We popped in to The Book Lounge on Tuesday for my first outing to a book launch ever. The Book Lounge is one of those traditional book shops with authentic dark-wood book shelves and comfy couches, and it's perfectly situated on the corner of the city's well-known Roeland and Buitenkant Streets.
The shop became very crowded and a little stuffy a few moments after I took this shot, as the book launch guests streamed upstairs for the evening's formalities. It seems as though The Perfect Weekend by author Dominique Herman and photographer Brett Florens drew more attention that I'd anticipated! Unfortunately we had to leave just as the talks were starting so that we could to make it to the Silicon Cape event on time.
I've mentioned previously that we've met several people visiting from our sister city, San Francisco, who've said that Cape Town reminds them of home. San Francisco's Silicon Valley is a world-famous hub of technology and innovation and has been the birthplace of Internet stars like Google and Facebook.
A year or more ago a small group of successful entrepreneurs, one of whom had already relocated his Internet startup's Head Office to San Francisico, gave birth to the vision of Silicon Cape. Cape Town, and even South Africa, is filled with bright developers, business people and entrepreneurs, and the idea behind Silicon Cape is to encourage the birth of Internet startup businesses and to promote local and foreign investment in the industry.
Tuesday evening saw the first official networking event that brought together developers, entrepreneurs, marketers and investors. The evening started with a couple of talks, followed by eating, drinking and a lot (a lot) of networking. :)
If you're interested in getting involved with Silicon Cape, take a moment to sign up on the website. Make a few friends, and keep your eye open for the next networking event.
If you're in Johannesburg and plan on going to the Whisky Festival at the Sandton Convention Centre (11 to 14 November) then arrange your day so that you get to the show early enough to ensure a space at the Schweppes Art of Whisky Cocktail Making Zone. The class looked like an absolute blast, and what's cool is that entry is free but, clearly, space is limited! So, be there a little while before 6.30pm, 7.45pm or 9pm and queue to make sure you get a space!
Although there were plenty of people at the festival it wasn't uncomfortably crowded. There were plenty of whiskeys (and whiskies) to taste, and even a few other bits and pieces like lovely dark chocolate and Lynchburg Lemonade (at the Jack Daniel's stand).
Mandy and I sat in on a whisky appreciation class with a master distiller from Glenmorangie, took the tour through the Jack Daniel's truck, drank plenty of whiskey, and sat down for a breather in the FNB VIP lounge (where we ordered virgin cocktails from Liquidchefs, just to help clear the mind a little). :)
If you missed the festival you could still catch it in Johannesburg from 11 to 14 November, and since Cape Town's weather is so grey and rainy, perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to skip our lovely part of the world next week in favour of the warmer weather in Jozi.
And Mandy took a notebook and pen along, so visit brainwavez.org for the full details about our evening at the festival.
These two guys were selling these bright eastern clothes right next to where the ladies were performing - which was lucky for them, as they seemed to be enjoying every minute of the show. While everyone else either sat or stood to watch the performances, these two guys danced along the whole time, donning huge smiles and blowing kisses of appreciation, which it seemed the dancers greatly appreciated. :)
Oktoberfest, a 16-day (sometimes 17-day) festival held in a (super) large field in Germany is celebrated in many countries, including South Africa, with plenty of beer, all kinds of traditional German food, a traditional-style band and plenty of dancing.
Stellenberg High School (which Kerry-Anne attended for 5 long years) held their first Oktoberfest celebration this year as a fund-raising event. Given that it was the first time they've attempted this, we'll forgive them for the tiny selection of Bavarian food, solitary brew of beer, and lack of beautiful woman dressed in traditional German beer-lady attire (and yes ladies, the lack of handsome young lads in traditional weird long-shorts and braces too). :)
But seriously, the event seemed to have huge support from the community and everyone there seemed to be having an awesome time. I have a feeling that next year's Oktoberfest is going to be a rocking event. Best make sure that you get there!
I was really really lucky to see two of my favourite South African bands performing back-to-back at Rocking the Daisies. Just Jinjer was fantastically good, and Prime Circle, well, they absolutely rocked the house... or, shall I say, the vineyards.
The dramatic start to their performance built up tension in the crowd, and when Prime Circle finally appeared on stage the masses roared with excitement. The band's unmistakable energy carried over into the crowd, who loved every minute of it. It was awesome to hear their songs live again - the music was precise, and they delivered an excellent performance.
Visit the Prime Circle website for more information about the band, or start the music video below to listen to one of their tracks. However, if you represent a large record company that may plan on signing the band and relocating them to the USA (or any other country), please stop right here. I speak on behalf of all their SA fans when I say that we aren't interested in any offer or contract that you may have. :D
Oh, and don't forget to take a look at the other photos that I shot during their set. Click here to see the albums.
Just Jinjer are arguably one of the best-known South African rock bands. Unfortunately for us they left our shores at the beginning of the decade, as most really successful SA bands eventually do, and spent time in the UK and USA, recording with various large record labels and touring with bands like Def Leppard, The Goo Goo Dolls, and U2.
Over the +-13 years that they've been around, Just Jinjer (formerly Just Jinger) have become somewhat of a legend back home, and now it would seem, they've returned to settle in Cape Town. Although I guess "settle" is bit of a strong word, as they have several tours lined up that will see them out of the country for more time than South Africans are willing to share them. :)
I could go on and on about how awesome the band is, but rather visit their website - the music will start playing automatically. Alternatively, listen to my favourite Just Jinjer song below... and when you're done, check out my photo album from their awesome set at Rocking the Daisies!
Freshlyground is an Afro-fusion band who found their feet in 2002, when they played their first "big gig" at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. They launched their first album in 2003 - their success is evidenced by the fact that they were invited to play at the opening of Parliament in 2004, when South Africa celebrated 10 years of democracy. With both black and white band members originating from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, I guess that it's fair to say that Freshlyground is a Smarties box of cultures.
Kerry-Anne is a super-huge fan of the band and was stoked to have seen them live at the cosy Zula Bar in Cape Town before they got really big. We were about 3 metres from the stage (which was more of an elevated platform, really), and the band members were incredibly interactive during the set.
Today they have a huge following both locally and internationally, and (if you hadn't yet guessed) I managed to get up close for a few photos at Rocking the Daisies. Click through to our Freshlyground album, and if you have a moment more to spare check out the other RTD photo albums.
I'd never been to Rocking the Daisies before, and it seems as though I chose the best RTD ever as my first experience! Rocking the Daisies is a music festival held near Darling, about an hour's drive from Cape Town up our West Coast. Although there weren't as many people as there were at Woodstock back in the late '60s, there seemed to be just the right number of people in a happy party-mood.
Although the festival stretched from early on Friday to Sunday afternoon, I only managed to go along for Saturday. Many people spent time swimming in the dam (practically right next to the main stage), while others watched the bands, some were entertained by comedy shows, and others spent time listening to DJ mixes.
My summarised review of the event is:
1. Well-organised
2. Great music
3. Fun environment
4. Sufficient facilities
5. Great food stalls
6. Good entertainment
7. Good and easy parking
8. Great camping site
9. Clean and tidy
I'm definitely going to have to go along to RTD 2010 - this one was an absolute jol (pronounced "jawl", which is South African slang for "freekin' awesome"). :) If you're thinking of coming to South Africa next year, but don't want to come during the World Cup, why not time your trip to coincide with RTD? We'll see you there.
Jonathan Shapiro (second from the left), better known as Zapiro, is famous for his no-holds-barredcartoon portrayal of prominent South African figures, and politicians in particular.
Kerry-Anne took this photo at the launch of ZA NEWS, a brand-new satirical news show created by Zapiro and Thierry Cassuto (far left). The show, which will be broadcast only on the internet, features satirical "news" snippets acted out by rubber puppets who look and sound remarkably similar to some of our politicians...
I just watched the first couple of episodes, and they were really entertaining. Granted, to catch all the jokes and innuendos you may need to be familiar with some SA history and recent news, but even if you know very little about our political situation I'm sure you'll find it entertaining anyway. :)
I've embedded the launch episode below, but click though to the ZANews or Mail & Guardian sites for more shows (a new show will be produced every day).
What's the most challenging thing you've ever attempted? I'm half ashamed to say that the most daunting thing I've ever done (voluntarily, anyway) is probably going on a kloofing expedition down Suicide Gorge. I've never run a marathon, or done the Argus, or been on a hike that lasted for longer than a day, or climbed anything higher than Table Mountain.
So you can imagine that I felt mildly inadequate having a conversation with Robby Kojetin (pictured above). Because, like, HE'S CLIMBED EVEREST. Right to the top. Just three years after breaking both ankles and spending eight months in a wheelchair. And apparently he plans to do it again. (Everest, that is, not the wheelchair thing.)
I met Robby at a World Lymphoma Awareness Day event at the Mount Nelson last month, where he told us about his experiences and about what motivated him to do the climb. Robby lost a friend and mentor to lymphoma several years ago, and a number of other people close to him have been diagnosed with cancer through the years; so he undertook the Climb of Hope in order to raise funds for CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation), and to raise awareness around cancer, and lymphoma in particular.
Lymphoma is frequently misdiagnosed, because its symptoms are similar to those of illnesses like influenza and tuberculosis. The sad thing, of course, is that it's very treatable if diagnosed early. Take two minutes to read about the symptoms and treatment of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
When Robby was telling us what it was like up on Everest, he said something that really stuck with me: "You're there. You can't hit 'Escape'. It's a lot easier to face something if you know there's a way to back out when the going gets tougher than you thought it would, but it's quite different when you have no chance of escape, and no option of stopping for a rest either. And that's exactly how it is for those living with cancer, isn't it?
We stopped over at the Durbanville Wine Valley Season of Sauvignon 2009 festival on Saturday. Although Jimbo here wasn't part of the festival, he kept a keen eye on the proceedings while munching on ground-greens. I plucked this juicy, yummy-looking weed from my side of the fence and handed it over.
After only a few nibbles, Jimbo's connoisseur's tongue rejected my offering, and he instead demanded a couple of life's simple pleasures: nose-strokes and head-pats. Horses are so easy to please.
Well done to everyone who braved the excessively high winds in Cape Town to attend GeekDinner! I spent a few minutes outside Cappello to capture a few night shots of Cape Town and found it impossible to keep my hand steady enough to take the shot. Eventually I leaned up against a seemingly-sturdy pole to steady the camera, but alas, this was even worse - the wind was rattling the pole like a jackhammer rattles the stout construction worker holding it.
For many people, the word "geek" still conjures up images of socially awkward people interested only in chemistry, physics, astronomy and computers. This is not the case at Cape Town's GeekDinner meets. Also, over the past few months I've noticed an interesting shift in the gender distribution at GeekDinner events. Even though the guys still clearly dominate in numbers, it seems as though there are more and more women at each event... which, believe me, is something that I'm confident the guys are extremely happy about.
When I blogged about Altydgedacht Wine Estate after our recent wine tasting expedition, I had no idea that we'd soon be back for another birthday party. A friend of ours invited us, along with about 25 of her other friends, to celebrate her 30th birthday at the estate... and boy, were we impressed. The venue was beautifully prepared, the food was exquisite, the wine just great and the service impeccable.
We had an awesome time partying the night away between two rows of absolutely huge wine barrels, and the great thing about the venue was that because we were far away from any neighbours, we could play the music as loudly as we liked without having to be considerate.
The words cancer and shark evoke a common reaction in many people. Both induce a sense of fear. Lung cancer is one of the most difficult forms of the illness to treat, but, however dire the situation, it would seem as though it is treatable.
The two ladies in the photo, Leni White and Teresa Renier, are in fact lung cancer survivors! What makes them special is that even though most doctors would strongly caution against SCUBA diving after beating lung cancer - these two ladies still dive, with no apparent ill effects.
The two ladies, having beaten cancer, took on the other fearsome challenge in support of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, when they dropped themselves into a tank of sharks at Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium. Although they were understandably a little nervous, all went well and they left the tank heroes in their own right. Read more about their story here, in BizCommunity's medical news section.
Disclaimer: Kerry-Anne and I are not in the medical field and don't suggest that you should do anything without consulting your physician first. If you've survived lung cancer and would like to dive, please consult your physician and, as Leni and Teresa do, understand the risks.
In my previous post I explained how I ended up at the ghd Revelations Fashion Event. Now, let me take a moment to fill you in, just a little, on the experience.
After arriving at the venue, I stood waiting to be let inside, in a queue of about 100 people, most of whom were (understandably) women. I'm used to going out with Kerry-Anne, so being partnerless already made the evening a little strange. But once I got inside, things got progressively stranger as I wandered from room to room, each of which housed an individually styled photo set.
Some of the rooms had women dressed in Moulin Rouge-like costume, and others were like scenes from the 1950s. On each set the models and performers seemed to be acting out some kind of private play - permanently on repeat.
The two girls in the photo above were the cutest ever. They appeared to be part of some kind of Alice in Wonderland scene. They sat on a small bench in a little nook giggling and whispering into each other's ears. The set directly after theirs featured a birthday girl who got hopelessly drunk after nobody arrived at her birthday party. (She must have been a really mean person, because the spread on the table looked awesome!).
Unfortunately the scarcity of light made getting good photos a little challenging, but click here and take a moment to browse the few photos I did manage to take.
First I posted 200 belly-dancing photos, and now I'm publishing a photo of a beautiful woman hanging upside-down in a brass ring. You'd swear I enjoyed this kind of photography. :P Seriously though, apart from the normal photos that you see on Cape Town Daily Photo, I find that I really enjoy taking photos of most live performances, whether they're musical performances or belly-dancing women.
The question you may ask in this instance is what ghd (as in the "good hair day" hair-styler) has to do with the woman hanging upside down in the photo, and why it's me and not Kerry-Anne typing this article. It's simple, we were both invited to the ghd Revelations Fashion Event, but at the last minute Kerry-Anne was unable to attend, so I traipsed through to Cape Town to attend the function on my own.
I'll post more photos, but for now, if you're interested in going along to similar functions, take a look at the ghd Style Diary website and sign up for diary updates.
There's a cynical statement that says that people become teachers because they're not able to actually do whatever it is that they teach in practice. Tenille (in this photo) is the founder of and teacher at the Feminine Divine Oriental Dance Studio where Kerry-Anne attends classes, and I'm confident in saying that she both teaches and practises what she teaches like a pro.
Kerry-Anne's progress from her own unique... erm... style, to the performance delivered on Saturday (in only a couple of months) simply has to be proof of this! In fact, all round, the performances delivered by the (approximately) 200 dancing divas was worthy of a standing ovation.
I mentioned in my previoustwo posts that I've been working on photos from Saturday's show. Finally, I'm done. If you'd like to see the 200 best shots of the day, visit the photo album here... and please, don't forget to comment on photos that you think are simply awesome. :)
Phew! I spent a grueling 11 hours reviewing, developing and choosing the best 200 photos that I took at the Feminine Divine Studio show on Saturday. It took so long partially because I don't have a sports-photographer's road-cone-sized-mortgage-my-house lens and partially because my computer is in dire need of an upgrade!
If you'd like to see a belly-dancing show sometime, perhaps over dinner, consider booking a table at Anatoli Turkish Restaurant in Green Point. The show starts at about 8:30pm on Saturdays, and I have no doubt that you'll love every minute!
Dancers, as I mentioned, I've finished with the photos from the day and will be posting them along with my next daily photo.
The day of the long-awaited Feminine Divine Studio show eventually arrived. Kerry-Anne, and the rest of the dance studio, had spent months practising an assortment of belly-dance styles, and making costumes to match.
This is only the first sample of the photos to come (I'm busy working through the 500 photos I shot!); this genteel yet slightly cheeky cane dance was performed by the studio's teachers towards the end of the show. All in all, the show was spectacular, and I guess can be summed up in the words of Anais Nin (taken from the Feminine Divine website): "There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.".
This month's GeekDinner was held at The Pasta Factory, a restaurant in Park Road, Cape Town. We really enjoyed the venue - it was open, people could hear and see the speaker easily and it was easy to mingle with other geeks and wannabe geeks. :)
The talks ranged from Joe's talk on spectrum (as in wi-fi spectrum) and how we need to conserve and optimally use it, to the viciously entertaining slideshow karaoke by Elodie on how to charge batteries using other batteries. (In slideshow karaoke, the "victim" has to give a talk based on someone else's set of slides, which they've never seen before. The results are always rather amusing, as you can imagine.)
All in all we had a great evening - helped along by plenty of good wine (kindly sponsored by Delheim), as well as a few Jägermeister shots. ;)
As many of you will probably know, today is Nelson Mandela's ninety-first birthday. Co-incidentally, it's also the day on which groups of photographers took to the streets of their towns and cities armed with cameras, to take part in the second global Worldwide Photo Walk.
After our late night at Wakame, I momentarily regretted signing up for the walk, as it meant getting up in time to meet the rest of the group near the planetarium in Cape Town at 8am. But somehow I dragged myself out of bed, drove through to town, and met up with a group of about 20 photographers. We spent the next two to three hours walking the streets of Cape Town, spending quite some time in the well-known open-air St George's Mall. In retrospect I was glad that I didn't bail on the outing - the weather was fantastic, the other photographers were friendly and fun, and there were almost too many great opportunities for photos.
We'll be posting more of the photos from the walk over the next few days; but for now, let me close by wishing you, Madiba, a happy birthday and brilliant next year!
Football World Cup logistics, organisation, and the vuvuzela
The Green Point soccer stadium, seen here from the Cape Town Waterfront area, looks to be fast approaching completion. There are still tall cranes looming over the empty stadium, but far fewer than you may recall in photos that I posted in 2007 and 2008. Just take a look at the progress made since June 2007!
If you've been following our recent posts you'll know that we're away from Cape Town on holiday for two weeks, and that Mandy J Watson has been kind enough to help out with a couple of photos, including this one.
This evening Kerry-Anne and I were privileged to watch South Africa and Spain battle it out in a Confederations Cup match in Bloemfontein; since this tournament is a trial run for next year's World Cup, and in light of this photo, I thought I'd give you a reportback on my experience from a logistics and organisation perspective.
First, I guess I should state that I'm not a sports fan, so I think I'm able to view the situation objectively without the excitement that allows fans to overlook the negative aspects of the experience.
So, objectively:
It was easy to find parking and it took a matter of 5 minutes to get into the stadium, and head up the stairs to our seats.
Finding our seats was fairly easy... we just looked at our ticket, consulted the boards, entered through the correct gate, read the signs, and we were good to go.
Apart from the signs giving directions, it seemed that at almost every turn there was a friendly official ready to point us in the right direction.
The venue wasn't too crowded, and the seating wasn't cramped.
The queues at the ladies' toilets were VERY long at half time. This is normal, of course, but that doesn't mean it's okay.
I've never been a fan of the vuvuzela (that long plastic trumpet that South African supporters blow at soccer matches), but to be honest, it really wasn't so bad. They weren't too loud and I have to say that they did add to the atmosphere significantly. They are an integral part of South African soccer culture and it just wouldn't be the same without them.
The only time that the trumpets did become annoying was after the match while we were walking through the Loch Logan shopping mall next to the stadium. Googols of fans blowing trumpets in a confined space made of reflective tiles and glass isn't good for one's ears!
My only suggestions are:
Think about where you will park your car before the time and how congested the area will be after the match.
Buy ear plugs from a music store - you'll still be able to enjoy the atmosphere, even if you find a vuvuzela positioned right next to your ear. :)
The Slow Food movement is a non-profit organisation that's represented in some form or another in about 130 countries. The open-air slowfood market at Willowbridge started trading in December and has been thriving ever since. The idea of a slowfood market is that goods are sold in a fashion similar to how one would have expected produce to have been sold a thousand years ago... fresh, and by the farmers, bakers and chocolatiers themselves. From what I can tell the food is sourced locally from small producers and sold fresh. Products on offer include organic dried fruit and nuts, a range of sausages, biltong, Belgian waffles, lemon curd, schwarmas, and plenty more.
The market closes at 14h00, and, as you may have noticed from the photo, we arrived a little late - although just early enough to buy one or two yummy treats as stalls were packing up. Our Saturdays are generally hectic, so with a fair portion of luck we might get there early enough to do some shopping next Saturday. If you're not sure how to get to the market, take a look at this map - it's easy enough to find. :)
You may recall us mentioning Synthasite, a Cape Town Internet startup company making it big in San Francisco. Passing the 2 million user mark, and comfortably heading to 3 million, Synthasite has outgrown its name and was recently rebranded as Yola... a free platform on which novices and pros can comfortably build websites from scratch (well, not actually from scratch... rather using the online tools and building blocks made from scratch by the Yola developers!).
The party was plenty of fun - we saw loads of people that we hadn't seen for some time, met a few people we hadn't met before, ate a few snacks and drank a few drinks, danced for a while and generally had a pretty good evening. If you have a spare moment, visit our gallery section where I posted a few extra photos taken at the launch. :)
I guess the first thing that I have to say about Neighbourhood is: "What a flippin' awesome venue!". The restaurant is located close to the top of Long Street (the vibrant side), on the upper level, from where you can watch passers-by migrating between nightclubs and bars. The restaurant owner kept an eye on the proceedings, and made sure that we had everything we needed. The service from the (beautiful) waitresses was unexpectedly attentive, giving us the feeling that they genuinely wanted to make sure that we were happy.
The buffet starter table was almost a meal in its own right, laden with trays of teriyaki and chilli chicken wings, chilli poppers, nachos, pita breads with hummus and tahina, olives, and a whole bunch of other yummy things. I had a pretty decent burger for mains, followed by ice-cream with chocolate sauce... and all of this was topped off with a great bottle of Merlot from our wine sponsor, Delheim (more about that in my next post though).
Apologies if it sounds like all we did was eat and drink :). In fact, there were a couple of goodspeakerswho kept us well entertained in between courses and table banter. Thanks also to Bryn for the well-constructed slideshow karaoke*.
*Slideshow Karaoke:"...somebody prepares a set of slides on any topic they want (we've had "Etiquette when dealing with British Royalty", "Common problems with cement tiles", and "A primer on lesser known Norse gods"). Somebody else then presents a talk based on these slides without any prior knowledge of the topic, or of the content of the slides - always to amusing effect." - Vhata Vas Hyah
In July last year Kerry-Anne's sister-in-law bought her a series of belly dancing lessons as a birthday gift. After putting it off for months she eventually attended her first lesson in January and now appears to be hooked - which isn't a bad thing, as I'm sure you'll understand.
9 May is World Belly Dance Day and to celebrate, Tenille from Feminine Divine (who happens to be Kerry-Anne's belly dance teacher) gathered local belly dancing studios for a little show - which turned out not to be so little after all! I was quite surprised to see just how many people are into belly dancing! Each school had a performance slot, girls from the St George's Home for Girls in Wynberg were given their first belly dancing lesson, we watched a fashion show (where the ladies showed off belly dancing accessories) and then, at the end of the day, all the belly dancers took part in setting the South African record for the most belly dancers performing the same dance at the same time in one place.
It certainly seemed as though everyone had fun setting the record, and yes, it was fun watching them from the stage too. What had me completely befuddled was how quickly they all learned the dance choreography! Damn, women are good at learning these kinds of things!
I took plenty of photos and published a dozen or three in our gallery section. They'll give you a pretty good idea of how many dancers attended the event - it was truly astounding.
Kerry-Anne posted about David's show at On Broadway a few weeks back (while I was away on a business trip). I got a chance to see him performing last night and, as you might have guessed if you saw yesterday's post, I took my mom and dad along to the show as well. As it turns out, Kerry-Anne was right: David's comedy show was insanely funny (click the link to see more photos of the show).
We sat at a large table with a few strangers, and enjoyed a pretty good and reasonably priced meal. After dinner we kicked back to watch, amongst other things, David relate in great detail his experience when visiting a proctologist (which is what what you see happening in the photo above). Only a comedian can turn a topic so... erm... uncomfortable (in all senses of the word) into an evening of hilarity.
"This year I have taken on 'Colorectal Cancer' as my Corporate & Social Responsibility/ Investment Project because, let's be honest, it's a pain in the ass and no one seems to want to talk about it...so I'm gonna." - David Newton.
Good job David, best of luck with your upcoming trip to the USA, and thanks to Matrix Ads for inviting me!
As a kid I remember my parents going out to shows at The Baxter fairly regularly. Although, I guess "regularly" to a child could have meant twice a year. :) They don't do too much of that these days, but wait for my next post to see what I have rigged to get them out to town...
The Baxter Theatre was built by the University of Cape Town with financial aid from William Baxter, Cape Town's mayor in 1906, and thus holds his name today still. As the second-largest performing arts complex in Cape Town, The Baxter seemed to retain a large degree of political freedom from the apartheid government in years gone by, due to its status as an academic theatre. Being an academic theatre, I'm guessing (although I was too young to know) that the performers (mostly students I guess) freely challenged views held by the government (which was a big no-no back then).
As far as location is concerned, you'll find the theatre in Rondebosch, a leafy part of Cape Town's Southern Suburbs, not too far from the city. Keep an eye on their website for upcoming shows, and do yourself a favour - get out there and have some fun!
