Watch her slideshow below to get a taste of India and if you have questions about her trip or photographs of your own holiday away then contact us!

To all those drama junkies who are currently experiencing extreme withdrawal symptoms due to the closing of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival – Fear not, for the Rhodes University Drama department have come to the rescue.

Over five hundred productions in a mere fifteen action-packed days, with the arts ranging from theatre, dance, music and visual have officially left its mark on your now “limelightless” life.

You miss laughing your molars out with Gary the Tooth fairy, don’t you? You miss rocking it out with Karen Zoid, am I right? But mostly, you miss the hugely entertaining, screamingly funny, weird-looking art folk, hmm?

Best of Fest

Last week The Main Rhodes Theatre was location to a range of shows that were classified as ‘The Best of Fest’.

Rhodes University wanted to give their students the opportunity to experience the National Arts Festival in the company of their own home. They wanted to showcase the sheer talent and hard work that went into every production created.

The Drama Department exposed how professional their department has come to be, by allowing their students to become part of the theatre-making process.

Much ado about Rubber

Among these students was our very own Masters Directing student, Robert Haxton. His piece went by the name, Rubber, and for those who witnessed this spectacular experience would agree with me when I say that the title was in fact a warning of what our bodies would feel like once the piece has ended.

The production uncovered brutality, seduction and chance. The plot is based on something alien existing among a small family. The exposing of secrets, thought to be dead, unfold in a shocking revelation of what people will do to protect their children as well as keep the darkest parts of their histories in the past.

“It’s about discovery, allowing the work and our discoveries to take us on a journey,” says Haxton.

It’s funny, it’s vicious and these characters will eat practically anything to get their own way.

A show that enables you to question your own journey and encourages you to participate in you own discoveries.

Words by Lauren Vankeirsbilck

Check out http://cue.ru.ac.za/multimedia for sneak peaks of the most popular shows as well as interviews with the actors.

It was either FIFA 2010 World Cup quarter finals or staggering apparel to choose from, but with vibrant colours, bulky patterns, various styles and luscious models… Africa Fashion Week 2010 was the obvious choice.

This fashion-filled week took place from 30 June-3 July in the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

The seats were empty the first two days and one did not at first know what to expect. Yet 30 talented designers, both local and international, soon blew away the audience with their extravagant designs.

Global fashion flavours

Xuly Bet, a well-known fashion designer from Paris, Grace Jones, Neneh Cherry and Lauryn Hill opened this year’s fashion week.

Local designers, including Marianne Fassler, Abigail Betz and Errol Arendz, added their own artistic flair to the fashion show and experimented with various types of materials. This brought a unique African experience to the fashion week.

Another local South African brand, Stoned Cherrie, showcased their 2010 Summer collection which looked contemplatively at the label’s past.

US fashion designer, Laquan Smith, famous for designing Rihanna’s gold dress in her Rudeboy music video, also made a special appearance.

Rewards

The African Fashion Awards were held on 5 July 2010 in the Sandton Convention Centre.

The event was truly remarkable and one which every aspiring fashion lover and designer should mark on their calendars every year. Be sure to book your tickets for the next Africa Fashion Week.

Words by Maricelle Gouws

The Union was unfortunately not as busy as expected this past Thursday night, the 29^th April. This was unfortunate to see because two of South Africa’s biggest bands at the moment, Taxi Violence and Ashtray Electric were playing an unplugged set. 

The people that were in the small yet very intimate crowd will understand that these two bands might have been playing an unplugged set but there was nothing missing from what was a very rocking weekend. 

A local band, The Life of Riley opened up and warmed up the crowd as to what was coming. The band played a few acoustic songs and even brought out a glockenspiel for one of their songs. Guitarist Nicholas Mulgrew says “it was amazing to open for such great bands.” 

Ashtray Electric donned the stage next and the silent buzz coming from the crowd told the band that we wanted to be rocked. Front man Andre Pienaar sang out the words and the crowd sang along showing that even though the crowd was small it still was powerful. 

Taxi Violence knew the crowd wanted to be rocked from the word go and as soon as they got up on stage they went into “Devil ‘n Pistol.” Certainly a good move because it set the tempo for the rest of the gig and that did not drop until the end. 

At the end though, instead of dropping, everyone got up as Taxi Violence played a rendition of “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin. Front man George van der Spuy said “I was happy to see the crowd get up at the end there although they should have been standing the whole time.” He also mentioned that soon the band is releasing an unplugged album and another full length album early next year. The band has no inclination to slow down any time soon. For more information log on to www.taxiviolence.com 

If you want to know more about the scene in Grahamstown, log onto Facebook and check out Live Music Society’s page.  

Pic by Kirsten Templar

Pics by Kirsten Templar

Pic by Kirsten Templar

Ladies and Gentlemen, Rhodes University Theatre brings you an African musical uniquely enhanced with a political subject matter, known as Morountodun.

Femi Osofisan, a Nigerian playwright is known for his use of deliberately distorted myths to advance his revolutionary performances. However, this is no such myth. If an international playwright isn’t enough – why not just throw the internationally recognised talent, Andrew Buckland in the mix?

This year, director, Andrew Buckland takes a brilliantly scripted Morountodun and transforms it into something so much more.

“Morountodun was chosen because of my compulsion to reflect African theatre”, states Buckland. His aim, as a director of varsity students, was to position them as a university set in Africa.

Most of the drama department’s curriculum has been very specific from a Western point of view and Buckland felt that it was about time that the view shifted. The play was also particularly appealing to him because of the technical challenges that the actors would face in terms of their portrayal of the characters. This was shown in the use of extravagant yet traditional costumes along with an African ambience set by the lighting changes.

Having being in professional theatre since 1980, Buckland has still been particularly impressed with the level of professionalism that his student cast shows throughout the production process.

“This particular group I have found very strong in the sense that they, by steady increment, have responded to my notes and developed a good level of technical proficiency,” Buckland added.

He further reflected on how glad he was that the students showed involvement with the story. From an audience’s perspective, one could see the intense rehearsal process definitely paid off. We also get a glimpse into Buckland’s working style when he explained his intent: “The only thing I tried to instil in them is the need for technique,” he remarked.

His thorough approach to the more intricate details of the craft of acting ensured that the actors are more attentive to detail. Having studied at Rhodes, he
reflected on the influence of the Drama department: “They gave me all the
skills I needed to train myself,” he added.

Morountodun combines international artefacts with a sense of African culture, definitely a must-see.

By Carina Truyts

Tucking into a Gino's pizza.

We gave Gino’s 2 stars, give us a star rating of your own!

I arrived at Gino’s with high expectations. I’d been craving the “real Italian Food” that the advertising suggests, for weeks now. All I wanted was a ripe tomato sauce, poured over well-cooked pasta with fresh basil and a dash of parmesan. I’m easy to please like that.

First impressions were ruined by the waiter. Clearly not inspired by the prospect of serving a group of young people, he didn’t even bother to be professional. No one likes being treated like a poor student – he insisted that we take the larger sized pizza for “just R2 more, come ON guys.” He also forgot to mention the free bread (it’s in the corner, by the pizza oven. Cut your own slice, but stray from the margarine.)

The variety of Pizza’s available is mind boggling although the list of pastas is quite strange.

They only have 2 tomato-based pastas: the napoli and the arrabiata. The former was bland, overcooked and far too sweet and the onions weren’t caramelised. The latter can be likened to eating raw green chilli sauce. I don’t mind spice – but without flavour it’s a crying shame. Yes, tears formed in my eyes (for future reference, red wine does not help.) The honey and mustard pasta dish seemed an interesting option to a friend, but the sweetness was so overpowering that she couldn’t finish her food, let alone consider dessert.Overwhelming sweetness seemed to be the general theme.

The chicken, chutney and mushroom pizza is the kind of thing a kid might enjoy, to put it kindly. The tastiest pizza was the spinach and feta. Avocado, onion and bacon seemed like such a lovely option- until we realised that they cooked the poor avocado along with the rest of the pizza. Hot avocado – just seeing it written down spelt sacrilege.

The next time I visit Gino’s; it will be at the delivery department. No need to sit through the painstaking process of unprofessional service, bizarre decor and endless waiting when you can get a hot, crusty pizza pronto. Sundays are a great value- get a family sized pizza for R99.90 and a 2 litre cooldrink for free.Gino’s has a long held reputation as a family favourite, a local classic. Sadly, the only Italian spirit I felt was due to the good half bottle of Leopards Leap red wine that I consumed. They’re resting on their quasi- roman laurels and people are bound to notice.

Visit Gino‘s:

Address: Hill Street Parking area

Tel Number: (046) 622 7208

Hours: Monday to Sunday from 11h00 till late. Deliveries start at 15h00

Corkage: R15

Carina Truyts is a Silwood qualified Cordon Bleu chef, a Rhodes University Student and custodian of good food and the environment.  Follow her on twitter or check out her blog

This is the story of Philippe, an extraordinary Frenchman who followed his dreams and in August 1974, danced between the twin towers on a tightrope, over 400 meters high.

It is not only a brilliantly inspiring true story and a tale of achievement and dedication, but also the smash opener of the 2010 filmfest at Rhodes University.

Presented to us by the School of Languages, this show of art and culture takes a new theme per term and lets us look at the world from different perspectives each week.

Term one has had the theme aptly named ‘Crossing over’. This can be applied directly to the first movie ‘Man on wire’.

“The series is about the always complicated, often highly problematic crossings between cultures, generations and genders,” says Anton Vorster, compiler of this term’s films.This description holds true in the choices Vorster made, from Persepolis, the story of Marjane, a young girl growing up in the Iranian revolution, to La Haine

, a brutal and unforgiving look at some of France’s immigrant populations, each piece holds its own amongst powerful competition.

Even now, with two weeks left in the term, the filmfest shows no sign of backing down. Still to come are ‘After the wedding’ [Efter brylluppet] (16 March) and ‘Nowhere in Africa’ [Nirgendwo in Afrika] (23 March).

The filmfest takes place every Tuesday night at 19:00 in Eden Grove Red. Entrance is free of charge.

 

For more information, see the filmfest’s website.

By Jenna Pantalone

Kirsten Templar

The Dirty Skirts was a crowd-puller on Wednesday evening at The Union when students showed up in numbers to get rocked by the band.

With their tightly fitted skinnies and t-shirts, The Dirty Skirts entertained students with electric guitars, drums and accompanying vocals which could be heard a mile away.

While the crowd was singing “if you’re sweaty and you know it, clap your hands”, the band readied themselves to perform an improvisational piece.

“They’re gangster. I am stoked”, said Lauren Lawlor, first year BSocSci student.

Fourth year PGCE student, Meg Goedhals says “I think they’re pretty cool”.

With their humour, sounds, jokes and dance moves, the band is a stupefying act on stage and they prove Jack Parow’s words wrong when he sings, “Shame, jy luister na die Dirty Skirts.”

Students were in fact clapping, jamming, jiving, Mexican waving and stage diving while listening to the band’s pop-punk-rock sounds, commonly known as ‘Indie’.

“More specifically we write music that has an ‘alt pop’ sensibility and features some electronic”, said David Moffatt, guitarist and vocalist.

The name of the band was initially the result of purposeless words mixed together.  However it made the band laugh and a good sense of humour has always been a part of them. The Dirty Skirts implied naughty girls.

“This resonated with us too,” they said.

The band was formed in Cape Town in 2004 when David Moffatt and Jeremy de Tolly (lead vocalist, guitarist and synthesist) met. Maurice Paliaga (bassist) and Mark de Menezes (drummer) became part of the band shortly thereafter. Singles such as “Feeling the Pressure” as well as “Set me alight” became part of their early work and was sang at the event.

With events scheduled for Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, this band is sure to, yet again, ‘raise skirts.’

Their CD’s can be bought at any Musica or Look and Listen mega stores. Follow them on Twitter by following this link: http://twitter.com/thedirtyskirts.

Be sure to be on the lookout for their next performance! Till then catch them on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZb5WlLXrJ0

The event was hosted by Malibu in association with ROAR(Rhodes Organisation for Animal Rights).

By Maricelle Gouws

For the second time in two weeks, Slovenian swing-ska-rock n roll-punk band Red Five Point Star showed Grahamstown how to party. They were supported by another Slovenian band of the same genre We Can’t Sleep at Night. Two local bands were part of the line up as well, Universal Translator and Life of Riley.

The two local bands started off the night, getting SlipStream up to a moderately warm temperature, and showing the international bands that South Africans can make good music too and that is just what they did.

Soon after a short interval it was time for the first of the Slovenian double act.

The Stage went dark and three relatively skinny young men strolled onto stage. As the lights went on, one grabbed a microphone and screamed “We can’t sleep at night” and the floor erupted as the bassist started jamming their opening song.

The energy created by just three men up on stage was electrifying and the crowd was getting into it right from the start.

Although the band claimed that “Durban was the best” Grahamstown certainly put up a good fight on the small dance floor of Slipstream.

For the next hour the dance floor endured a bunch of energetic students jumping up and down, showing that they can definitely party this far south of the equator.

Next up was Red Five Point Star to give Slipstream yet another show to remember. Doubling up the numbers from the previous group, six men took the stage.

With no time wasted they dropped into their first song “Underground” causing a loud roar from the audience as they started jumping around to the fast-paced guitar, loud trumpeting and all-out punk sound that had travelled all the way from Slovenia to the bottom of Africa.

It was clear that they enjoyed playing in Grahamstown but when they exclaimed that “Grahamstown is the best in the World” the crowd couldn’t help but go absolutely mad.

If you were anywhere else on Wednesday night this week, you missed out on what was one of the most electrifying, loud, explosive and just damned great parties of the term.

By Stefano De Siena

Our resident ‘agony aunt’ is right here to relate to! This month she tackles ‘Valentine’s Day Demons’… guys and girls ‘this is it’ with Roza Carvalho

I’m pissed off. To be more accurate, I was pissed off. Yesterday. On Valentines Day. You’ll be happy to know, that besides possibly having the new strain of swine flu, my emotional state is considerably better.

Does that communicate to you exactly how much I loathe that squishy heart, chocolate rich day? Yes, you may accuse me of being a bitter shrew. Guilty as charged.

Of course, I will be the first to admit to being fickle. Send me some roses, some form of sugar and any type of corny cuddly being and I will love the day fervently. I might even smile as that couple walks past, instead of silently cursing them and my single doom.

I find myself going through four distinct stages leading up to Valentines Day and culminating the day after. The first, more pleasant one of ‘said phases’ is filled with hope and happy expectation. Someone out there loves me secretly and I will find myself inundated with hordes of Valentines kitsch. On the other end of the spectrum, it will finally be the day that I tell that person I have secretly been yearning for with every particle of my being that I’m in ‘like’ with them.  Actually, I wouldn’t have been quite certain about that part.

Alas, it does not last. I drag myself into the reality of the situation, learnt at the ‘Valentine’s Day School of Experience’.

The second stage is still positive though. You are a strong, independent, unusually charming (slight exaggeration) woman, who definitely doesn’t need roses and chocolate. Repeat this phrase three times daily after alcohol. I find like minded people, who talk of anti-Valentines Day bashes and share their cynicism about the commercial, corporate bullshit day.

After this comes the hard part. Valentines Day and the third stage. I’m not wading through a sea of Princess-Diana-like-flowers at my front door, breathing in their sweet scent, contemplating love and existence. No. I’m doing terribly mundane things, like washing the dishes and dealing with an ant infestation.

I find little solace in finishing my Cold War essay and the quarter glass of wine that was left after all my self-medicating.

Then the rage builds and I do little to constrain it. I let my indignation and anger simmer at a healthy temperature for the rest of the day. Sleep is more than welcome. Today, in the midst of the final stage, acceptance, I’m relatively okay. Besides the burning sensation at the back of my throat and the growing heap of vile tissues next to my keyboard that is.

I’ve got a year till I need to be put on the wrack again. Or maybe not…