Aweh! Find out what’s happening in Durbs
There's no reason to stay home, bored and idle this week. Be part of the all-inclusive action Durban has to offer. Kids and adults can enjoy comedy, local and international music shows, markets and a great way to remember our fallen war heroes.
MEN – grow your moustaches for November!
‘Movember’ – a month in which men’s health is put into the spotlight. Men are encouraged to grow moustaches to draw attention to and initiate conversations around men’s mental and physical health.
Let’s go retro
Comedian and singer Aaron McIlroy, who is currently in rehearsal for Retro Fest: the high-octane, fun musical comedy that celebrates the nostalgia of festivals from our youth.
Get out your glow sticks and glitter balls – the high-octane nostalgia of the Best of the Festivals of our youth is being honoured in a glorious party tribute show with live, mixed music and comedy, by Macbob (Lisa Bobbert and Aaron McIlroy), together with Veranda Panda (Liam Magner and Jane Magner), to kick off the year-end party season at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on UKZN campus from November 6 to 17. Tickets are available at Webtickets.
For those of us who grew up in the 80s and let our hair down at fabulous festivals (when we still had hair to let down), Retro Fest offers a joyous tonic of life-affirming memories with a fresh new take on familiar characters and music. Music by Kate Bush, eVoid, Yazoo, The Eagles, The Bangles, Boney M, Jennifer Rush, Eurythmics, Freddy Mercury, Queen, and Abba will feature – and some iconic era-defining tunes: Video Killed the Radio Star, Funky Town, You Spin me Round, Tainted Love, Holding onto a Hero, Sweet Dreams, Taxi Man, Dance Some More and Hotel California.
“It’s basically a three-course meal,” says Aaron, “of comedy, music and party.”
Audiences are encouraged to dress up, festival-style. There will be prizes for the best dressed! There will be a concession stand in the foyer to buy festival souvenirs. Booking is through Webtickets.
Robin Auld revisits favs of decades
Only in It for the Money, an evening of songs and stories from Robin Auld, is a guided tour through his 40 years of songwriting. Musically, the show visits all the well-known tunes from his career, from his SA all-time classics, All of Woman and Baby, You Been Good, up to songs from his acclaimed 2022 album, The Everlovin’ Wind which had two numbers with ones on the Mix FM National Top 20.
Interspersed with the songs will be humorous anecdotes about his early days in the South African music business – tales of the people and places that have featured in Robin’s life and travels and the stories behind the songs.
Tickets are R180 each through roland@stansell.co.za or Webtickets.
Wear poppies for war remembrance
Armistice Day – better known as Remembrance Day – is commemorated on November 11, when we pay tribute and honour those men, women and animals who have served in wars and those who have died in the line of duty.
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed since the end of the First World War in 1918, when at 11:00 on the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns on the Western Front fell silent after four years of horrific fighting. The carnage of the ‘war to end all wars’ came to a close, leaving millions dead and even more suffering the after-effects. Strangely, on the decimated battlefields, grew fields of red poppies, carpeting the graves of the fallen. This vivid image has led to the poppy becoming the enduring symbol of remembrance of the First World War – and, subsequently, wars in general.
The year 2024 also marks 110 years since the outbreak of the First World War.
In South Africa, Remembrance commemorations are spearheaded by the South African Legion – a national organisation established in 1921. SA Legion is the oldest military veterans’ support association in the country.
For more information, or to purchase poppies or offer to collect them at a shopping centre in your area on Poppy Day, please contact Brad or Jeanette on 031 205 0578 or email admin@salegion.durban.
Pop in at family night market
The Moonlight Market brings an unforgettable dose of night enjoyment where revellers can enjoy the beauty of arts, crafts, food, live music, collectables and antiques.
The next market is the first of Christmas markets where crafters can show off their decorations, lighting and treats for the upcoming season. Visit and find some homemade crafted goodies as stocking fillers or gifts for that special someone.
Kids have access to a playground, and pets are welcome on leads. A wine, gin and beer garden will be available. The ever-popular Gino Veronie will be entertaining the marketgoers with contemporary music from the past and present.
Entry is free for all.
The upcoming market night will take place on November 1, and the subsequent one on November 15, both from 17:00 until 21:00 at 21 Uitsig Road, Durban North.
Women lead at the KZN Philharmonic Spring Season
For the second week of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra World Symphony Spring Season, on November 7, at the Playhouse Opera, we travel to the Steppes of Central Asia, Scotland and Bohemia.
The programme opens with Alexander Borodin’s In The Steppes of Central Asia – a symphonic poem composed in 1880 dedicated to Franz Liszt. The centrepiece is Scottish Fantasy, Op 46 – a composition for violin and orchestra by Max Bruch, and it closes with Dvorák’s Symphony No 5, Op 76, F Major, known for its specific Bohemian sound.
Renowned violinist Soyoung Yoon has garnered widespread acclaim.
Photo: Submitted.The concert presents both a woman conductor and soloist. A native Indonesian of Chinese descent, Rebecca Tong, is the resident conductor of the Jakarta Simfonia Orchestra and artistic director and music director of Ensemble Kontemporer. She completed her two-year tenure as junior fellow in conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music and previously studied at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
Soloist is South Korean violinist Soyoung Yoon, who works between Barcelona and Seoul. She started playing the violin at the age of five. She plays on a 1773 JB Guadagnini violin. Renowned for her meticulous and highly disciplined artistry, violinist Soyoung Yoon has garnered widespread acclaim.
For those who prefer not to self-drive to town for the evening KZN Symphony Season concerts, there are buses from Caister Lodge; Westville Senior; St Agnes Kloof; and Grace Church Umhlanga. Book through Quicket / subscribers book through KZNPO offices.
KZN Philharmonic Season tickets, and bookings for individual concerts, are available at Quicket outlets. For more information, call 031 369 9438, email bookings@kznphil.org.za or visit www.kznphil.org.za.
Peru & Bala are back … and it’s nice like that!
The biggest brand in the history of South African Indian entertainment, Peru & Bala, is all set to entertain theatre lovers in Durban and Johannesburg in November!
The country’s most beloved ‘uncles’ returned to social media’s digital platforms on June 24, and after only seven weeks, Peru & Bala surpassed 100 000 followers across social media platforms. Having set numerous radio and theatre records, their TikTok videos broke 3 million views in only four weeks!
And now, after retiring in 2014, Peru & Bala are returning to the stage to share their experiences about adjusting to the New Age while still dealing with the challenges of their family, friends and finances.
The show is guaranteed to be another laugh-a-minute treat, delivered with the uncles’ familiar quirkiness and humour.
Their first stop is at the PlayTsogo Globe at Suncoast in Durban on Saturday, November 9. The show starts at 20:00. Tickets from R150 are available from TicketPro and SPAR outlets.
Piano trio gives their best
Friends of Music presents the Piano Trios by the eThekwini Trio – three of Durban’s leading musicians, Andrew Warburton (piano), Evgeny Zhadanov (violin) and Ayanda Makulwana (cello).
They will get together to play Beethoven, Brahms and the highly moving Elegiac Trio No 1 by Rachmaninov. It’s all happening on Sunday, November 17, at 14:30 at Durban Jewish Centre.
Tickets cost R120 for members and R140 for non-members and will be available at the door. The programme is as follows:
Brahms: Piano Trio No 3 in C minor Op 101
Rachmaninov: Elegiac Trio No 1 in G Minor
Interval
Beethoven: Piano Trio No 7 in B-flat Major Op 97 (Archduke)
For more information, contact millark.millar@gmail.com or 071 505 1021.
Legendary Cece Peniston visits Durban
American powerhouse singer and songwriter CeCe Peniston is heading to Durban on November 9 as part of her Southern African tour, which includes Cape Town, Johannesburg and Botswana.
The We Got a Love Thing singer will be performing at The Villa, Point Waterfront, on Mahatma Gandhi Road from 18:00.
“Prepare yourself, Durban, for an unforgettable evening featuring Cece Peniston performing her greatest hits and more,” said organiser Trevor Williams. “From We Got a Love Thing to Hit by Love and Finally, you will sure find yourself on your feet dancing for the entire night.”
The show line-up includes Clint L, Trevor Williams, Alan Chetty, DJ Dazzle, Ryan T and Ashleigh J. Tickets start at R250 and can be bought from Pick ’n Pay or Webtickets.
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