The theatre, located at 44 Long Street, has announced its production programme for the next seven months, and it’s set to offer audiences a kaleidoscope of theatre experiences from summer right through to the end of winter.

On the Three Seasons menu at the NewSpace are shows ranging from acclaimed plays and one-man shows to comedy and high-end musical tributes, featuring a stellar array of local and international luminaries.

First up, from 23 February to 8 March 2009, is the South African production of the absorbing drama Hard Love, written by leading Israeli playwright Motti Lerner. Directed by Alan Swerdlow, the play premiered at Johannesburg’s Old Mutual Theatre on the Square in 2008 to great critical acclaim. It marks the first of many creative exchanges between the Theatre on the Square and the NewSpace Theatre.

Set in Israel, Hard Love features former Scandal stars Keren Tahor and Ashley Dowds as a couple with two differing views of Judaism – one secular, one orthodox – and stimulates provocative debate about the nature of faith and love.

For two weeks only, from 10 to 22 March, a cappella voice outfit Overtone will be lending their considerable vocal talents to the hits of Freddie Mercury and Queen in the musical show Killer Queen. Expect unusual vocal arrangements combined with the magic of Queen from these seven hunky lads, resulting in a highly entertaining night out.

Following her successful Sandton season last year, Broadway musical theatre sensation Christine Pedi returns to South Africa with her rip-roaring impersonations of the divas of today and yesteryear. Her hilarious, multi-award winning show Great Dames heads to the NewSpace from 24 March to 12 April, prior to opening on the West End in May. See it before the Londoners do!

Christine

From 14 April to 10 May, Fred Abrahamse’s new production of Noël Coward’s classic comedy of manners, Private Lives, can be seen at the NewSpace. It will be followed by Michael Richard in the hit Broadway comedy My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy!, from 12 May to 7 June, also fresh from a sensational season on the Johannesburg stage. Written by New York stand-up comedian Steve Solomon, this production is directed by Charmaine Weir-Smith and promises belly laughs aplenty.

Annabel Linder, Louise Saint-Claire and Johan Baird star in Peter Quilter’s Glorious from 9 to 28 June. This scream of a comedy tells the bizarre but true tale of Florence Foster Jenkins, an American singer who was dubbed ‘the diva of din’ because, well, she couldn’t sing for toffee – yet she enjoyed tremendous success in the early 20^th century.

Glorious

Durban theatre personality Themi Venturas treks to Cape Town to present My First Time, a frank adult show about losing your virginity, from 30 June to 19 July.

American comedienne Iris Bahr’s play Dai (Enough) has its South African premiere at the NewSpace, from 21 July to 2 August. In this production, set in a Tel Aviv café, Bahr plays numerous characters, ranging from a female Israeli soldier to a Hamas terrorist. Direct from Los Angeles and London, this highly acclaimed and extremely topical solo show examines the complex issue of Israel, its contradictions and its diversity.

Rounding off this feast of theatre and music, and taking the edge off the Cape winter chill, is the Las Vegas musical tribute show The Rat Pack Live on Long Street, featuring the fabulous swing music made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior. American Sinatra impersonator Patrick Tobin stars alongside the supremely talented Matthew Stewardson as Martin. See it from 4 to 30 August at the NewSpace.

In addition to this bumper Three Seasons line-up, the NewSpace Theatre will also be featuring children’s theatre and once-off events such as staged play readings and musical performances.

The Long Street precinct offers a one-stop night out, with theatre-goers spoilt for choice. On offer are the culinary delights of Anytime Italian Trattoria, Boo Radley’s Bar and Bistro, Oolong Tea Shop, the Daddy Cool Bar and the Showroom Café. The Grand Daddy Luxury Hotel at 38 Long Street is offering a special rate for the duration of the Three Seasons programme at NewSpace – R850 per two-sleeper room, per night, including a welcome drink and breakfast for two at the Showroom Café.

Performance times for NewSpace shows are Tuesdays to Fridays at 8.15pm, Saturdays at 5.30pm and 8.30pm, and Sunday matinees at 3pm. Tuesday nights are ‘buy one, get one free’ nights. Tickets cost R120 through Computicket, or phone 074-134-6634 for group rates and special offers.