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57th Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards winners press release: a thrilling mix of established and emergent talent
2022-03-28Winners were announced in 19 categories this year. Musical performances in plays were merged with those in musicals and music shows, given the limited number of musical events staged in 2020 and 2021.
Giselle at Artscape: an interview with Debbie Turner, CEO of Cape Town City Ballet
2022-03-23"In times of uncertainty and difficulty, it is art in all its forms that sees us through. Giselle remains a universal story of love and betrayal that can be understood and appreciated anywhere."
Fresh off the press: Milner: Last of the empire builders by Richard Steyn
2022-03-23Lord Alfred Milner was a brilliant public servant and one of Britain’s most famous empire builders who left an indelible imprint on the history of South Africa.
Time to reflect on our lives: Our ghosts were once people edited by Bongani Kona, a review
2022-03-21"This is not merely a book about death and dying. All manner of reflection is included: the blunt, the prosaic, the truthful, the tragic, but through it all comes connection – even celebration – as the writers share memories and experiences that lend the stories universal appeal."
Press release: Outrageous new play to premiere at Artscape
2022-03-18The play centres on the relationship between acclaimed surgeon, Doctor James Barry, his African manservant, John and the then, Governor of the Cape Colony, Lord Charles Henry Somerset. Barry lived his entire adult life as a man but was named Margret Ann at birth and was known as female in childhood.
Colonel Hunger and Major Sickness
2022-03-17"But meanwhile, when Viktor was pressed to describe the essential difference between the bilingual Ukrainians and Russians, essentially speaking one another's language, he said the nearest analogy was that of Ireland and England."
Press release: Andrew Buckland and Sylvaine Strike star in Firefly at The Baxter
2022-03-17Two of South Africa’s theatre greats, Andrew Buckland and Sylvaine Strike, once again team up to create theatre magic, in the stage premiere of Firefly, directed by Toni Morkel, at the Baxter Flipside, for a limited season from 24 March to 9 April 2022 at 7:30pm nightly, with Saturday matinees at 2:30pm.
Themes of hypocrisy and secrets: Glass house by Chinenye Emezie, a review
2022-03-16"This book could be a good start for someone who wants to get to know the work of Nigerian authors. I would recommend it for readers with a taste for family dramas with weighty topics and satisfying character growth."
Full particulars podcast: Migrant being in the Jesus novels
2022-03-15In the sixth episode of his podcast series Full particulars, David Attwell discusses JM Coetzee's enigmatic Jesus trilogy with Robert Pippin (University of Chicago), Derek Attridge (University of York), and Elleke Boehmer (University of Oxford). With a reading from The death of Jesus by JM Coetzee.
Interview with a former refugee, Karina Szczurek
2022-03-13"Watching Ukrainian parents evacuate their children to safety while staying behind to fight for their future breaks my heart. I cannot imagine the levels of anxiety and distress this kind of separation causes for a family. These people will never fully recover from this, even if they survive."
Cosmonauts do it in heaven by Keith Gottschalk: a book review
2022-03-08"For the uninitiated, Cosmonauts do it in heaven might feel like an exploration of space itself, seemingly obscure and impenetrable at first, but the poetry is infused with a desire to take the great leap, to reach for the sky and to celebrate its wonders and 'mysteries,/ solved & sensuous' ('First light')."
Cape Town Opera press release: Icons at Stellenbosch Town Hall
2022-03-08The concert at the Stellenbosch Town Hall takes place on Saturday 19 March 2002 at 6pm.
Press release: Invitation to submit entries for The Ingrid Jonker Prize for English Poetry 2022
2022-03-07Poets or their publishers are invited to submit entries for the Ingrid Jonker Prize for English poetry in 2022. The closing date for submissions is 15 March 2022.
Of Slavic Souls, continued
2022-03-06"Am I waxing poetic about Russian culture? No, I don’t think so. I am not saying that Putin is good, or doing good things. But I have seen and experienced and read and been born into a life that sees, very well, that to heal the cycles of violence we are used to, we need to think differently to how we have been feeling thus far."
The West’s economic war
2022-03-04"What wasn’t surprising about the vote on Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly on 2 March 2022 was that South Africa abstained ... For South Africa’s foreign policy to become focused on human rights again, the left-nationalist power cabal that is the ANC must go ... But underneath, tremendous forces are at play. The world is being reordered and it is unlikely to be in Africa’s favour."
Stories from Stellenbosch and Kharkiv: Dzvinka Kachur and Hannah Yanovska (3 March 2022 at 09:50)
2022-03-03"They bomb in the evening. And with bags in hand, we go down from the tenth floor to the subway."
(Ab)using language for narrow socio-political and racist interests
2022-03-02"Institutional support and status involves far more than just mouthing platitudes to the electorate. It means a dogged determination, as displayed in the development of Afrikaans to where it is today."
Press release: Critically low blood stocks!
2022-03-02The Western Cape Blood Service is appealing to all eligible donors to donate blood as blood stocks are critically low. Do something remarkable, donate blood.
It will shock, upset and educate, a review of Guns and needles by Clinton van der Berg
2022-03-01"While newspaper articles have often provided superficial reports on high-profile doping cases, Van der Berg provides detailed information that readers will find interesting and in some cases alarming."
Russians: Hostages of our own state
2022-02-28"All the public talks and podcasts in Russia, all the conversations with friends and family, come down to just a few topics: Will the metro be a safe place to hide in case Moscow is bombed by NATO? Is it the right time to withdraw all cash from our bank accounts? Is it too late to buy US dollars and sell the stocks? Will our young male family members be mobilised and sent to war, most of them against their will? Will the government start mass repression of its own citizens, those who dare to speak up?"
