Sojourn. A photographic exhibition of Southern African landscapes (2007-2012)

To point a camera towards land in Southern Africa is to draw the history of the continent to your eye. A history which is archeologically layered, complex, implicit, but also a blind spot; a specula highlight on the retina, an aberration that deregisters the picture. Every tilt and pan is a political act, an act of representation, of framing, of remarking of boundaries and borders, the camera ...

Frank Sinatra Tribute

In this concert, Nic Nicolaidis and Zwai Bala accompanied by the notable KwaZulu-Natal Phiharmonic Orchestra will serenade audiences with melodies such as Fly me to the moon, I’ve got you under my skin, Fascinating Rhythm, Unforgettable and of course the singularly popular Sinatra signature song, My way.

The Festival Pops Concert

The Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Arts Festival presents THE FESTIVAL POPS CONCERT Conducted by Richard Cock with Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Zwai Bala and Naz HollandThe Guy Butler Theatre at the Monument is going to rock with songs like Sway, Shout, Jump, It’s Raining Men, The Wind beneath my Wings and a whole lot more! Richard Cock directs ...

The Blaauwkrantz Bridge Train Disaster – 1911

The Blaauwkrantz bridge train disaster happened over 100 years ago – revisit this tragic episode out of Grahamstown’s past with guide, Ben Bezuidenhout. Visit the bridge site and experience the ambience of the area, marvel at the engineering and construction of this mighty railway bridge. Visualise the enormity of this accident. Gaze down into the breathtaking chasm; experience the loneliness ...

The Secrets of the Blaauwkrantz Pool

There is a limpid quality to the air in this quiet forgotten little corner of the Eastern Cape, approximately 22km from Grahamstown where the Blaauwkrantz Pool, in the Blaauwkrantz Nature Reserve, is situated. This tranquil pool, sparkling in the winter sunlight, is a place of pilgrimage, of ghosts, a spiritual domain lying there, brooding, quiet and sombre. The one side of the pool consists of ...

Stately Homes and Old School Ties

Gracing the romantic Worcester Street – the home of the first independent schools in South Africa, St. Andrews College and the Diocesan School for Girls – are the elegant residences of the noteworthy of a bygone era. Gothic arches, Victorian bow windows and rose-stained glass Chapel windows, signal the fineries of nineteenth-century British architecture having firmly rooted itself on the ...

Settler Skeletons and Colourful Characters

The tour begins at The Cock House, a guesthouse, and once the home of entrepreneur and Port Alfred Harbour visionary, William Cock. Two mills stood opposite, hence it’s neighbouring street name: Mill Street. Passing by the Market Square – well used for over 150 years by farmers, marketers or travellers, comparisons with the painting by artist Thomas Baines lead to shocking conclusions about ...

Diamonds, Bagpipes and the Mother Superior

Our tour meets in the elegant drawing room of Brookshaw Home, opposite the Victoria Girls High School, once the haunts of George Wood and Dr William Atherstone. Nearby stands the Catholic girls convent, now Victoria Primary School, established by the indomitable Mother Gertrude. View the Trinity Church and the early Huntley house and hear of fortunes gained and soldiers’ fates as you relax in ...

Saints, Sinners and Students

Starting at the Albany Museum (the second oldest museum in South Africa), the tour includes an amazing variety of scenes and scenarios of 19th century military, judicial and religious life in Grahamstown. Of architectural interest are the buildings, which include two gaols, two charming chapels, an orphanage, and a military hospital that became the Colony’s House of Parliament. Add to this, a ...

Florence Foster Jenkins

Director Maarten Lok Concept Anne van Dorp and Paméla Menzo Cast Florence: Paméla Menzo Maid: Anne van Dorp Pianist: Jan van Grootheest“Practicing is for those without talent”In the world of Florence Foster Jenkins, mediocrity is strictly forbidden and modesty is for cowards. Seated on her chaise longue, the wannabe soprano directs her staff members while pondering over the ...