Murder on Mondays opens soon in Durban

There's a new play opening soon in Durban.

The Cast of Murder on Mondays - Photo Credit: Thousand Words Photography

They say it is best not to mention Macbeth in the the theatre industry so I won't.

Anyway speaking of Macbeth, Murder on Mondays is a dark comedy focusing on a struggling theatre company and their doomed attempts to put on a production of Macbeth.

The story follows eccentric director, Thandeka Dlamini (better known as Cristina Riley to her staff) and her lazy-but-lovable assistant Sarah Murphy on their journey trying to put one of Shakespeare's greatest plays together.  Look out for mishaps, rumours of a curse, a vengeful ghost and if that is not enough someone is slowly killing off the cast one by one. Join the bumbling Inspector Maharaj as he tries to hunt down the Monday Murderer and and uncover the truth behind the Curse of Macbeth.

Cast includes Nqobile Mahlambi, Shannon Newton, Lindo Cele, Jason Pieterson and more.

Murder on Mondays is written by Mikhale Singh and directed by Preven Reddy.

It runs at Seabrooke's Theatre, 277 St Thomas Road, Musgrave - situated within Durban High School.

Dates: 9th - 18th July

Tickets: in selected stores and online from Webtickets

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bluntprod
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bluntproductions

Big Bok support from Tsogo Sun

Tsogo Sun is getting behind the Boks in a big way with their 'Fly The Flag' initiative.

They are behind SA Rugby and their #HomeGroundAdvantage social media campaign for the Rugby World Cup.

For a 2 month period the public are invited to sign a good luck message to the Boks on a ribbon using one of  the Ribbon devices at Tsogo Sun properties around the country. These ribbons will be sewn together to form a 3m x 8m flag that will be displayed on the Montecasino Piazza.  A smaller replica flag will be handed over to the Boks at the send-off ceremony at Montecasino in September.

Tsogo Sun also has a competition where a fan and five friends can win a weekend at the Palazzo Penthouse to watch the final game at Montecasino Boktown.  All you have to do is post the best Springbok supporters selfie.

For more info visit tsogosun.com
Twitter @TsogoSun
Facebook TsogoSun


Article by Fred Felton
Twitter @fredfelton

ACT and eThekwini to host networking seminar

ACT, in partnership with eThekwini Municipality, is set to host a free information sharing and

networking seminar in Durban on 01 July.

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) and eThekwini Municipality’s Parks Recreation & Culture Unit invite individual practitioners and representatives from arts, culture and heritage organisations, based in the Durban region, to attend an information sharing and networking seminar, which will provide valuable knowledge on opportunities offered through the Trust, eThekwini and other creative sector organisations.

Venue: Beer Hall Gallery, Rivertown, from 10:00 - 12:00, the seminar will offer a dynamic programme, which is set to kick off with a presentation by ACT CEO, Pieter Jacobs that will offer an overview of the South African arts funding and sponsorship landscape, share information and tips that could be useful to individuals raising funds for the arts or creative projects as well as look at the opportunities offered through the Trust’s programmes.

“We look forward to empowering arts practitioners and arts, culture and heritage organisations based in eThekwini with knowledge about the various options available to them,” says Pieter Jacobs. “By imparting valuable information to practitioners and organisations, we hope to strengthen, inspire and advance the creative sectors in eThekwini.”

Representatives from eThekwini will present opportunities available through the municipality’s Parks Recreation & Culture Unit. As a city, eThekwini’s most crucial resource is our people, their ideas, talents, lived experiences and heritages. Fundamental to our city’s ability to achieve its vision of enjoying the reputation of being Africa’s most caring and liveable city, is the extent to which the city is able to invest in its people beyond the hardware type infrastructure – buildings, roads or electricity and to invest in creative infrastructure which is made up of predominantly soft infrastructure. We need to invest in our people’s creativity and imagination through the cultural and creative industries which together constitute the creative economy in a Creative City.

The seminar will also feature presentations by Sheryl Msomi from VANSA, Gisele Turner and Pauline Dalais from ASSITEJ South Africa, and Shakila Maharaj from AudioDescribe International.

To reserve your place to attend the seminar, please click on the following link to RSVP before 30 June: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1W-8clvDPkfYYO_jPpMm4jxw6EiVz7pDHvn8j6632AGc/viewform?c=0&w=1

For more info, please contact ACT at info@act.org.za or on 011 712 8403 or

Artsmart at enquiries@artsmart.co.za 

Opportunity for a Young MC

Hunt for talented MC to host awards underway

The search for a dynamic young presenter who will emcee the 7th ACT | DALRO |  Nedbank Scholarships finale is underway.  The countrywide series of auditions will kick off in June. This will be done alongside  the search for the top six young performers who will be eligible to win one of three  scholarships, with a combined value of R315 000, to go towards their tuition fees  for a performing arts qualification at any accredited South African tertiary institution. The seventh edition of Magic in the Making awards – set to take place at the  Market Theatre in Johannesburg’s Newtown Precinct on 12 October 2015 –  will have a showcase by the six finalists to a live audience and an independent  panel of judges. The production’s variety show format will not only allow the participants  to deliver enchanting pieces in dance, singing and acting but also have the  charismatic presenter bring all the acts together into a seamless performance for  the audience and judges to enjoy. MC search auditions will take place on the same dates as the auditions for the  Scholarships themselves. There is no registration fee, and participants can register  online at: https://docs.google.com/a/act.org.za/forms/d/16S_D7cKlNPDWF6e9M2U4qByRunkv2Pxygp4XrGjdjnQ/edit Closing date for the MC registrations is 19 June 2015 and all  registered individuals will be  supplied with audition material and necessary details. Auditions will take place in the following regions: 30 June and 1 July: Durban (KwaZulu-Natal) 3 and 4 July: Cape Town (Western Cape) 6, 7 and 8 July: Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape) 15 July: Pretoria (Gauteng) 16 and 17 July: Johannesburg (Gauteng) 24 July: Kimberley (Northern Cape) 25 July: Bloemfontein (Free State) 28 July: Potchefstroom (North West) 30 July: Witbank (Mpumalanga) 01 August: Polokwane (Limpopo) The deadline for registrations for the Performing Arts Scholarships Programme  have been extended to this Friday, 5 June 2015. Click here for more information on previous winners, finalists, guidelines and registration;  email scholarships@act.org.za or contact the ACT office on 011 712 8403. ACT acknowledges support from the following organisations as regional  partners: University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Port Elizabeth Opera House (PEOH),  The Market Theatre Foundation, Mayibuye Arts Centre, University of the Free State’s Scaena Theatre,  Witbank Civic Theatre, Artéma Instituut vir Kunstebestuur en Ontwikkeling,  Limpopo Youth Orchestra and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

Uber is making it easier to get around South Africa

Now Uber is making it even easier to get around Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Travelling around South Africa’s biggest cities easily and safely has just got more affordable than ever before as Uber celebrates the first anniversary of uberX by cutting prices by 20% in June.

An amazing one million+ trips were completed in South Africa during 2014 using the innovative technology that connects riders with drivers.

“We are humbled by how South Africa has embraced Uber. Our launch of uberX a year ago, in particular, has changed how people now move around our great cities. To thank riders for their loyal support, we are cutting prices across the country for the month of June.” says Uber general manager for Cape Town, Anthony le Roux.

Lower fares will mean more trips for partner-drivers who will be able to earn as much, if not more, than before. More than 2,000 people are already earning, building better lives for themselves and their families, by building entrepreneurial businesses using Uber.

“As Uber has seen in many other cities around the globe, more people want a ride when prices are lowered. This increased demand means drivers spend less time waiting for a passenger and more time earning.” says General Manager for Uber in Johannesburg and Durban, Alon Lits.

As well as extending safe, reliable and convenient transport to a growing number of riders across South Africa, Uber aims to further enable the economic empowerment of its driver-partners.

“Using Uber is already more cost effective than owning your own vehicle. This price cut goes further, getting even more people out of their cars and into Ubers and, in turn, helping the entrepreneurs who partner with us to earn more.” adds Lits.

Uber offers a real alternative to car ownership in South Africa and is encouraging people to #DitchYourKeys with lower prices for uberX trips throughout June. So whether heading to the airport, a meeting or even a lunch with friends, it is time to get connected with a safe driver at a further reduced fare.

To make use of this promotion, users need simply to download the free application for Android, iPhone, Blackberry 7, Windows Phone or register for Uber at www.uber.com/go. It’s important to note that this promotion is for uberX only.

I had a chat to Samantha Allenberg from Uber and she confirmed that from Durban to Umhlanga will now cost you R116 either way.

She also went on to explain that Uber has now migrated their Twitter handles to one national Twitter handle so you can find them at @Uber_RSA from now on.

Nederburg's New Spanish-Style Flagship Blend Released

Nederburg has launched its long-awaited, richly-fruited and plush Ingenuity Spanish blend now that it has had enough time in the bottle to begin expressing its potential, says cellarmaster Razvan Macici.

The 2012 maiden vintage is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano, both famous Rioja varieties that have transplanted extremely well to the Cape's growing conditions. 

Nederburg has been experimenting with these and other Mediterranean varietals well-suited to changing climatic conditions for more than a decade.  Both the Tempranillo and Graciano were established at the winery's Simondium farm in 2004.

The new blend forms part of Nederburg's flagship Ingenuity collection, which is the showcase for the winery's most innovative and original wines. Grapes were selected from individual vines that were then further sorted at the cellar that is equipped with a top-of-the- range vibrating hand-sorting table for the exclusive wines in the range.

Macici describes the blend as big and bold with intense aromas and flavours, supported by smooth, silky tannins. "It abounds with aromas and flavours of ripe dark fruits and dried plums, tempered by some savoury notes of leather and tobacco leaf and well-integrated wood spices of vanilla and clove."

He was inspired to create the wine after working with renowned Spanish winemaker Simon Arina Robles, the technical director of top boutique Rioja winery Bodega Baigorri. Robles spent a month working at Nederburg in 2010.

Macici decided on Graciano as a blending companion for its concentration of colour, and for the firm backbone of acidity and weight it would lend to Tempranillo's intensity of fruit.

The fruit was cold-soaked to delay fermentation. The technique allows for optimal extraction of colour, aroma and flavour and gives a fine mouthfeel, good structure and accessible tannins to the resulting wine. "Even after fermentation on the skins in old 500-litre open wooden vats, maceration continued.  We wanted vivid colours, aromas and an explosion of flavour in the mouth but also depth, complexity and staying power, and a very approachable texture."

Unusually, the wine underwent double first-fill barrel maturation. It first spent three months in first-fill American oak, followed by another 14 months in first-fill French oak.

"The wine needs the wood. It provides a well-balanced counter to the fruitiness and enriches it, imparting excellent structure so it manages to be very approachable but serious at the same time."

He says it can be cellared for at least 10 to 15 years with excellent results but is obviously sufficiently aged now, after some time in the bottle, to give great enjoyment.

He recommends serving it with bold-flavoured, robust dishes prepared with a bite of spice, such as paella, game fish, chorizo, grilled venison, beef or pork, smoked meats and also dishes featuring roasted brinjals, peppers and mushrooms.

Locally, it is available from the farm, via www.vinoteque.co.za, and from selected wine specialists in the major centres. It retails for around R280 a bottle. 

Visit www.nederburg.co.za for more on the brand, or send an e-mail to nedwines@distell.co.za. 

Follow Nederburg on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nederburg), Twitter (www.twitter.com/nederburg) and Youtube (www.youtube.com/user/NederburgWine) for the latest news, events and wine and food pairing ideas. 

Join the conversation using: #NederburgDiscover

Related articles

• How to Throw a Wine and Cheese Party