More upmarket than the beer and burger strip
IN ITS sixth year, The Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has seen a number of feature films, documentaries and shorts screened at the KwaZulu-Natal Society of Arts (KZNSA) Gallery in Glenwood.
Festival director Jason Fiddler said it had more than 75 entries from across the globe, and eight international guest film-makers.
“My efforts to bring to Durban and KZN audiences what they have been asking for has provided a critical platform tackling gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender stories.
“These have led to tough choices in the final selection and I’m astounded at the range, depth and production quality of the films submitted,” he said.
This weekend will wrap-up the festival with some great final screenings, including the romantic comedy Waiting in the Wings on Sunday evening.
This hilarious romantic comedy under director Jenn Page is a cross-between Magic Mike and A Chorus Line.
A case of mistaken identities lands a stripper, Tony, played by Adam Huss, last seen in the Mediterranean short film Foreign Relations, being cast in an off Broadway musical, and a wannabe chorus boy Anthony played by Jeffrey A Johns, in a male strip show at the Banana Peel club.
Audiences should look out for a cameo by Christopher Atkins as a conservative Montana priest at the beginning of the film. Atkins made his cinematic debut in the controversial film Blue Lagoon opposite Brooke Shields in 1980.
Set in the off Broadway theatre district of bustling New York City, Waiting in the Wings features some exuberant performances by Rena Strober as Rita, a dazzling singer, and Harrison White, as a drag queen in charge of the group of male strippers.
Tony has to learn to sing and Anthony has to learn to dance. Both scenarios of strip club and musical theatre provide some really entertaining musical numbers and the plot involving mistaken identity is soon resolved by the ever resourceful Rita who brings the two together.
Waiting in the Wings is a fun, exuberant comedy about mistaken identities, Broadway dreams and strippers realising that they can do more with their bodies. Naturally the script is loaded with sexual innuendoes and if audiences don’t know what that means then its best to see the film.
Highly recommended viewing, with some outrageous musical numbers especially the song about matinees this is a gay version of A Chorus Line with ample doses of hot bodies, drag queens and dumb but gorgeous male strippers.
Unapologetically camp, Waiting in the Wings features an abundance of strippers and chorus boys.
And the good news is there is a sequel coming out soon: Waiting in the Wings: Still Waiting.
For more information on this weekend’s screenings at the film festival, go to www. dglff.org.za or e-mail info@ dglff.org.za OLIVE AND OIL 149 Helen Joseph Road, Glenwood, Durban Phone: 031 201 6146 Open: Daily noon-3pm, 6-9pm “The trouble with eating Mediterranean food is that five or six days later you are hungry again.” This quote on Olive and Oil’s extensive menu pretty much sums up how we felt after our meal at the Glenwood restaurant, and the slight misquote is also something of a metaphor for the restaurant.
The correct quote by George Miller relates to “eating Italian food…”, and while this may seem like an overly-pedantic difference, the fact it is not 100 percent perfect is how we felt as we contemplated our meal. The food and entire dining experience is very good, but we left feeling that with just a couple of tiny improvements it could have been close to perfect.
Olive and Oil is something of an upmarket dining oasis in the Helen Joseph Road beerand-burger strip (even if some of the eateries there are more about craft beer and gourmet burgers). This area has a very Florida Road feel and has become popular over weekends as a hangout for those who want a bohemian atmosphere to their evening out.
With both our teenagers away for the evening, we were looking for something a bit more special than stomachfilling pizzas and pasta, and Olive and Oil provided a perfect opportunity to enjoy a quiet Darby and Joan meal.
To start, “Joan” opted for her favourite, the Prawn and Lango Bisque (R55.95) while I went for a secret delight of mine, the deep fried Dalewood Fromage Camembert (R48.95).
We were both very happy with our choices. The homemade bisque was infused with vermouth and cream and brought a “Perfect. I cannot fault it” response from my wife – and the way she scraped her plate clean highlighted that.
For me the Camembert wrapped in a phyllo pastry was superb. The crunchy pastry was a delightful contrast to the soft, creamy melting cheese and the slightly sour Camembert was offset by the cranberry sauce.
For main we both went fairly traditional. I opted for a 300g sirloin with a Dijon and mushroom sauce, topped with avocado and feta and served with chips (R164.95), while my wife went for Athena’s Chicken – a chicken breast sautéed in creamy white wine and prawn sauce, served on Parmesan mash and finished with Pecorino cheese and onions (R124.95).
Once again she pronounced it “perfect”. Just as I was thinking that maybe our 21 years of marriage had something to do with the fact she is easy to please, she did find a small fault with something (Phew, there is the wife I know!)
The chicken was evidently succulent, tender and “very, very tasty” and could not be faulted, but my wife was not 100 percent happy with the mash. “It is delicious but could have done with a little more mashing I think… there are a couple of small lumps.” To be fair, she has had the same dish before and everything was absolutely flawless a couple of weeks previously.
My steak was tender, tasty and almost perfectly cooked. Although fractionally underdone, it certainly was not enough to detract from my enjoyment. I have a weakness for avo and feta and, combined with this perfect juicy steak, I was very happy as I cleaned my plate.
At this point, true to the Italian/Mediterranean quote on the menu, we were both thinking a five-or-six day hiatus from food may not be a bad idea, and so we opted to share a crème brulee (R49.95). Once again the flavours were exactly what we were hoping for, but the custard was not quite firm enough.
For me the key question as I leave a restaurant is whether I would go back again and no doubt I would happily return to Olive and Oil. The service was slick and our waitress was attentive without being overbearing, and able to answer all our questions without hesitation. Ratings (out of five) Food Service Ambience