For theatre-goers in Cape Town it's your final chance to see the sensational Grieta kry Geleerdheid, a pleasingly charming full-blooded two-act play that will have you rolling in the aisles with its hilarious laugh-out-loud wisecracks; and Sie Wiess Alles offers a unique set up between two people imprisoned by fate and set free by destiny. Lie is also playing until Sunday; it tells the striking story of a young queer boy, Anna Jones, as he reconstructs his life - from fleeing an abusive home to engaging in prostitution, to becoming entangled in the lives of a married couple.
It's also the opening weekend in Cape Town of Alan Ayckbourn's classic comedy Season's Greetings, set against the backdrop of a very traditional English Christmas when a family and some friends spend most of the time bickering, crying and generally behaving very badly; and with Cinema Serenade, Louise Howlett and Albert Combrink celebrate the world of the silver screen, through some of the greatest arias, jazz standards and ballads ever written, from A Room With A View to James Bond to Moulin Rouge.
There's more live action in Cape Town with The Brother Size that deals with the relationship between the two Size brothers on very different paths, who live in the bayou region of Louisiana; and malady is insanely entertaining in the ferocious and explosive House Of Usher. It deals with the confrontation between order and chaos, between hope and despair, between love and hate and between success and failure. Edgar Allen Poe's fantastical gothic story, The Fall Of The House Of Usher, was the key text for this early exploration that is now brought to life by The Mechanicals.
In Joburg, Thailand's sensational super-voice band, Viva! is a pop-meets-opera super-group that provides a feast for the soul; To celebrate the 80th birthday of South Africa's leading playwright, Athol Fugard, the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square is honouring this outstanding theatre luminary with a modern interpretation of Boesman and Lena.
Janneman makes its bow at the State Theatre in Pretoria. Writer-director Hennie van Greunen not only brings three exceptional women into our lives, but also an extraordinary play that is definitely a highlight on the theatre calendar.
Just when you thought it was safe to breathe, Aaron McIlroy's uproarious musical comedy Abbamaniacs is back to take the Durban stage by storm once more; and Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout, Kidi Amin, Pik Botha, Nowell Fine, Mrs Petersen, the Groot Krokodil, Madiba and the dancing DA come to the rescue in master satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys' Adapt or Fly.
For those who want to stay indoors, there's some exciting home entertainment. In the uplifting family drama The Music Never Stopped, an overly critical father gets a unique opportunity to reconnect with his estranged son, if he can only embrace the music that once divided them. The Muppets is fun, fun, and more fun for the whole family! Jason Segel is sensational in this song-and-dance extravaganza in the style of the Gene Kelly classics. Kenny Johnson delivers a sterling and moving performance as an ex-con who desperately tries to get his life in order and break out of his imprisonment outside prison in Few Options, and Woody Allen's fertile imagination gallops at full trot in Midnight In Paris, an amusing and charming romance.
If you're in the mood for a scary treat, Eden Lake is exclusively released on DVD and is a shocking and frightening exploration of fear and terror. A romantic weekend in the woods turns into a bloody struggle for survival when a vacationing couple (Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly) find their campsite surrounded by an aggressive gang of obnoxious adolescents in the feature directorial debut of My Little Eye screenwriter James Watkins.
For more on these shows, films and DVDs, go to www.writingstudio.co.za
