What I’m loving this month...

THE DAWN WALL

My daughter, who’s mad about bouldering – it makes me anxious even to write that word – begged us to watch this Netflix doccie. I resisted for as long as I could (is there anything less enjoyable than watching someone clinging to a mountain?), but in the end we did, and it is completely brilliant. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson attempt to climb a sheer rock face, the Dawn Wall, in Yosemite. It’s about climbing, but it’s mainly about fear and courage and love and friendship – and absolutely inspiring resilience and humanity. I loved it.

MIXA

Mixa is a French pharmacy body skincare brand for sensitive skin. I’ve tried only the hand cream (which smells lovely and soaks in quickly), and it was so good it made me want to go out and buy the entire range. And you know what? I could have. Stocked by Clicks, it’s amazingly well priced – between R35 and about R80. Highly recommended!

THE SNOW GOOSE

I was blown away by Contagious Theatre’s production of The Snow Goose when I saw it in Cape Town. The two-person, multi-character cast uses masks and the sparest of sets to portray the intensely moving friendship between a lonely hermit and a young girl. Performed by Taryn Bennett and James Cairns, and directed by Jenine Collocott, The Snow Goose will be on at Montecasino from 30 October to 24 November.

NOUVELLE VAGUE

This French band does covers in a kind of new wave style, but it’s tricky to explain: their cover of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ is almost a bit bossa nova, if you can imagine that.

I love working with Nouvelle Vague on in the background. My current favourite tracks are their versions of The Clash’s ‘Guns of Brixton’ and The Rolling Stones’s ‘Miss You’ (sung by Carla Bruni).