Binge watching the 031 'series'
A proudly single woman; a man questioning his decision to emigrate; the grand old dame of musical theatre; a man living with ADHD, a happily married couple, and a bunch of savvy kids rocking improv – these are some of the characters one can meet at the family-friendly 031 Theatre Festival at the Seabrookes Theatre at DHS next weekend
'It is such a great fest,' said singer and actress Lisa Bobbert, 'It means all of us who are travelling to the Eastern Cape have an opportunity to perform in-front of a live audience. It also means that Durbanites who won't make it to the festival can have a tiny sampling of some of the best shows Durban has to offer. Drama is in short supply at the moment – so it is worth binging-watching some great pieces neatly packaged into one weekend. Think of it as watching a Netflix series over a weekend – only live.'
Bobbert presents Ethel (June 7 at 2pm; June 8 at 4pm), her latest one-woman cabaret tribute to the queen of musical theatre – the incomparable Ethel Merman, whose voice defined Broadway.
'The show is based on the life and body of work of the incredible Ethel Merman – grand doyenne of musical theatre, both on stage and in Hollywood. So many amazing composers wrote for her and she was the muse for some great musical shows written especially for her: Gyspy, Call me Madam, Annie get your Gun and Hello Dolly. I have grown to love Ethel – she was not a classic beauty; in fact she reminds me of everyone's favourite aunt. But she has a great voice which belts out the numbers. She was an extraordinary talent, she didn't suffer fools and had a great sense of humour. She intrigues and inspires me. Besides, I love doing the old-fashioned stuff.' said Bobbert.
This year, the festival welcomes acclaimed Cape Town actress, Erika Breytenbach with her one-woman show I Can Buy Myself Flowers (June 6 at 6pm; June 7 at 4pm). Taking its name from Miley Cyrus' song that became an anthem for single women the world over, it tells the story ofan estate agent in her fifties, who entertains as she reflects on the ups and downs of relationships, children, professional life and her women friendships.
Following phenomenal success at the Adelaide International Festival in Australia, Ben Voss will tour Becoming Benno (June 6 at 8pm; June 7 at 6pm) on his home ground. In this internationally acclaimed heartfelt comedy, Voss is detained by border officials at Sydney Airport due to an issue with his permanent residency visa. Will he be admitted or sent back to SA?
Rewind to the nineties, when a group of Durban drama graduates, inspired by the BBC TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? created the hit theatre improv show, Comedy Games (June 7 at 8pm), which quickly developed a cult following and became the thing to do on a Friday evening. Now the original theatre show starring Patrick Kenny as MC is back with a hot new team of fine young actors.
Join Aaron McIlroy as he revisits one of his favourite one-man shows - ADHD (June 8 at 2pm). Facts and theories are turned on their heads as we get a bird's eye view into the chaotic and beautiful mind of Aaron McIlroy, who has lived with this 'gift' for the last half century.
The 031 Theatre Festival ends on a high note with the hilarious musical comedy, Date Night, starring McIlroy and Bobbert on Sunday, June 8 at 6pm. Tickets from webtickets
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
10 hours ago
- IOL News
Bonko Khoza opens up about life, fame and the pitfalls of the South African entertainment industry
South African actor Bonko Khoza opens up about fame, financial pitfalls and stresses in the entertainment industry. Image: Instagram During a visit to Lungelo KM's "Engineer Your Life" podcast, acclaimed actor Bonko Khoza delved deep into the intricacies of his life, his marriage and the challenges that come with fame. Khoza is currently the man of the moment on the small screen. He has earned high praise for his leading roles in the history-making Netflix movie, 'Heart of the Hunter' and the hit Showmax series, 'Red Ink' and "The Wife". Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'My heart is good' During the interview, Khoza reflected on his craft and exposed the harsh realities of the South African entertainment industry. Khoza began by discussing the awakening he has experienced regarding his personal philosophy. With a heartfelt message anchored in spirituality, he said: "My heart is good. I've been doing a lot of inner work with myself about the heart in relation to God. That's the heart's function in terms of cleaning out the tunnel between myself and God. "What I've come to learn, right now as I'm speaking to you, is that it's gratitude in terms of prayer, because it's validation of the present." Young hustler Rewinding to his early aspirations, Khoza shared a glimpse of his youthful pursuit of becoming a visual artist. He recalls starting out at an art school and juggling various odd jobs at Makro and Wimpy, as well as bartending. "I've been working for a long time, making my own pocket money or just cash to buy my own things." Addressing the sobering reality that many South African actors die broke, Khoza mentioned: 'The South African entertainment industry is no different in appearance or structure than anywhere in the world, but here we have real problems.' He pointed out that productions are often severely underfunded, leading to compensation that does not reflect the talent and dedication actors bring to their roles. 'I think there is a terrible stigma around producers underpaying people and I might put my head on the chopping block here, but the ecosystem is not that strong,' Khoza stated. 'Most of our legends die broke because, number one, it's not that glamorous, the fees aren't that great, and secondly, we don't have royalties.' Pay pitfalls He emphasised that actors remain financially vulnerable due to the nature of their contracts, which are often renewed annually, based on budget constraints. "At every job, you're just making enough for that job. It's crazy that the perception is that when someone sees you on TV, they think that you're making a crap ton of money, I don't know why human perception is that 'because I am public, I am rich'. "The people that are successful in the industry, I think have had great ways to manage that money or some kind of support. But if you are surviving purely on acting money, it's hard because you are not guaranteed your next job," he said. Reflecting on his exit from the popular show, "The Wife", Khoza shared that he does not allow public opinion to dictate his career moves. "I am never dictated by what other people think, not that I couldn't care less, I love an audience, I went to a theatre school, we engage with the audience, but my art is not measured by how someone else feels. Being human "I really try to do what I think is cool and what I think people will appreciate and just take it from there. "In this life now, the artist can quickly become the art. I am not the art, I am Bonko, I am the artist. Artists were never supposed to be famous. I was never supposed to be famous, I'm a piece of sh**. "I am not the cool guy, I've never been the cool guy. I'm introspective, I'm poetic, I'm deep, I cry, I am not the architype of a famous person and how that person suppose to engage." He acknowledged the precarious balance artists must maintain between their professional and personal lives, citing the stressors that arise when one neglects their humanity for the sake of their craft. "Being human is my job, everytime someone books me, I have to draw from the actual reality of it, and if I haven't lived the actual reality of it, there is nothing to draw from. "So when I was doing three season of 'The Wife' with barely no time to be human, it became dangerous to say at what point am I going to go back and be human again. And at the same time, the human was starting to go crazy." Watch the full podcast below.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Streaming surpasses broadcast and cable TV viewing in US for first time
Streaming services, which have been steadily gaining in popularity, have finally dethroned broadcast and cable television in the US, winning more viewers in May than broadcast and cable combined, audience measurement firm Nielsen reported on Tuesday. Nielsen, in its monthly report "The Gauge", said streaming captured 44.8% of total TV usage in the US in May, highlighting the growing dominance of streaming platforms like YouTube and Netflix over the past four years. Google's YouTube alone accounted for 12.5% of all television viewing in May, representing the largest audience share for a streaming service. Free ad-supported streaming services, such as Paramount Global's PlutoTV, Roku Channel and Fox's Tubi, also have gained popularity, collectively capturing 5.7% of TV viewership, Nielsen reported. Broadcast accounted for 20% of TV viewership in May, while cable accounted for 24%, Nielsen said. The rise of streaming, which received a big boost during the Covid-19 pandemic when people were forced to seek entertainment at home, reflects the broader transformation in media consumption, as viewers increasingly favour on-demand content over traditional TV schedules. The trend is reshaping the television landscape, with implications for advertisers and content creators alike.
The Citizen
3 days ago
- The Citizen
Tyler Perry calls sexual assault allegations against him a ‘scam'
Actor Derek Dixon filed a lawsuit against Perry, claiming that he made advances on him in 2020. Speaking through his attorney, actor Tyler Perry has described accusations of sexual assault against him by an actor on one of his shows as a 'scam'. 'This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,' said Perry's lawyer, Matthew Boyd. ALSO READ: Selbeyonce bids farewell to Ukhozi FM after 13 years Lawsuit against Tyler Perry In the lawsuit papers, actor Derek Dixon says he first met Perry in 2019 at an event where the latter picked him out of the crowd and asked for Dixon's number. Soon after, Dixon landed a role on Perry's TV show, Ruthless. Dixon filed a lawsuit against Perry, claiming that Perry made advances on him in 2020 after the Madea actor had invited Dixon to his home. The lawsuit alleges that Perry got into bed with him after Dixon had too much to drink. Dixon claims Perry touched his thighs, and although he rejected the advances that night, Dixon claims Perry remained interested in him. Soon after, Dixon landed a bigger role in Perry's political drama series The Oval, featuring in all six seasons of the series. Dixon's lawsuit includes alleged texts between the two where Perry flirts with the actor. Dixon seemingly rebuffs Perry without trying to offend him out of fear of losing his job. However, Dixon eventually complained about the alleged misconduct; however, the 'defendants did not make any investigation into the complaint and did not take any steps to prevent further harassment from occurring.' He then quit The Oval, claiming that the decision to leave the long-running show cost him $400 000 (more than R7 million) in lost wages. But Perry's lawyer said, 'Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.' Dixon is suing for a total of $260 million in damages, as well as legal expenses. ALSO READ: 'Black Women and Sex': South African filmmaker wins at American Black Film Festival Perry's Straw finds success Meanwhile, the Perry-directed film Straw, released on Netflix on the first Friday of June, has found success on the platform. The film, starring Taraji P. Henson, has garnered the highest numbers on Netflix in a single week for a movie. According to Netflix's companion website Tudum, the Perry-written and produced film was a Top 10 hit on Netflix in all countries, and was the third most-watched title on IMDb this past week, amassing an additional 48.9 million views. NOW READ: Proteas WAGS: Meet SA's gorgeous cricket maidens! [IN PICS]
