Latest news with #AwethuHleli
IOL News
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Andrew Buckland's 'Feedback' is among Cape Town's vibrant theatre offerings this week
Awethu Hleli and Carlo Daniels are set to give a compelling performance in Andrew Buckland's 'Feedback' at the Baxter Theatre Centre. Image: Instagram Feedback South African theatre veteran Andrew Buckland returns as writer and director in this play, assisted by award-winning performer Roshina Ratnam. The cast from Baxter's Fires Burning company includes Carlo Daniels, Awethu Hleli, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe and Lyle October, known for productions such as "La Ronde", "Metamorphoses" and "Othello". The show centres around a murder mystery which becomes a fast-paced and unconventional piece of physical theatre, touching on topics like food consciousness and globalisation. Packed with humour, action and sharp social commentary, it celebrates both human generosity and greed. Where: The Baxter Theatre Centre. When: Runs until August 30. Show times differ. Cape Town Opera: The Barber of Seville Rossini's 1816 comic masterpiece returns with a fresh staging from Cape Town Opera. Bursting with wit and memorable music, this opera buffa follows the schemes of Figaro, played by William Berger and Thando Zwane in alternating performances. Innocent Masuku, who recently debuted as Count Almaviva with the English National Opera, reprises the role alongside Dumisa Masoka. Where: Theatre on the Bay in Camps Bay. When: Runs until Sunday, August 17. Show times differ, depending on the day. 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 ✕ Ad loading WGRUV: Letters of Reflection This dance production presents seven original works by Holly and Lex Gruver and a much-loved piece by American choreographer Tyler Gilstrap titled 'Unsquared'. Performed by contemporary ballet-trained dancers, the works explore themes of love, loss, work, relationships, doubt and hope. Where: The Star Theatre at the Homecoming Centre. When: Friday, August 15, at 7.30pm and Saturday, August 16, at 3pm.
IOL News
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
La Ronde: a provocative exploration of sex and power at the Baxter
Awethu Hleli, Carlo Daniels, Berenice Barbier, Lyle October, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe, Aiden Scott, Tamzin Williams Image: Mark Dobson La Ronde is set to ignite The Baxter Studio this winter with a daring and darkly comic new production directed by Leila Henriques, running from 20 June to 12 July 2025. Inspired by Arthur Schnitzler's once-censored 1897 play, this contemporary reimagining explores themes of sex, power, and longing through a chain of encounters between 10 strikingly different characters. In a world obsessed with visibility, image and performance, this modern adaptation of LaRonde probes a world where intimacy is currency, sex is a calculated strategy and everyone is performing for someone. Set in modern-day Cape Town, the play unfolds through the eyes of a DJ, who soundtracks each scene with music that reflects the emotional tempo of the characters' intimate exchanges. 'This play is funny, awkward and deeply human,' said Henriques. 'Anyone who's ever chased love or connection will see themselves in it.' Lyle October, Berenice Barbier and cast of La Ronde Image: Mark Dobson The production features The Baxter's acclaimed Fire's Burning Company — Awethu Hleli, Lyle October, Tamzin Daniels, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe and Carlo Daniels — joined by Berenice Barbier and Aidan Scott, both of whom have earned critical praise, with Scott recently honoured as Best New Director at the Fleur du Cap Awards. With design by Patrick Curtis, costumes by Wolf Britz, and lighting by Franky Steyn, La Ronde merges visceral choreography, sharp-witted dialogue, and a pulsing score into a theatrical experience that's provocative, poignant, and unapologetically bold. Cast members shared their thoughts on the production with Weekend Argus, reflecting on its emotional depth and cultural relevance. 'It's both exciting and scary,' said Awethu Hleli, reflecting on performing La Ronde in a contemporary South African context. 'As young artists in South Africa, we don't shy away from complexity — we embrace it. We're part of a generation that's evolved in how we think about sexuality, and we're using our voices to engage with topics that were once considered taboo.' Asked to choose a song that captures her character's experience, Hleli chose Dolly Parton's Just Because I'm a Woman. 'My character is very aware of her own strength and how that can be used against her — or judged — as if she's somehow less capable of loving.' For Carlo Daniels, the play unlocks deeper reflections on romantic relationships. 'La Ronde really gets you thinking differently and reveals some hard truths about relationships,' he said. 'They're often complex and layered — especially once they're consummated — but what the play shows is that these knots can be untangled, even if it takes time.' He added: 'It's always great working with this team. You're reminded of what a gift real teamwork is, and the kind of magic that can come from it.' For Berenice Barbier, it's the silence in La Ronde that speaks loudest. 'There's a moment where everything goes completely still — no lines, no gestures — just a quiet return to self-realisation,' she said. 'It's charged with unspoken tension and self-awareness. That silence says more than a monologue ever could. Every night it lands differently, and that unpredictability is thrilling.' Carlo Daniels, Awethu Hleli and cast of La Ronde, Image: Mark Dobson Though La Ronde is rich with emotionally charged and intimate scenes, it's also filled with unexpected moments of levity. 'I'm definitely the one most likely to burst out laughing during a serious scene,' Barbier admitted. 'But those moments are a gift — they remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.' It's this balance — between humour and discomfort, silence and revelation — that gives La Ronde its power. As Hleli put it, 'We're part of a generation that doesn't shy away from complexity. We embrace it.' In this bold new staging, La Ronde becomes more than a series of encounters — it's a mirror held up to modern intimacy, in all its vulnerability, contradiction and connection." [email protected] Weekend Argus
