Artscape will close its 55th anniversary celebrations with a black-tie and ball-gown gala concert on Sunday, 8 November, at 5pm. The event is called A Place for All, the Artscape 55 Gala Concert.
Sandra Prinsloo, Denise Newman and Thoko Ntshinga will host the evening. The programme includes song, dance, jazz and poetry from South African icons, current favourites and new talent.
“A song does not ask where you were born. A dancer’s movement needs no translation,” Artscape CEO Marlene Le Roux said. “That is the journey from Nico Malan to Artscape, and it belongs to all of us.”
Le Roux said that after 55 years, the theatre had become a home for the full range of South African art and culture. She said shared experience in a theatre builds cohesion, “not by decree”, but “one performance and one audience at a time”.
The honoured legends on the bill are Coenie de Villiers, Dizu Plaatjies, Amanda Strydom, Thembi Mtshali-Jones, Vicky Sampson, Ian Smith and Koos Kombuis. Artscape’s associated companies will also take part.
Other performers include Jodi Jantjies, Mandisi Dyantyis, Loukmaan and Emo Adams, Alistair Izobell and Jody Abrahams. Robin Pieters, Nuur Leeman and poet Siphokazi Jonas are also on the programme.
Lynelle Kenned, Zanne De Lange, Fancy Galada and Karin Kortje will sing. Jazz musicians George Werner, Amanda Tiffin, Don Vino Prins and Wesley Rustin will also play.
Four choirs will perform. They are the South African Youth Choir, the Cape Town Choristers, the Yellowwood Park Primary Choir and A Cape Malay Choir.
Dance acts include riel dancers from Betjiesfontein, the Taare Indian Dance troupe and Thandi Swartbooi’s Women Unite. Hip hop group Cape Town’s Most Wanted and the ABFAB Drag ensemble will also appear.
Basil Appollis and Le Roux directed and curated the gala. Nkosinathi Sangweni did the choreography and Trevino Isaacs is the musical director. Brandon Phillips will conduct the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie spoke about how the building has changed since it opened. “Fifty-five years ago this building opened its doors to only some South Africans. Today Artscape stands as proof that our stages, music and stories belong to all of us,” he said.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde praised the theatre for its work with talent and education. “I have enjoyed many memorable evenings at Artscape, celebrating the best of what our diverse cultures bring to the arts,” he said.
Artscape Council Chairperson Zak Gordon said the show brings together “legends and emerging voices, choirs and orchestras, jazz, dance and poetry”.
Partners and sponsors of the 55-year milestone include the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, and the national Department of Sports, Arts and Culture. Suidoosterfees, the ATKV and Dagbreek Trust are also backing it.
Artscape said more information is available at www.artscape.co.za and on its social media pages.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Entertainment. Image: IOL Entertainment. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Entertainment desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Rirhandzu Baloyi writes about entertainment for Tzaneen Voice. Rirhandzu covers South African music, film, TV, streaming, awards and celebrity news, from amapiano and local soapies to Showmax and Netflix releases. Stories stick to what happened, who was involved and when fans can watch or listen.