Brett Bailey’s ‘House of the Holy Afro’ is finally showing in Joburg after six years of performances in Europe and Australia. It’s a show and a party in a space that’s usually a theatre but is now a pop-up club.
Hi energy, super slick, crosses many musical genres and celebrates everything we’re celebrating right now – the fabulousness of 21st century Africa. It’s original, inspired and quirky – from the 11pm starting time to the Afro kitsch outfits, from the camp drama to the disco make-up. Think Zulu Lulu on steroids – in a glitter pit.
On every night at 11pm (except Mondays) until 11 July – so a perfect party spot after the evening match.
The aptly-named mall is a great access point for anyone wanting to explore Little Addis. Inside the mall, the majority of stores are Ethiopian, selling anything and everything from music, coffee and spices to traditional wedding dresses. The mall is best accessed from Jeppe Street, but can also be entered from Bree. The mall is close to Von Weilig as a cross street. Look out for the large white and red sign reading Joburg Mall. On the top floor, we recommend Cafe Addis as a great spot for traditional Ethiopian food. Give a warm greeting to our main man Kassa who is one of the owners. He’s a great man and knows the area really well.
Roughly 90km out of Joburg, the opulent structure sticks out like a lost city or ancient temple in an Indiana Jones film. The only Buddhist Seminary in Africa also offers non Buddhists meditation retreats from beginner to more advanced disciples and annual traditional Chinese cultural festivals. It’s an hour out of the city but the fantastic vegan meals and the serene peace and quiet, is totally worth the drive. When driving from Witbank to Joburg the sight of the spectacular main shrine shimmering over the dry highveld fields is like nothing on earth…
Previously named The Civic Theatre, the Joburg Theatre is home to two venues. the larger of which, politically-correctly named The Mandela Theatre hosts more musical pantomimey performances. Every now and again, you’ll get a ballet, a comedy show, or music performance, so keep checking their site below. At he time of writing, Footloose is rocking town! So if that’s your thing, head on down. Sometimes those shows can be great, so please dont see this as completely pretentious. Janice Honeymon’s pantomimes are an institution in Johannesburg Theatre, and the internationally successful The Buddy Holly Story started it’s run here. They’re usually a great show of local South African entertainment talent, as far as vocal and musical choreography goes, but certainly not a place for high end theater! If you looking for more challenging theatre, check out The Market Theatre in Newtown.
That being said, don’t dismiss the theater as being another commercial entity. The complex itself is owned by The City of Johannesburg since 2000, which certainly gives it more credit as a space of cultural heritage in the light of the city’s so called other theater spaces that are strictly house more of the sausage factory revue shows.
The second space was once called The Tesson Theatre, has now been rebranded as The Fringe (seats 251 people). Although smaller, it lives up to its name in that it showcases the smaller, more daring productions. At the time of writing this, one of the country’s most talented performers Rob Van Vurren is putting on a one man show, so expect to see more substantial performances as opposed to the more commerical theatre previously mentioned.
It is 969 km from Johannesburg to Grahamstown. So for those that can’t make the trip to the annual Grahamstown Arts festival, The 969 Festival offers to bring a selection up to Johannesburg for you. The festival takes place at the Wits Theatre Complex during the month of September every year. It forms part of the Arts Alive Festival.
Growing up in Johannesburg, The Sterkfontein Caves were seen as the ultimate school roadtrip. It is a site of much celebration in that its where the famous Mrs Ples was discovered. For a little kid, it’s all about the Indiana Jones-esque adventure fantasies.
We have learned a few interstint things since i was a small boy: Mrs Ples is in fact a rather young Mr Ples, also Little Foot was found (an Australopithecus skeleton dating back more than 3-million years), which is one of the most complete of its kind ever found, forever changing the history of the caves…
Turns out, mankind as we know it, started roughly 20 minutes out of Joburg.
Immediately after this latest discovery, the surrounding area became a World Heritage site, and the caves themselves saw a massive upgrade in 2005. With this came the fancy-looking Maropeng Centre (which is great of you have kids in tow, but not so much as an adult).
The caves are very cool as a day trip, where one can lose oneself in the natural beauty of the caves, as well as the history and (in)significance of the human race.
The caves are open every day from 9 till 5, with the last tour departing at 4. Admission for an adult is R95.
Arts on Main is one of the slowly emerging smaller success stories of the new and improved Johannesburg City. Its an old warehouse from the 1900’s thats been renovated to become artists studios, a restaurant, deli’s and even an open air cinema in the summer time. It certainly is a space to watch, and know how to find. The moment world renown artist William Kentridge signed his lease there, the place took off.
The Ethiopian district in town is affectionally known as Little Addis. Amazing cheap food can be enjoyed. But we’re talking amazing, and amazingly cheap. We’re slowly starting to explore the area more. One place to start is Joburg Mall accessible on Jeppe Street. The first place we recommend you hit is a cute little spot called Cafe Addis situated on the top floor. Just down the passage is a spot to get dam near the finest coffee in the world. Now Im not talking Italian espresso nonsense. This stuff is roasted in front of you over a pile of burning coals, and then placed in large traditional pots that brew the coffee till it reaches amazingness.
The idea is simple. In order to truly love something, you first have to understand it. Johannesburg is no different in this regard.
Connect with the real city through those who live and play here. The result? A catalogue of Johannesburg like no other.
