Mr Showbiz with a heart of gold
IAN VON Memerty is popularly known as the presenter of the hit TV series Strictly Come Dancing and for the role he relished as a judge on SA’s Got Talent.
However, it’s his piano show, A Handful of Keys ,of which there have been more than 1 400 performances, that best showcase the skills of the multitalented artist.
Von Memerty, who returns to the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban from Tuesday to March 5, brings the same concoction of musical finesse, humour and theatrics with his latest offering, Keyboard Killers.
“A Handful of Keys played to more than 400 000 people and, while there were numerous requests to bring it back, I wanted to do something a bit different.
“That said, it is no small task to find an ensemble with which to write the music. There’s a surprise at every turn because we traverse so many genres.”
The artist is alert to the fact that his brand is live entertainment.
He has extensively toured with his one-man show, Captain Entertainment, which has won the Naledi Award for Best Production of a Revue since 2006.
In 2004, to celebrate his 40th birthday and his 21st year in show business, he hosted Handful and Highlights which raised more than R250 000 for the Theatre Benevolent Fund.
As a director, he has worked on SuperSkouSpel for 23 000 people at FNB Stadium and The Kyknet Fiesta Awards for three consecutive years.
“I take one or two directing jobs a year,” he says.
“It’s very intense and time-consuming. I resolved a long time ago that family would come first.”
Von Memerty’s two children are in their 20s and he is very much in love with his wife, Vivienne, of 26 years.
The couple are planning a dance production called Synergy for Valentine’s Day next year. (Vivienne is a well-known LatinAmerican dancer).
“A partnership isn’t two, it’s three,” he says.
“There is us and we’re pretty sure we’re greater together.”
The classical pianist, who by the age of 18 learnt he was more of an entertainer and could also act, dance and make people laugh, says he is astounded at how talent inhabits individuals.
“There are various types of talents in life. These are gifts and a glimpse of God.”
He believes in working hard, doing the leg work and then simply trusting the material. His advice is to trust your gut. “If you’re questioning whether you should change, then you probably should.”
His show features eight of the greats – Stevie Wonder, Noel Coward, John Legend, Irving Berlin, Freddy Mercury, Fats Waller, Cole Porter and Billy Joel, and it shares his love for these iconic creators.
Von Memerty is accompanied by two superb musicians: on bass is Andrew Warneke (who has a Master’s degree in music) and on percussion is Bronwen Clacherty (who has a doctorate in music).
Featuring the drama of Bohemian Rhapsody; the swinging cool of I Get a Kick Out of You; the wicked wit of Don’t Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs Worthington; the romance of Ordinary People; the showbiz razzle-dazzle of Puttin’ on the Ritz; the groove and joy of Isn’t She Lovely; and the toe-tapping stride of Ain’t Misbehaving, the show is bound to be electrifying.
Tickets cost R130 to R150 (with special discounts for block bookings and pensioners).
Master satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys comes to the Hexagon Theatre in Pietermaritzburg with two of his shows: The Echo of a Noise on tonight and tomorrow at 7.30pm.
An extra performance of An Afternoon with Evita Bezuidenhout has been added tomorrow at 3pm.
The Echo of a Noise is the oneman memoir of South Africa’s foremost satirist. He sits on a barstool, opens his heart and talks about his private and public life, leading the audience into his inner sanctum with stories that evoke surprise, laughter and tears.
The second show, An Evening with Evita Bezuidenhout, focusing on the need to move from the fearful negative that has infected our society to optimistic hope and excitement for a successful future for all. The Hexagon Theatre is part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus: phone 033 260 5537, e-mail hexagon@ukzn. ac.za or visit the site at www.hexagon. ukzn.ac.za Tickets are available from www. webtickets.co.za Also follow weekly episodes of Evita’s
on YouTube every Sunday: www.evita.co.za
Mr Bojangles, Dance, with BeatRoute is on at the Rhumbelow Theatre in Durban at the weekend. It celebrates the laughter and sadness of the Bohemian life, the riches and poverty of poetry, dreams, music, art, comedy and, of course, love.
The performers take a few pages out the books of some of the great entertainers, including Scott Joplin, Ronnie Scott, Spike Milligan, Louis Prima, Sammy Davis jr, Bra Hugh Masekela and others.
The show features Daniel