Cultsha Kennis

What Cultsha Kennis loves about the festive season is that it provides ample opportunity to make new friends, let our guard down, relax and take time out to see new talent that’s on the horizon! Or if you’re a frequenter on the arts and culture scene, like Cultsha Kennis, you’re probably waiting to clock out for the year so that you can make time to see your existing favourites that seem to only come around once when we’re not looking!    Whichever of the two you may be, you MUST join us at the  JITSVINGER LIVE  show at the Nomad Bistro & Bar in Waterkant Street, Cape Town – a night which promises to bring Hip-Hop infused musical flavours ranging from  jazz, blues, goema, boombap, R&B to traditional! Jitsvinger will be sharing the stage with hidden talent from the Cape Flats, as well as a few other surprise guest features. CD’s will be on sale, along with merchandise by AWEH! Kaapstad. The venue is perfectly suited for those who like to be...

On Saturday 1 December 2018, Cultsha Kennis had the extraordinary opportunity to finally see  At Her Feet , a long-awaited show which we had been dying to see since first reading the playscript in 2014! At Her Feet is a one-woman show written and directed by Nadia Davids and is performed by the well-loved Quanita Adams, an artistic collaboration which the 2003 Cape Times referred to as a "triumphant combination", and Cultsha Kennis agrees! The title of the production is derived from a Hadith (record of words and actions of the Prophet of Islam), "Paradise lies at the feet of thy mother" and tells the story of 4 contemporary Muslim women in Cape Town whose lives are affected by the 9/11 happenings and the honour killing of a Jordanian girl, Azra Al-Jamal.   Using poetry and the scarf as a recurring motif throughout the show, the audiences were shown what makes a Cape Muslim experience. Auspicious rituals were referenced, such as the sehri meal during Ramad...

Taare recently showcased their theatre production titled Bollywood Enchanted at the Artscape Theatre – a love story told through dance, music, theatrics and visual works!  It’s no secret that Cultsha Kennis always runs to the front row of the theatre in Cape Town, and we simply had to get a glimpse into the creation of this show! See a conversation below with Ahneesh Valodia, the founder and artistic director of Taare:    Cultsha Kennis : Taare has been featured in multiple Artscape Theatre festivals over the last few years. Tell us about how your collaboration got started.  Ahneesh : Our very first production at Artscape was self-funded. Our dancers had worked hard to raise funds in order to stage a production at the prestigious venue. Thereafter, we approached Artscape to collaborate with us for a second production. We had a desire to contribute to the greater community through dance and more specifically use dance as a medium to contribute to ...

Ellen (starring Jill Levenberg ) and her teenage son, Abie (starring Jarrid Geduld ), have been living together with Odneal (starring Elton Landrew ) for years in Lavender Hill Cape Town. Abie gets constantly terrorised for being born out of wedlock, and he gets expelled from school. He becomes addicted to tik and cleans out his parents’ belongings to feed his addiction. Later, Abie is banished to the back yard and Ellen goes to find help for her son. After every government service fails to help her, a distraught and frustrated Ellen takes matters into her own hands, leaving the Pakkies family with devastating consequences.     ‘Die Ellen Pakkies Storie’ is directed by Daryne Joshua , and is based on the real-life story of Ellen Pakkies. The story shows the brutal but true realities of a family on the Cape Flats affected by drug abuse, and also shows the brave stance of a woman who takes charge against domestic and gender-based violence. For more on where to se...

Fat Man’s Coop and The Real Mrs Muhammad formed part of the SoloAfrika Festival of Monodrama, a 6-day festival that showcased a series of one-man and one-woman shows at the Artscape Theatre. Fat Man’s Coop , a play on the name of an American hip hop personality, starring Dominic Paulsen, tells the story of a young South African man and his struggles with obesity, depression and suicide. The story starts inside the bedroom of the character, which became his “coop” as he withdrew from his world. The character then takes the audience on a journey of his childhood, telling the story of his alcoholic father who reared him with violence as a way to “make me right for the big world”. The character also touches on how obesity lead to the end of his singing career, memories of throwing stones at cars with friends in Belhar (only at the BMW’s want hulle kan betaal!) and the day he brought his girlfriend home for Christmas Lunch – all which proved to be both traumatic and entertaining. ...

Artists, friends, comrades and chommies of Quintin Jitsvinger Goliath all gathered at the District Six Homecoming Centre on Saturday 29 th October to celebrate the launch of his new EP titled J itsologie . Jitsvinger – or as we affectionately call him, Boeta Jits – is a musical poet in Cape Town who is known for his vernacular-styled performances. He has a lekka on stage presence and his musical stories capture the authentic voices of the Kaaps community. The title of his EP, Jitsologie , is a mixture of jits and ology – the study of being cool! The Jitsologie EP launch was a final endeavour before Jitsvinger left to tour the Netherlands with the “SA Road Trip: Celebrate Life” produced by a Dutch Company called Bostheatre Poducties. The launch was opened with a welcome by Vicky Sampson following a range of live performances of the Jitsologie EP track list – Bruinsuiker and Kamer Soet Maak being our favourites! The performances included a band of musicians on bass gui...

The V&A Waterfront ampitheatre was vibrant with colour and sound on Sunday 22 October as we joined in on the Diwali celebrations – a Hindu festival of light with music and dance! The event was hosted by the Hindu Association of the Western Cape (HAWC) in collaboration with the South African Hindu Maha Sabha and Consulate General of India in Cape Town. The performance feature of the show included musical and dance items rendered by vocalists Nuur Leeman, Fayyazi Mohammed, Christopher Naidoo, Lilaven Gangen and Renu Joshi. There was also Vedic chanting rendered by the Sathya Sai Seva organisation as well as dance items beautifully performed by Nateswhar Dance Academy, Vadhini Indian Arts Academy, Parklands Hindu Cultural Society, Taare and Araadhana.    The program for the day also featured a dance routine workout by Bollywood Fitness. Their performance included an interactive dance session with a few audience members who all competed to win a prize, lead by the c...