The show goes on as Theatre on the Square finally reopens
THE curtain rises once again at Theatre on the Square after it shut its doors for over 20 months due in adherence with the Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
The award-winning theatre house announced earlier in the year that it lost its corporate sponsorship and risked shutting its doors permanently due to a lack of funding.
Producer, owner and artistic director Daphne Khun says she’s ready to welcome theatre and music lovers back.
“We feel strongly that nothing could be more appropriate than to start with the healing and uplifting power of beautiful music. The show must go on,” Kuhn said.
And what better way to celebrate this great milestone than through song and dance.
This holiday season, Theatre on the Square is bringing a jam-packed programme of concerts with Summer Music Season, featuring some of South Africa’s most celebrated musicians, including Kyle Shepherd, Langa Mavuso, Ayanda Jiya, Sonja van Zyl and Khanyisile Mthethwa.
We caught up with Shepherd, a multiaward winning pianist and composer, to chat about his exclusive solo piano performance as he will be presenting his new solo piano album After the Night, the Day Will Surely Come on December 1.
The first part of the evening will be a dialogue with jazz writer and art historian Percy Mabandu.
“Percy and I collaborated on my new record, a new solo piano vinyl. It was released by London-based label Matsuli Music and Percy wrote the liner notes, which I thought was brilliantly done. And we went further to think about ways that we might get in front of people and discuss those musical ideas that I express both on the album and liner notes.
“So this is a chance for people to hear us speaking about the process of making the music, and hearing the music, what the impetus for the music is, the way I go about putting it together, technically and otherwise. And this is an in-depth discussion by two jazz lovers and of music in general.
“Then, the second half of the night will be me performing, backing up everything I will be saying,” he said.
With the album released a few months back, Shepherd said he’s thrilled to be performing some of the new music for the first time in Jozi.
“The making of it was during the lockdown, so it was made under some kind of duress that we were all feeling at the time, at the beginning of, I think it was April 2020. It’s a solo piano record and it’s reflective and thoughtful.
“And with the Covid situation, I haven't been able to perform the album and promote it. So this will be the first performance since the album has been released.
“In some ways it’s kind of a launch, or if you would like, a listening session. This is also the first time for people to get physical copies, and of course, to meet Percy and me, and to have conversations around the music. These dialogues are important to have, so we are looking forward to that,” he said.
The muso added that he’s really looking forward to connecting with the audience.
“I always love performing in South Africa, and Johannesburg especially. And so that excites me a lot, to be with an audience again, just to be within that energy and to be performing with people,” Shepherd said.
Catch Dashiki Dialogue with Kyle Shepherd and Percy Mabandu at the Theatre on The Square on Wednesday, December 1. Tickets are available at Quicket for R250. For more info on the full “Summer Music Season” programme and the theatre’s classical music concerts, visit theatreonthesquare.co.za