nationwide hit for the past six years. The play is produced by Pieter Toerien and stars the irresistibly funny Tim Plewman as the hero of the piece. The show tackles the eternal, baffling and seemingly insurmountable differences between men and woman with humorous insight without passing hostile judgement. Book at Computicket. A HANDFUL OF KEYS. Barnyard Theatre, Gateway. Running until October 5 is classic South African musical A Handful of Keys. The show’s unique box-office magic has placed it in a class of its own since its first run in Johannesburg in 1994. Having played to more than 150 000 people, Ian von Memerty and Roelof Colyn reprise their award-winning roles and set the ivories alight in their two-man, two-piano show during which tribute is paid to the likes of Vonda Shepard, Roberta Flack, Carole King and Nina Simone, while men are recognised through the music of Billy Joel, Richard Clayderman, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, Liberace and Elton John. A famous crowd-pleaser is History of Musicals where 91 years of music are spanned in 11 minutes. Deceptively simple, A Handful of Keys cannot be called a revue, a concert, a cabaret, a tribute or a send-up because it is all, yet none, of these things. Tickets cost R70. Buy-one-get-one-free promotions are available for Tuesday-night and Sunday matinee shows. Website: www.barnyardtheatre.co.za. Tel: 566 3045/6. HANDSOME DEVILS. Dockyard Theatre, Point Waterfront. The musical comedy Handsome Devils runs until November 2. Described by Stuart Mey, producer and musical director, as “a sort of Commitments — set on the Bluff”, the show features Stuart Mey, Gerald Knott, Glen Turrell, Bruce Boom and Ian Webster with Ian Wells on piano. Handsome Devils promises to be an hilarious musical comedy, touching on the male menopause and midlife crisis. It features a six-piece band playing all the rock’n’roll classics from the late 1950s and 1960s. The show is loosely scripted around Harry, a disgruntled fiftysomething who, fed up with his nagging wife, decides to rekindle the flames of his youth and reform his rock’n’roll band from back in the day when he and his mates “pulled the chicks”. Naturally the results are highly amusing as Mey follows the theme of the “old ballies” introduced during his previous hit music reviews Santana, Masters of Rock and Legend of Eagles. Book at Computicket or Tel: 369 9505. I CLOSED MY EYES TO STOP THE SKY FROM FALLING. Courtyard Theatre, Durban Institute of Technology, Mansfield Road. I Closed My Eyes to Stop the Sky from Falling is a new work by award-winning Fantastic Flying Fish choreographer David Gouldie, which he has created in collaboration with the institute’s drama department for performance by students. Running from October 7 to 11, the fresh, contemporary work offers the audience an exciting journey into the world of dance, exploring the roads we travel as everyday South Africans and the celebrations and hardships we endure along the way. Using varied dance languages and traditions, the piece is a work of evolution and fusion, creating a visual feast of new dance. The production also boasts the talent of Durban’s award-winning lighting designer, Michael Broderick, and sets and costumes by Lovell Southey and David Gouldie. Tickets are R25 for adults and R15 for students and scholars. Book at Computicket. Tel: 204 2532. LIVE POETS’ SOCIETY. Adams Bookshop, Musgrave Centre. Spiritual enlightenment is the order of the evening during the next meeting of Durban’s Live Poets’ Society on Wednesday October 8, as the spotlight falls on the guest poet, former Buddhist nun Thanissara (Mary Peacock), who is originally from London but has for the past eight years lived in South Africa. Peacock has spent the past 25 years contemplating the jewelled path of awakening, an undertaking that has seen her live in India and at meditation centres in Burma and the United Kingdom. For 12 years she lived as a Buddhist nun in north-east Thailand. She now lives in South Africa with her husband Kittisaro at a small hermitage in the Drakensberg where they teach Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Thanissara’s recent book of poetry, Garden of the Midnight Rosary, traces the inner journey of the mystic and on the evening here she will present excerpts from this text together with recorded music. As the evening’s theme is Enlightenment, local scribes are invited to present their poems on the subject or on anything else in the evening’s open-mic poet-pourri session. The event starts at 5.30pm, entrance is free and all are welcome. Tel: 082 516 0517/266 4762. NOSTALGICALLY YOURS. Backstage Theatre, Royal hotel. Running until November 2 is Nostalgically Yours, a sentimental cabaret that is suitable for all ages and, as the name suggests, takes a wistful wander down memory lane. Starring Durban diva Melanie Roberts in a tender, emotional and light-hearted production, Nostalgically Yours also features Carol Trench in this delightful collage of medleys and new arrangements with the two chanteuses accompanied by Evan Roberts on piano. This sophisticated trio’s piano and voice adaptation of familiar songs takes you from one era to the next — from the 1930s to the present — and promises to be a relaxed evening of nostalgia. The show includes classic numbers such as Somewhere over the Rainbow, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Circle of Love, Somewhere Out There, Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries and more. Tickets cost R120 and include a three-course meal. Bookings: Tel: 333 6000. PROOF. KwaSuka Theatre, Stamford Hill Road. Durban theatre company KickstArt continues to bring quality theatre to town with a new production of Pulitzer Prize-winning play Proof, which runs until October 25. David Auburn’s play is a fun, smart and compassionate web of ideas that explores the complexity of love and the mysteries of mathematics. Auburn combines elements of mystery and surprise with old-fashioned story-telling to provide a compelling evening of theatre that bubbles with a chemistry of its own. Proof has had seasons in New York, London and across the United States with some top screen actresses competing for the coveted role of Catherine. Gwyneth Paltrow played the role in London and Mary Louise Parker in New York. The Durban production stars Olivia Borgen, Clare Mortimer, Frantz Dobrowsky and Neil Coppen. Shows are on Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8pm, with Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets are R60 (R50 for students and pensioners). Book at Computicket. Tel: 083 544 2006. PUSS IN BOOTS. Langoustine Theatre by the Sea, Durban North. The risqué romp Puss in Boots runs at this swish supper-theatre from Tuesday October 7 to December 31. Between Dick, puss and a motley bunch of panto folk, the cast weaves a spell of fantasy and intrigue with song, suggestions and sexual inuendo as well as all the elements of traditional pantomime. Featuring Anthony Stonier, Heather Barclay Whiffen, Karen Campbell Gillies, Dean Roberts, Peter Court and introducing Jonathan Didlick, the production is directed by Peter Court, the script is by Patrick Hyland and design is by Greg King. Book at Computicket or the Langoustine theatre at Tel: 563 7324. SOMOS FLAMENCO. Catalina Theatre, Wilson’s Wharf. Running until October 5 in this fine dosckside super theatre is Somos Flamenco, a vibrant season of the most fiery, passionate and sensual of all dances featuring Linda Vargas, her sister Juana Vargas and her nine-member dance company accompanied on the flamenco guitar by Demi Fernandes. Tel: 305 6889. STORM IN A D-CUP. Rhumbelow Theatre, Cunningham Avenue, off Bartle Road. One of Durban’s top independent theatres this weekend features three performances of Storm in a D-Cup. Vampish diva Karen Campbell-Gillies presents a stylish, sophisticated and raunchy cabaret that pays homage to the golden age of jazz ingénues, their vocal talents and, er, other endowments. Throughout mankind’s history “they” have inspired poetry, literature, song and the occasional brief skirmish. They are shrouded in mystery, intrigue and various inexplicable undergarments. They are lusted after and desired in every shape or form. Join the bouncy, pert and astonishingly well-endowed Campbell-Gillies for a rollicking, bodice-ripping (but strangely uplifting) exposé of breasts, mammaries, boobs, jugs, tits, the hooters, the men who want them and the women who have them. Written by Patrick Hyland, Storm in a D-Cup is a winner if it’s scurrilous adult theatre you’re after. Shows are on Friday October 3 and Saturday October 4 at 8.30pm and on Sunday October 5 at 6.30pm. Tickets are R40 and the venue opens an hour and a half before each show for dining patrons. Take picnic baskets — a braai and bar are provided by the venue. E-mail roland@stansell.za.net or call Tel: 205 7602/082 499 8636. TO THE DEAD OKES! Playhouse Cellar, Smith Street. Opening on Thursday October 9 and running until December 31 is Stuart Mey’s pop pantomime To the Dead Okes!, which pays tribute to the greatest musicians in rock’n’roll. The musical homage includes well-known hits from Elvis, Roy Orbison, Freddie Mercury, Buddy Holly and others. Featuring four vocalists singing to backing tracks, the glittering show promises to be a whole lot of fun. Tickets are R135 for the show and a three-course meal. There are also special Sunday and Tuesday shows that cost R110 and include a two-course meal. Book at Computicket or call Tel: 369 9505. Other cities Johannesburg | Pretoria | Cape Town