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COLUMN
 Saturday Night Fever
I hope there is a special place in hell reserved for the person whose
cell phone rang during the opening of Phantom of the Opera. Oh what
poetic justice it would have been had the falling chandelier landed on
your head!
The Phantom on Thursday night was a sight to beholden. Golden
figurines adorned the side of the theatre; a chandelier came “crashing”
from the ceiling and the Phantom glided across the stage on a boat
surround by smoke. The singing was superb, the orchestra excellent and the
story dramatic. And then that damn cell phone rang.
Read our review for more
about the Phantom.
On Monday night we watched Steven Berkoff’s Shakespeare’s Villains
at the Baxter. Initially I thought it would be a very Shakespearean,
stiff upper lip production. You know, boring, like back in school.
However, Berkoff entertained and enlightened the audience with his own
unique insights and interpretations of Shakespeare’s character.
Read our review.
On Friday night we stayed close to home and went to La Vida,
the nearest thing Hout Bay has to a nightclub. La Vida is a clean, small
and intimate venue. I don’t think more than a 100 people could fit inside,
although there is more space outside. The music is quite listenable (they
actually play music with vocals) and the dj, unusually, is quite willing
to take requests. The music is also stored on computer, not vinyl’s, and
the dj told me they have over 9000 titles stored, so there’s bound to be
something you’d enjoy.
On Saturday I watched Phantom of the Opera again and then headed of to
the North Sea Jazz Festival. I have mixed feelings about that –
traffic was a complete mess heading into the Convention Centre, and all
the police standing around doing nothing certainly didn’t earn them any
brownie points. Once inside though, the staff was quite friendly and
capable of dealing with any questions. First up I tried to see Cassandra
Wilson, and after spending too much time in the middle of a human sandwich
got turned away because the venue was full. I’m actually quite irritated
by how badly the crowds behaved. People were constantly bumping and
pushing in front me in queues. I did manage to see Gloria Bosman, Sakhile
and Breakfast Included and did enjoy their music, but, sadly, the
experience wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d hoped it would be.
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