The Guy Butler Auditorium at Settlers Monument was buzzing with anticipation last week Friday as the Dean of Students, Dr Vivian de Klerk, declared the end of Drink Smart Week – an initiative designed to promote responsible alcohol use among students.
The week opened with the Rhodes Got Talent! show, held on 21 February at Eden Grove, where five acts were selected to showcase their specialities at Viv’s Variety Show.
Warming up the audience for the evening's entertainment were the Deans and Directors of the University, dressed in their sixties best, who answered Dr De Klerk's searching questions with snippets from Beatles tunes and other classic hits from the era. Leaving the audience guffawing as they shimmied off the stage, it was a while before hosts Danielle and Jean-Michel were able to be heard over the noise.
The next act, Dr Steve Prevec of the Geology Department, informed the audience he was going to change the mood with an “unrequited love song”, and his gruff voice, coupled with soulful guitar, brought the house down. Joined onstage by Prof Larry Strelitz from the School of Journalism and Media Studies on guitar, the two gave a rousing rendition of T-Bone Walker's 1947 blues classic Stormy Monday. It was a good evening for blues fans; when Dr Prevec left the stage the rest of his band SunShip joined Prof Strelitz, treating us to a Howling Wolf classic from the sixties, and a couple of local blues numbers, including East Cape Blues.
One could have forgiven a talent show winner a certain amount of nerves on coming out to play after that. However, One Shu Shu Day not only appeared completely at home in the environment, they also played a wonderfully professional, albeit short, set, with the soulful voice of their lead singer crooning out the lyrics to a song entitled Leave me Alone. The audience erupted in applause, and I think that no-one would be surprised to see this group performing professionally during the coming years.
Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company took the stage with excerpts from their productions Breed and Sink or Swim. The power of physical theatre filled the space with magic, reminding us forcibly of the theatre's ability to present a message while entertaining and astounding us. The Rhodes Chamber Choir, with their spirited singing and dancing, dispelled any lingering notions of stuffiness, and Lucy Kruger and Madele Vermaak, with their rich voices and self-penned lyrics, continued the musical feast.
Talent contest winner Phelo Mthembu gave an amazingly virtuoso display of beat-boxing, which can best be described as 'voice art', and Prof Andrew Buckland, winner of three Fleur de Cap awards in 2010, treated us to a highly amusing and thought-provoking local reworking of Dario Fo's Mistero Buffero.
The stage was being lit up by a duo due to play Splashy Fen later this year, as I regretfully had to creep out the theatre door and make my way home. The quality of the entertainment and the enthusiasm of the audience made it a show to remember, and Drink Smart Week certainly finished on a natural high.
Picture by: Candice Brissenden.