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The thriller, Silent Voice, is at the Market Theatre this season, but if it's light entertainment you're after, there's plenty of that - from the pantomime to several children's plays, among others.
BIRDS are singing, the fresh smell of jasmine is filling the air, the days are lengthening, and there is an exciting theatre line up to complement spring.
Jai Sewram is the Genie in Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Theatres around Joburg are dishing up some cool shows this season, starting with fantasy at the National Children's Theatre in Parktown. It is staging Aladdin and the Magic Lamp.
In the play the hero, Aladdin, triumphs over adversity and moves from rags to riches with the help of two genies - the genie of the ring and the genie of the lamp.
It is an interactive and entertaining outing with much audience participation that encourages children to use their minds and imaginations.
Speaking about its educational value, Joyce Levinsohn, the theatre's artistic director, says: "We approached the production as ‘a play within a play'. This gives us the opportunity to show children the process of getting a play off the ground, from the selection of a script, casting and creating characters, to setting a stage."
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp is on at the National Children's Theatre until 18 October. Tickets for the show are R60 each for children and R70 each for adults at Computicket or the theatre on 011 484 1584.
The National Children's Theatre is at 3 Junction Avenue, Parktown. For more information, phone 011 484 1584/5, send an email to
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, or visit the theatre's website.
Civic Theatre
The Full Monty - The Broadway Musical is at the Civic Theatre. With music and lyrics by pop composer David Yazbek, it tells the story of six unemployed steelworkers of various ages looking to earn a few dollars by stripping.
When a local male strip show, whose dancers venture down to their G-strings, is a hit with the local women, the local lads figure they can cash in big time if they go the "full monty" - or take off all their kit.
Terrence McNally, who wrote the book, says the show is about friendship and the struggles single parenting.
"It is about an image-obsessed society that says you have to look like a movie star. The Full Monty says quite the opposite - as a matter of fact, it celebrates everybody for who they are."
The Full Monty is on at the Nelson Mandela Theatre until 12 October. Tickets are from R190 to R350 each at Computicket or the theatre's box office on 011 877 6854.
Tobie Cronjé stars is the evil queen in the Civic's production of Snow White
Janice Honeyman's ever-popular pantomime returns to the Civic at the end of October. And this year it is again the turn of Snow White, which Honeyman first turned into panto 21 years ago.
It runs from 29 October to 31 December - and shows have sold out already. Tickets cost from R160 to R240 each at Computicket.
Tobie Cronjé stars as the evil queen Hilda Gonda Hoggaheim, opposite Bianca le Grange's Princess Snow White. The young and handsome Daniel Buys plays Prince Chuksie Charming.
The panto is about an evil queen and her stepdaughter, Snow White. The evil queen is wildly vain - and wildly jealous of the beautiful princess. When her magic mirror points out that Snow White is "the fairest of them all", she knows she has to get rid of the girl. And so she orders a servant to kill the princess.
Still in the Civic, catch Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories at the Peoples' Theatre. It is aimed at young children, as a perfect holiday treat.
According to the production's press release, it introduces the magic and joy of live theatre to young audiences and emphasizes the value of books by gently reminding young theatre goers reading and books are filled with fun.
Featuring some familiar and much-loved fairytales such as Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, The Three Little Pigs, The Honest Woodcutter, The Fisherman's Wife and The Elves and the Shoemaker, it is not to be missed.
Tickets for Kids' Club members are R50 each; for people accompanying the members, tickets are R65 each. Those who are not members pay R75 each. The Computicket price is R80 each. Bookings can be made at Computicket or through
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.
Remember to include all the required information when booking by email: name and surname, date and time of show, contact number and number of tickets being booked.
The Johannesburg Civic Theatre is on Loveday Street in Braamfontein. For more information, phone 011 877 6800, fax 011 877 6812, send an email to
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, or visit the theatre's website.
Market Theatre
The Market Theatre in Newtown is celebrating Heritage Month with Coupé, one of the many Arts Alive shows taking place around the city in September.
Coupé is a theatrical journey set in a sleeper compartment on a South African train
A hilarious 90 minutes, it is a theatrical journey set in a sleeper compartment, or coupé, on a South African train. Three strangers board the train and, to their surprise and horror, discover they are booked in the same coupé.
Directed by Sue Pam, the play has won six Naledi Awards. It played to sold out houses at the 969 Festival in Johannesburg.
Coupé is on at the Barney Simon Theatre at the Market Theatre complex until 26 October, with tickets selling at Computicket from R50 to R110 each.
Coming soon to the Market Theatre's Main Theatre are the highly acclaimed entertainers, Jayson King and the Great Pretenders, who will be in residence from 2 to 19 October.
The band performs some of the great songs of the 20th century. Band members include Terry Smith, who sings songs by Sammy Davis Junior, Matt Monro and Frank Sinatra; Carol Leigh, who impersonates Tina Turner and Gloria Graynor; Ruth Marley, who stands in for Shirley Bassey and Lena Horne; and former beauty queen Pearl Jansen, who impersonates Dionne Warwick, Petula Clark and Cilla Black.
Tickets for the show range from R40 to R105 each at Computicket. Block booking of 10 or more is possible by phoning 083 915 8000.
Following the success of Grimm Tales, which was nominated for seven Naledi Awards, the Market Theatre presents yet another dynamic storytelling venture for the whole family, The Jungle Book.
The fascinating and exciting storyline suggests that a family may not be made up of those who look the same as us, but those who love and care for us - as Mowgli opts to return to the jungle and rejoin his true friends.
Staged at the Market Theatre's Laager Theatre, it opens on 10 October and runs until 21 December. Tickets are priced from R40 to R80 each at Computicket.
Still at the Market, Silent Voice deals with trust, betrayal, money, sacrifice and love. It is on the Barney Simon stage from 6 November to 21 December.
Four men plan an intelligent, but highly dangerous heist. Their plans go wrong and emotions erupt - and five men are killed. Silent Voice was written and directed by Aubrey Sekhabi and features Presley Chweneyagae, who played Tsotsi in the Oscar Award winning movie of the same name; Zenzo Ngqobe, who played Butcher in Tsotsi; Thato Moraka; and Boitumelo Shisana.
Tickets for this thriller range from R40 to R110 each at Computicket.
The Market Theatre complex is at 56 Margaret Mcingana Street in Newtown. For more information, phone 011 832 1641 or 082 381 0663/4/5, or visit the theatre's website.
Montecasino
The Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino also has several shows lined up to beat those boredom blues.
For Your Ears Only is on stage from 2 October to 16 November at the venue's main theatre. It is a play within a play that takes place behind the scenes where a group of actors, a producer and a writer get together to record a weekly radio soap entitled The Soul of Sister Serious.
In the play, the young Thumi acts in television soapies who finds himself an on-air, first-day-at-work apprentice to a bunch of middle-aged radio actors. He is amazed at the imaginative ways in which special effects are created on radio.
Tickets for this hilarious show are from R90 to R125 each at Computicket.
Sonia Esgueira teaches the audience what it means to be Portuguese and live in South Africa
Porra Two - The Returnsh is back at the Studio Theatre after a sell out season across the country. The play features the award-winning actress, Sonia Esgueira, who teaches the audience what it means to be Portuguese and live in South Africa. Esgueira plays different parts of one Portuguese family and shares with the audience the conflicting emotions of shame and pride of being a "Porra".
Performance times are 8.15pm during the week and on Saturday. There is a Sunday matinee at 3.15pm. Tickets are R125 each at Computicket.
At the grand Teatro Montecasino, you can see the lavish production of Beauty and The Beast.
It opens on 2 October and runs until 14 December. "Everybody is excited about the show as it is one of the country's biggest productions after The Lion King," says theatre impresario Hazel Feldman, the show's co-producer. She is joined at the helm by Pieter Toerien.
Tickets range in price from R100 to R400 each and are available at Computicket.
Montecasino is on the corner of William Nicol Drive and Witkoppen Road, Fourways. For more information, phone 011 511 1988, fax 011 511 0634 or visit the theatre's website.
To book at Computicket, visit an outlet, phone 083 915 8000 or 011 340 8000, or visit the Computicket website.
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