Curtain up

Darin Graham (Jordan) & Timothy Mayers (Ian) in The Bus

In Cape Town, the South African premiere of James Lantz's thought-provoking play, The Bus, at the Milnerton Playhouse opens on 20 July and tells a story that is both touching and suspenseful, exploring the sexual awakenings of two teenagers against the background of powerful church influences. The play was first performed off Broadway in New York City in 2011. The subject matter is such that it will appeal to a diverse audience as it did in the US. Making his directorial debut is Wayne Hendricks, who has gathered together a committed and enthusiastic cast. While the majority of the cast are making their acting debut, the Milnerton Players are known for their professional productions and The Bus is breaking new ground for this well-established society. The Bus stars Timothy Mayers, Darin Graham, Johann van der Merwe, Robynn Bensch, Coleen Tapson and Barry Altwig. Please note that The Bus does contain strong language and deals with mature themes. Pictured are Darin Graham and Timothy Mayers.

Unscrupulous enrichment and greed in post-1994 SA

Mike van Graan's Just Business at the Artscape Arena is a scathing satire on the unscrupulous enrichment and greed in post-1994 South Africa. First staged as Hostile Takeover at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 2006, the production has been reworked, updated and renamed as Just Business, and promises to be even more provocative, uncompromising and funny. It is now playing.

Neil Simon's The Odd Couple opens at the Masque Theatre in Muizenberg on 20 July and features the female version. Not Oscar but Olive, not Felix but Florence, are the wildly incompatible pair.

Capetonians can also see the rising stars of tomorrow. UCT is proud to host student work that represented Cape Town at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. Fresh From The Fest is on from 23 July and features work from the University of Cape Town, City Varsity, AFDA, the University of Stellenbosch, the Waterfront Theatre School and the University of the Western Cape. Included in Fresh From The Fest are The Homeless Orchestra, in which an orchestra comes together, the conductor arrives, they open their cases and the instruments aren't there. How can the concert go on?

Indifferent gods

Faces Of Betrayal is a poignant, new, workshopped play that explores the lives of young people living in Cape Town through a series of events involving moments of betrayal. Reclaiming Body - Reclaiming Self deals with the multiple struggles that young black women are facing in the post-1994 South Africa. Animals is a re-education camp for myths depicting victims of a brutal system ruled by indifferent gods as they struggle to find meaning and identity in their stories of abuse. Here Lies The Last Broken Heart explores what happens when a relationship goes wrong, and what happens to the fragments left behind; and Tweet - the Musical explores cyber-connection versus real connection and seeks to find the balance!

If you are in Joburg, Red at the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square in Sandton is a compelling and moving account of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, whose struggle to accept his growing riches and praise become his ultimate undoing. The audience is witness not only to his passionate and challenging discussion of making art, but also to its actual making: the action of stretching and priming canvasses, and the hugely visceral thrill of painting itself.

Convent girls

In Durban, The Convent Girls returns for another season at the Rhumbelow Theatre, saucier and sassier than ever, with new stories and new songs, but with the same brand of humour and irreverence. Cabaret stars Lisa Bobbert and Tonya Koenderman have been friends since their school days at Rosebank convent. Convent Girls is a tribute to those 30 years, The ups and downs they have shared, but, most importantly, their convent years, which made them what they are today (God help us). Thus proving the adage: "You know what they say about Convent Girls ... "

And the PE Gilbert & Sullivan Society takes great pride in bringing Ian von Memerty's hauntingly beautiful musical adaptation of Dalene Matthee's classic tale Fiela's Child back to the PE stage due to popular demand. Robin Williams directs a cast of PE's finest, starring Centrestage dynamo Donna Africa reprising the role of Fiela with a supporting cast that includes Kelly-Leigh Mucka, Neil Leachman, Herbie Clayton, Jason Humm, James van der Merwe and Kasvia von Memerty.

For more information on these shows, go to www.writingstudio.co.za