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COLUMN
 Saturday Night Fever
I’ve always enjoyed birthday parties, and there’s none better than a
restaurant’s.
On Tuesday Manolos’ in Kloof St turned one. Happy birthday guys!
Manolo’s is situated in a grand old building with a large outdoor area and
veranda, ideal for those warm summer nights. Step inside and you’ll find
three separate dining lounges, all with fireplaces and comfortable,
upholstered chairs – none of those crummy metal chairs with flimsy
cushions. Best of all, there’s even a separate smoking room decorated with
various black and white photographs from around the world.
If you’re out to impress, Manolo’s would be an excellent port of
call. I did try to get hold of a menu to see what’s cooking, but alas,
they were all still being printed. A helpful staff member did mention
“fusion cuisine” and “teriyaki”. I might have remembered more, but by then
the champagne was flowing fast and furious and for some reason I wasn’t
remembering things too clearly.
I did, however, remember I still had to go the opening of “Piano In
My Pocket” at On Boradway. This delightful show stars Amanda Tiffin, Dave
Ledbetter, Shaun Johannes and André Swartz and pays tribute to the great
pianist/singers ranging from the old legends to the rising stars of today.
Tiffin, boasting an extraordinary vocal range, effortlessly and very
skilfully covered artists ranging from Nat King Cole and Nina Simone to
Tom Waits and Vanessa Carlton. Dave Ledbetter also weighed in with great
renditions of “Lucille” by Little Richard and “Great Balls of Fire” by
Jerry Lee Lewis, but I wasn’t mad about his Elton John cover. All in all
if you’re in the mood for some soothing, laidback music after work, it’s
definitely worth a watch. Tiffin is quite pleasing on the eye, you know.
I had rather mixed feelings about Paul Slabolepzy’s one-man show “The
Return of Elvis du Pisanie” at Theatre on the Bay on Thursday night. A
one-man show is arguably one of the hardest performances for an actor,
especially when it’s over 80 minutes long without any intermission. To his
credit Slabolepzy provided a high voltage performance during the entire
show and would undoubtedly run rings around the Energizer Bunny, but at
times I felt he was just a little too manic and over the top. There were a
couple of very funny moments, the Dick Tracy sketch in particular, but I
couldn’t see why this particular show has won more awards than other South
African production in one year. Paul Slab fan’s will no doubt enjoy it. If
you check it out, let me know what you think!
As always, your comments and insights into life in Cape Town are most
welcome.
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