The Durban arts and entertainment scene is buzzing with productions that will leave theatregoers wanting more.
Here’s a few shows happening this week.
“Mr and Mrs Normal”
Lisa Bobbert and Aaron McIlroy return with their hit musical comedy, “Mr and Mrs Normal”.
The zany musical will go down a treat with theatregoers.
Interspersed with show-stopping musical hits, this laugh-out-loud comedy is directed and choreographed by theatre whizz Daisy Spencer.
The duo are known for shows like “Bloopers”, “Family Therapy” and “Comedy Classics”.
Bobbert said: “The age-old notion of a typical nuclear family, with stereotypical roles and ways of doing things, doesn’t really exist in the same way it used to.
“There was normal, then new normal, followed by newest normal... Which became exhausting, so now let’s just go back to being 'normal' again!”
Where: Horse Shoe Bend in Tweedie.
When: Friday, November 1. Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 7.30pm.
Cost: Tickets cost R160 and are available through Webtickets.
UKZN Inaugural Music Showcase
The UKZN School of Arts will be putting on a concert featuring African music and dance, jazz and popular music, opera, choral music and western art music.
This multi-genre showcase will feature performances by student soloists and ensembles, including the African Music and Dance Ensemble, the UKZN Jazz Ensemble and Big Band and the Pop Voice Ensemble.
Opera students will perform selections from a Zulu translation of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”/“Umtshingo wemilingo” as well as other well-loved operatic works.
Audiences can look forward to a diverse music program that will include standards and original compositions as well as arrangements by University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) music staff, students and alumni.
Where: The Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre at UKZN’s Howard College Campus.
When: Friday, November 1, at 7pm.
Cost: Tickets start from R80 are are available through Webtickets. No children under three-years will be allowed.
“Yesterday’s Hero”
Patrick Kenny returns with his hilarious one-hander, “Yesterday’s Hero”.
The semi-biographical story is about the ups and downs of Kenny’s life, from his days as a comedian on East Coast Radio to playing the dodgy Doctor Wallace on the e.tv soapie “Imbewu: The Seed”.
It follows the renowned media personality on his journey of survival, despite the misfortunes and disappointments that life throws at him.
Following his recovery from cancer in 2019, contracting Covid-19 in 2020 and the political unrest in 2021, Kenny decided to return to the National Arts Festival in Makhanda in the Eastern Cape as a one-man show performer in 2022, following a 25-year hiatus.
“Yesterday’s Hero” was created with help from his wife Shannon Kenny as well as his friends and theatre veterans, McIlroy and Bobbert.
According to a statement, the production is loosely based on Patrick’s career and life.
“The story follows our hero as he bounces from fame to misfortune and back again in the pinball machine of life.
“It’s filled with hilarious stories, some true, some almost true. Like how he really got the lead role in the famous 1998 New York Castle Lager TV advert or how he and his wife briefly became champions for the Latvian cause against Russian oppression. ‘Yesterday’s Hero’ is about being almost famous,” it read.
Where: The Rhumbelow Theatre.
When: Saturday, November 2, at 7.30pm, and Sunday, November 3, at 2pm.
Cost: Tickets start from R100 and are available through Webtickets.
“The Scent of Change”
The last two performances of Dr Verne Rowin Munsamy’s musical, “The Scent Of Change”, this week.
The production is performed by third year Durban University of Technology's Drama and Production Studies Department and follows a romantic love story during pre-democracy in South Africa, where the waters of integration were tested in the public schools of Chatsworth.
It follows the romance between Preshni, a teenage Indian girl who is top of her class and James, a young black student who is introduced as a new student at the school.
It conveys the uncertainty and prejudice that existed at the time but also the lingering hope of a united country.
The cast is made up of 52 students who Munsamy said are eager to go out into the professional world.
“This is a culmination of all the skills that the students have acquired during their time in the lecture halls and Performance studios of DUT.”
He urged people to come out and watch the show.
“It has got song, dance, acting and a romantic story. It’s also looking at a very historical moment in South Africa, so it’s educational too,” he explained.
Where: The Courtyard Theatre at the Durban University of Technology.
When: October 30 to 31.
Cost: Tickets are R50. Students, pensioners and children pay R30. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by contacting Bawinile on 031 373 2194 or email BawinileM1@dut.ac.za.