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Published by tasch, 2018-03-28 10:00:00

Khuluma April 2018

Khuluma_April_2018_hyperlinked

Keywords: Khuluma,Khuluma magazine,Kulula

take me home please April 2018

PICASSO HEADLINE All Africa

with Basketmouth

FOR THE MENU see pages 4 & 5

75



THE MILLENNIUM® DIAMOND RING

A South African icon



VIEW

the topFROM

B ureaucracy is both the motivator and disabler for innovation. An office for the
registration of patents and the protection of intellectual property makes it
financially appealing to be an inventor and think up such marvels as the selfie
stick or dog boots. But if the Wright brothers or Henry Ford or Edison had to comply
with the Occupational Health and Safety Act we would still be riding donkeys by candle
light, albeit mounted on a selfie stick.

Africa’s mix of enablers and disablers promotes backward innovation but does
not support the commercialisation thereof. So we are left with the Great Rift
Vallew instead of Silicon Vallew, and Old Spice Musk instead of Elon. However,
necessitw remains the mother of invention, and so we remain experts at fixing
technologw long after the ‘throw awaw’ societies would have recwcled it for skull
caps to keep out the alien microwaves. Fortunatelw, we are also far enough awaw
from those societies not to be told what is impossible.

A few years ago Comair completely refurbished a retired flight simulator, and then
we also lifted a retired Boeing 737 across the highway and re-wired it to become a fully
immersive emergency training facility. We have recently acquired EPT cabin
crew training academy, and with eight flight simulators will soon be the
largest aviation crew training facility in Africa. Our 32 international airline
clients will attest to the fact that commercialisation of innovation is still
quite possible in Africa.

Now if we could just transport water to the Western Cape.
I heard a rumour that the Romans had it figured out.

Erik Venter, CEO: Comair Ltd

kulula.com APRIL 2018 3









Contents 70
APRIL 2018

47

80
16

29

3 VIEW FROM THE TOP 29 NOT YOUR AVERAGE WESTERN Explore
Our CEO on where Africa’s innovation Five Fingers for Marseilles is no ordinary
edge lies. cowboy movie. 55 CITY SLICKER: NAIROBI
Compelling reasons to visit East Africa’s
16 MR BRIGHT SPARK 36 WEDDING DAZE cosmopolitan capital.
Our cover star may be Nigeria’s There’s a big fat Zulu wedding hitting
biggest comedian but he almost landed the silver screen right now. 63 WEST AFRICA’S
up in the music industry. RESTLESS GIANT
39 THE TRICKSTER We asked Basketmouth to tell us what
Experience COMES TO AFRICA the Lagos buzz is all about.
Go backstage with the
23 TRIPWORTHY magician they 70 THE WILDEST PLACE
A short cross-border hop and you could call Dynamo. ON EARTH?
be living it up at Africa’s finest festival. Craig Hayman takes us deep into the
47 SLUMBERLAND heart and soul of Gabon’s jungle.
25 ON OUR RADAR Amazing sleeping quarters
There are many great reasons to get from Mauritius to Ethiopia. 80 ISLAND IN THE STREAM
out and about this month. Slip into a Robinson Crusoe reverie at
88 this new lodge on the Zambezi River.

8 APRIL 2018 kulula.com



104

88 IN THE KITCHEN FROM

CAPE TO CAIRO

Love food? Then it’s time to taste Africa. 96

96 CLOSER

We peek inside the pages of wildlife photographer

Hannes Locher’s latest book, Planet Okavango.

104 MEET ME IN MOROCCO 121
Dawn Bradnick puts pedal to the
metal in Africa’s exotic far-north.

113 SPARE WHEEL NOT INCLUDED
Get geared up for a thrilling rally
through six African countries.

Discover

121 THE GOOD ROAST
In the search for fairly-traded
coffee, a little effort makes
a big difference.

127 CONNECT & COLLECT

Everything from books to diamonds,
plus designer threads and experts
on home décor.

129 INVESTING IN AFRICA
Put your money into the
continent’s tangible investments.

135 COMFORT CREATURE

Alpacas aren’t from Africa, but

they are adorable.

129

10 APRIL 2018 kulula.com



EDITORIAL
Edipor Keith Bain
Conpenp Manager Raina Julies – [email protected]
Conpenp Co-ordinapor Vanessa Payne
Copy Edipor Stuart Lewis

ART
Head of Design Spudio Jayne Macé-Ferguson
Senior Designers Anja Hagenbuch, Mfundo Archie Ndzo

Adverp Designer Nichole Liedeman
Producpion Edipor Shamiela Brenner
Cover Phopographer Anuel Modebe
Advanced Repouching Sven Kristian

SALES
Projecp Manager Richard White
khlassifieds Projecp Manager Steve Norval
Sales Consulpanps Stezhen Crawford, Bonnie Eksteen,
Randall Grace, Nikita Moore, Gavin Payne, Marc Plastow,
Andre Potgieter, Clint Smith, Zelda Stein
Adverpising Co-ordinapor Vanessa Payne

MANAGEMENT
Business Manager Lodewyk van der Walt – [email protected]

Senior Bookkeeper Deidre Musha
General Manager, Magazines Jocelyne Bayer

KULULA.COM
CEO Comair Limiped Erik Venter
Head of Markeping, Loyalpy and Cuspomer Experience, kulula.com Shaun Pozyn
Markeping Manager, kulula.com Bridgette Ramuluvhana
Brand Communicapions Manager, kulula.com Luane Lavery

COMAIR LIMITED
1 Marignane Drive, Bonaero Park, Kemzton Park, 1619
Tel: 011 921 0111 | kulula.com contact centre: 0861 KULULA (585852)

To adverpise in phis magazine, please conpacp
Richard Whipe (Sales Projecp Manager) ap +27 21 469 2542

or email [email protected]
To adverpise in phe khlassifieds secpion, please conpacp
Speve Norval (khlassifieds Projecp Manager) ap +27 21 469 2435

or email [email protected]

Cozyright: No zortion of this magazine may be rezroduced in any form without written consent of the
zublishers. The zublishers are not reszonsible for unsolicited material. khuluma is zublished monthly by
Picasso Headline Reg: 59/01754/07. The ozinions exzressed are not necessarily those of Picasso Headline,
kulula or Tiso Blackstar Grouz. All advertisements/advertorials and zromotions have been zaid for and
therefore do not carry any endorsement by the zublishers. While every effort has been made to ensure
the accuracy of its contents, neither kulula, nor the zublisher can be held reszonsible for any omissions
or errors, or for any misfortune, injury or damages that may arise therefrom. We reserve the right to edit

interviews for layout zurzoses.







MEET NIGERIA’S BRIGHTEST COMEDIAN

sparkMR BRIGHT at other people – not themselves. So
they will laugh hard if the joke is on me.
As long as I talk about my personal
experience, they’ll laugh with me and
at me. But the moment you make jokes
that suggest anything negative about
their tribe, their religion, and especially
their political stance, they will come at
you – 100 per cent. So when I perform

G rowing up, I knew nothing about more than 30 years old in Nigeria, and it’s in Nigeria, I have to be diplomatic. Interview: Keith Bain, Pictures: Natali Zakharova/shutterstock.com, Oleh Markov/shutterstock.com, Supplied
comedy, not even that stand-up still quite fragile. Nigerians love to laugh, Perhaps one stereotype about us that
comedy existed. I was just a for sure, but while you are in the process
I can get away with talking about is the
fact that we love money. We believe that
money can buy anything, and we can
use money to get whatever we want.

funny kid, and all my friends of making them laugh hard, you have to That’s the view any typical Nigerian man

were funny. I grew up assuming everyone be extremely careful because they’re has. And it is a stereotype that everyone

was funny. It was only when somebody very sensitive. There’s no going below knows about Nigerians. And we’re unlikely

introduced me to Eddie Murphy’s Delirious the belt or trampling on people’s feelings. to dispute it, because it’s a driving force

that I realised you could make a career You have to stay away from politics and in our culture and we don’t see it as

out of getting people to laugh. That was religion, and respect family values. something negative. It’s the reason we

24 years ago and, at that stage becoming I’ve learnt a few things, though. Such work so hard – because we want to be

a stand-up comedian didn’t seem like an as the fact that Nigerians like to laugh able to provide for our families.

option in Nigeria.

I was also into music. I used to play

drums and keyboard for my church and ABOUT BASKETMOUTH
did gigs at school. I started making my
own beats, and rap music evolved out of Bright Okpocha, aka Basketmouth, is Nigeria’s biggest stand-up comedian. Last year,
that. As a university student, I was in a he was the first ever Savanna Pan-African Comic of the Year at the annual Comics’
hardcore rap group. It wasn’t everyone’s Choice Awards. He’s about to commence the Africa leg of his ‘Son of Peter’ tour with
cup of tea, though, and one day we plans to visit Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra
performed for an audience that really Leone, and Joburg, Cape Town and Durban. He heads to the United States in July
didn’t get us – they booed us off stage and for an eight-city tour, and will culminate at the Lagos Comedy Festival at the end
that brought my music career to an end of September. Basketmouth is also executive producer and head writer of the DStv/
and I decided to pursue comedy full time. Africa Magic sitcom, My Flatmates, in which he also stars – the show’s second season
of 260 episodes is currently being shot. basketmouth.tv
Professional stand-up comedy is no

16 APRIL 2018 kulula.com



GIVEAWAYS COMPETITIONS Win a free Airbnb weekend

Win and save water! Moyair Compressed Air Solutions, manufacturers of Jaguar Air
Compressors, is giving away one Airbnb stay anywhere in South
A high-pressure cleaner can help Africa to the value of R5 000. For
you save time – and water. Home the chance of claiming your weekend
cleaning appliance manufacturer, accommodation, go to khulumaonline.
Ka.. rcher, is giving away one K3 co.za and hit the competitions tab.
Full Control high-pressure cleaner
worth R2 699. These state-of-the-art cleaners are ideal for Win a Miniature Fairy Hamper
use around the home as well as in the garden – and they
are proven to save up to 80 per cent of the water expended Want to build your own enchanting miniature fairy garden? Win a
by using an ordinary garden hose. Visit karcher.co.za for marvellous Miniature Fairies starter-kit worth R650 from Stoneage
more details about the cleaner, and go to khulumaonline. Home and let your creativity run wild. Stoneage is the country's
co.za to stand a chance of winning one. largest stockist of miniature fairy garden products and you can

check out their full range of
fairies, fantasy creatures
and fairyland accessories
at miniaturefairies.co.za. To
win your starter-kit, go to
khulumaonline.co.za and hit
the competitions tab.

FREE STUFF

Win Decorex tickets

Decorex Cape Town is an annual exposition of the latest design trends
and is always overflowing with creative ideas for the home. Now in its 20th
year, and sponsored by Kansai Plascon, it's happening at the Cape Town
International Convention Centre from 27 April until 1 May. We have five
double tickets to give away. Winners will be able to attend on any day of
their preference and will conveniently be able to collect their tickets at the
entrance. To enter, visit khulumaonline.co.za and hit the competitions tab.

Cape Town Comedy Club
tickets up for grabs

khuluma readers stand a chance of winning a set of four
tickets for a night of laughter at the V&A Waterfront's
Cape Town Comedy Club which is ranked among the
world's Top 10 comedy venues. Tickets are up for grabs
to see the mix of local and international acts on Thursday,
26 April – on the bill are Mona Aburmishan from the USA
and Long John Comedian from Zimbabwe, plus Cape
Town comedians Tracy Klass and Irshaad Mohammed.
Doors open at 6pm on the night and the show starts
at 8.30pm. Go to khulumaonline.co.za and hit the
competitions tab for a shot at those free tickets.

pictures: xxxxxxx



LUXURY YOU CAN AFFORD

Protea Hotels by Marriott® is the largest
hospitality brand in Africa with over

100 hotels across eight countries and growing.
From charming countryside properties to

sleek high rise business hotels in city centers,
you will find a Protea Hotel in all the right
locations. Each hotel is uniquely designed
with its own personality, providing guests
an opportunity to get a taste of the local
flavour in a truly authentic way.
Protea Hotels offers updated facilities,
a unique service culture and consistent
amenities to ensure a comfortable, relaxed
and successful stay.

Dear kulula.com customers: check in now
closes 45 minutes ahead of your flight!

Choose your favourite Protea Hotel by
Marriot® or Tsogo Sun Hotel and let kulula
book your room. Now that’s luxury you
can afford.

Join Avios, link it to your kulula ID profile
and collect three Avios for every R10
spent on kulula flights. To register, visit
kulula.com.

Got some eBucks? Pay or part-pay for your
next kulula flight using your eBucks.

@iflykulula kulula.com
@kulula kulula.com
@iflykulula

GET SOCIAL

Follow us on Instagram and
share your #kulula selfies with us!
@iflykulula

kulula.com APRIL 2018 21



getSWAZILAND’S GOLDEN MOMENT EXPERIENCE

TRIPWORTHY

out & abou
Words: Keith Bain, Picture: Supplied
Swazi gold Swiss accordion-playing phenomenon
tMario Batkovic, Mozambique’s Timbila
A few hour’s drive from Joburg and you Muzimba and Kapa Dech, Argentine
enter a kingdom laced with steeply- multi-instrumentalist Manu Sija,
rising mountains, volcanic hills and Réunion-based punk-rebel Nathalie
ancient rock formations, plunging Natiembé, Japan’s Oki Dub Ainu
green valleys and majestic waterfalls. Band, The Grammers from Finland
Here, not far from Swaziland’s capital, and top Swaziland percussionist
House of Fire is a beautiful cultural Tlale Makhene. Plus, from South
venue renowned for hosting Bushfire, Africa, Nakhane Touré, Nonku Phiri,
one of Africa’s most extraordinary Georgetown, Sibusile Xaba, Alice
festivals. Now in its 12th year, the Phoebe Lou, Samthing Soweto, and
gathering convenes a diverse line-up Durban’s world-conquering gqom
centred on world music and enriched pioneer DJ Lag. Aside from music,
by an incredible 25 000-strong crowd there’s a rich programme of arts and
and truly global outlook. This year’s creative entertainments, with plenty
music acts include Austrian avant- of activities for children to enjoy, too.
garde jazz-funk-groove supergroup 5k- 25–27 May, bush-fire.com
HD, French reggae outfit Dub Inc, Cape
Verde protest singer Elida Almeida,

kulula.com APRIL 2018 23



SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE EXPERIENCE

Get out & aboutON OUR RADAR

1 They say Africa isn’t for sissies, and Shipwreck Lodge is due to open on 1 June 1 4
neither are our obstacle courses. The – it’s designed around the relics of wrecked 2
Toyota #Warrior4 powered by Reebok is vessels dotted along Namibia’s Skeleton 3
an opportunity to push yourself towards the Coast, a raw, rugged seaside wilderness
extremes of physical endurance, or simply defined by soaring sand dunes and empty 5
get muddy, dirty and sweaty as you plod wind-swept expanses. 6
along one of the easier courses. Bilton naturalfelection.travel
Winef, Stellenbofch, 14 and 15 April, 7
warrior.co.za 5 In case your children have any
doubts as to the authenticity of The
2 Pictured here is The Brother Moves On, Powerpuff Girlf, Ben 10 or The
an electrifying band that blends music and Amazing World of Gumball, then get
performance art to create mind-bending ready to blow their minds when
shows. They’re part of the line-up for the Cartoon Network Live!, an interactive
Cape Town launch of Garden State, a stage show featuring characters from the
brand new festival that’s set to take the TV channel, lands in SA for the winter
Garden Route by storm later this year. school holidays. The mayhem unfolds at
There are just 300 tickets and performers Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town, 26
include Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio), June–1 July, and at Montecasino, Joburg,
Laura Burhenn (of The Mynabirds), Dave 3–15 July. bigconcertf.co.za
Depper (of Death Cab for Cutie), plus plenty
of radically ‘out there’ South African acts. 6 To coincide with the release of their
Centre for the Book, 7 April, gardenftate.live fifth studio album, Freedom Child, Irish
supergroup The Script is returning to
3 Starting on Freedom Day at South Africa for the third time next month.
Sandringham near Stellenbosch, the South They will be performing in at Grand Arena,
African Cheese Festival is said to be the GrandWest, Cape Town, on 2 May, and at
continent’s biggest outdoor culinary event. Tshwane’s Sun Arena at Time Square on 4
You’ll find a dizzying range of cheeses and May. bigconcertf.co.za
dairy products, plus food demos, and
artisanal produce. Tickets are only available 7 Best known for his appearances
in advance. 27–29 April, cheefefeftival.co.za alongside Chester Missing, the
continent’s favourite dummy,
4 On page 47, you can take a look at five Conrad Koch will be showcasing
beautiful places to stay in spectacular a range of less politically-
locations across Africa. Here’s another: inclined puppet characters,
remarkably unique and incredibly remote, including a dancing ostrich

kulula.com APRIL 2018 25

EXPERIENCE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

8 9 and a DJ named Hoodie. Puppet Guy ‘Under the Boardwalk’ and ‘Kissin’ in the
plays at the Baxter, Cape Town, from 3 to Back Row of the Movies’. Grand Arena,
10 11 14 April (webtickets.co.za), and at the GrandWest, 12 May, computicket.com Words: Keith Bain, Pictures: Sarah Isaacs, Johan Persson, Jina Min Photography, Nicol Vizioli, Supplied
12 14 Studio Theatre, Montecasino, Joburg, from
13 25 April to 27 May (computicket.com). 12 The Rudimentals are headlining at
Cape Town’s first ever ADM Fe3t. If you’re
8 Set in Seville, Spain, Carmen is wondering what the hell ADM is, you’re
choreographer Veronica Paeper’s probably not alone. Apparently ‘Acoustic
exhilarating ballet involving a blisteringly Dance Music’ is the answer to the prayers of
people who love to dance but prefer their
hot romance that turns to tragedy and beats meted out by live musicians (as
bloodshed. The production, an old opposed to live DJs). If you want to stomp
favourite, is being revived by Joburg to the unmediated sounds generated by the
Ballet and accompanied by the likes of Nomadic Orchestra, Crimson House,
relaunched Johannesburg Trenton & Free Radical, The Steezies, and
Philharmonic Orchestra. 6–15 April, the Black & Whites, make your way to
Hillcrest Quarry on 14 April – the music
webtickets.co.za, joburgballet.com start at 2pm. admfest.info

9 To those who’ve heard Skye Edwards’s 13 Most recently seen as a horse-
silky smooth vocals, Morcheeba needs no whispering cowboy in the smouldering
introduction. Along with Ross Godfrey’s Netflix series, Godless, Jack O’Connell
psychedelic guitar rhythms, Edwards’s voice has had tongues wagging in London
has been soothing the airwaves since 1995. thanks to his nude shower scene (and
Hear for yourself at Kirstenbosch Gardens, intoxicating performance) in the National
Cape Town, on 6 April. wearelive.events Theatre’s production of Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof. The Tennessee Williams play
10 As part of his Final Journey World Tour, co-stars Sienna Miller and is part of
Johnny Clegg will return to Zimbabwe – April’s line-up of filmed theatre, opera
the country where he spent seven years of and ballet productions being screened at
childhood – to perform for the first time in the Fugard Bioscope. You can see
over a decade. It’s a once-off concert in O’Connell showering (and acting) on 29
Harare, at RainTree, Umwinsidale. 4 May, April. Also on the bill is the Royal Ballet’s
wearelive.nutickets.co.za A Winter’s Tale on 8 April, the Young Vic’s
Yerma on 15 April, and The Royal Ballet’s
11 South African singers Emo Bernstein Centenary on 22 April. All
Adams and Regina Nur screenings start at 11am. thefugard.com
Abrahams will accompany
the legendarily long-standing 14 Chef Mogau Seshoene, aka The Lazy
American doo-wop, soul and Makoti, is widely considered the queen of
African cuisine. She’ll be presenting an
R&B quartet, The Drifter3 interactive cooking show, as well as an MCC
during their one-night concert in masterclass, at Tshwane’s annual Wine.
Cape Town next month. The Art.Food Fe3tival which happens at
Freedom park on 5 May. waff.co.za
group has been going since the
1950s and has been
responsible for more than a

dozen chart hits, including

26 APRIL 2018 kulula.com





A NEW FRONTIER EXPERIENCE

NOT YOUR AVERAGE

western

They don’t make ’em like this in Hollywood. Nor anywhere else in
the world for that matter. Five Fingers for Marseilles is a full-blown
modern-day Western set in the Eastern Cape, close to the Lesotho
border. It’s a first for South Africa, a slow-burn Sesotho language
film that’s visually bold, steeped in rugged landscapes, and packed

with tantalising characters. Plus it has some seriously kick-ass
performances. Most noticeably, there’s Vuyo Dabula (Generations:

The Legacy) as Tau, the tough hero troubled by his past, and
Hamilton Dlamini (Umlilo) as The Ghost, a villain so original and

terrifying he’ll haunt you long after you leave the cinema.
After a year touring international film festivals, it finally releases

in local cinemas on 6 April – see it, and it may be the best two
hours you’ll spend in front of a screen this year. We asked the
film’s director, Michael Matthews, to tell us what it took to
get the film made – and why Five Fingers is perhaps a prototype

for a new type of South African movie.

kulula.com APRIL 2018 29

EXPERIENCE A NEW FRONTwER

The western genre rang true
visually because of the vastness
of the Eastern Cape landscapes

W e shot this film in October would allow us to create a cinematic world
2016, but it all started many that’s a slight step away from reality.
years before that. Sean
Drummond and w have been working We came up with skeleton ideas of
together for ten years – he writes and w what the story could be, but we also
direct. We were doing quite a few road wanted to find the right town to shoot
trips for other projects, and noticed in. We put some money together and hit
a lot of small nowhere towns where the road for a month and drove 8 000 km
the balance of power had shifted since searching for a town where we thought we
apartheid. We saw these small, rural could base ourselves and write the movie.
colonial towns – places with borrowed We traversed the back roads, avoided the
names like Barcelona and Rome and Paris main cities, and we found Lady Grey. We
and Marseilles – that have transitioned stayed there two weeks, chatted with
into something new. While the townships community leaders and the mayor, and
attached to these town had grown, the
main part of town had gone into decline,
and people who’d grown up in the
townships were now in charge.
And, just as you’d find in any new
frontier, there are teething
processes. wt dawned on us that
the Western genre rang true visually
because of the vastness of the
landscapes. And the Western

30 APRIL 2018 kulula.com





A NEW FRONTIER EXPERIENCE

said we’d like to make a film ib their towb. Vuyo Dabula has
The towb was really ibvitibg, there was a real star quality -
sebse of wabtibg to get ibvolved. he could stand
there and be
With the help of the commubity we watchable even
built up the world of the movie from without doing much
locatiobs withib 10 to 15 mibutes of Lady
Grey. We thought we’d just write the SHOOTING HELL look amazibg ob screeb, but we didb’t
script, bribg a small crew abd come abd abticipate sbow abd hail abd raib. It’s bot
shoot it – abd that we wouldb’t beed too The whole productiob was actually supposed to raib at the time of
much mobey. Theb it took seveb years to really difficult. This was our year we shot, but it raibed abd hailed for
actually get it made. first feature film abd we webt ib a week of our total shoot, abd we got
overly ambitious, overestimatibg what sbowed out a couple of times, where we
Keepibg it mostly ib Sesotho abd usibg we thought we could pull off. We had five couldb’t get to our locatiobs.
ab all-local cast while tryibg to raise the weeks to shoot – for a movie of this scale,
budget was really hard. There were times with this maby characters, it was pretty Beibg out there ib the wibd abd the
wheb we could have gotteb the mobey ambitious. The bearest hub for equipmebt cold, with people bot havibg slept
if we’d made it 70 per cebt Ebglish or if abd crew was Jo’burg – abd that was
we’d brought ib a couple of B-grade black seveb hours away. Abythibg – or abyobe – abd beibg ubcomfortable might
Americab actors. But we decided that that beeded to come to us, took a day have beeb a good thibg, though.
compromisibg wasb’t worth it. The worst to arrive. Whether it was obe persob
thibg, we thought, would be to spebd five comibg to do a stubt or a piece of
years tryibg to make this film abd theb equipmebt we beeded for a few days, it
cribge afterwards. was logistically taxibg.

You see sbow ob the moubtaibs ib
some of the shots abd that’s the reality
of it. Some of us were equipped
for the cold, abd some wereb’t.
We kbew it would be cold abd
dry, which we thought would

kulula.com APRIL 2018 33

EXPERIENCE A NEW FRONTIER

We knew it would be cold and
dry, but we didn’t anticipate
snow and hail and rain

All of that stuff adds a texture and a finish the movie. So we shot in the rain we picked him, he’s become really Interview: Keith Bain, Pictures: dashadima/shutterstock.com, Supplied
layering of reality. If we were shooting and we had guys running around shooting famous as Gaddafi on TV’s Generations:
in a studio in Joburg or Cape Town, and live blanks and it got really messy – it was
everyone had been taking 15-minute just such a tough day. I remember that day e Legacy. He’s also been listed as SA’s
cappuccino breaks and sitting on the because it was our last, but that’s pretty sexiest guy more than once. When we
side of a warm set, it would have had a much how it went most days. cast him, he wasn’t in that celebrity
different energy. space at all, but now a lot of people will
FINDING TAU hopefully go out and see the movie just
The last day of shoot was probably the for him.
most difficult. We’d left the final action We cast Vuyo about four or five years
sequence for the last three days, but before we made the movie. He just had ey’re in for a treat, because Vuyo
because there’d been so many hiccups, a screen presence and an energy – he pushed himself so far emotionally.
we still had to shoot most of our action could stand there and be very watchable, I remember, quite early on, I was
on the last day. We knew we couldn’t and he had a weight and a charisma sitting behind the monitor watching
shoot everything, so I hardly slept the even without having to do much. And him with tears rolling down my face
night before. I was so rattled, I forgot to that was what we were looking for with
put the handbrake on my car and it rolled Tau. He had real star quality. We went while he was going through the
down the hill, and almost went into the with our instincts and decided ‘that’s emotions. at was really
houses below. Then, a couple of hours into the guy’. e one note was that he rewarding – it made me
shooting, a huge storm rolled over and it was maybe a little bit young, but feel like I was making
started hailing with rain and we all had fortunately it took us another a real movie.
to go under cover, and we were all just four or five years to make the
standing there, watching hours of the day movie, and so he was closer
disappear without being able to shoot. We to 40, which gave
him a little bit more
had all our stunts and wear and tear.
all our armoury guys Interestingly, since
and all the actors waiting for the
final shootout, and we knew we would
have to just shoot the thing or we wouldn’t

34 APRIL 2018 kulula.com



EXPERIENCE A BIG FAT ZULU WEDDING

dazeWEDDING Director Lineo Sekeleoane
tells us about her latest
dream project, Zulu Wedding,
a romantic comedy that is
absolutely, categorically
not My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

We wanted to look at what happens with crazy dads from the mountains of Dladla doing a traditional Zulu dance will

– and what hilarity can unfold – Mohale’s Hoek in Lesotho. make your heart stop, and Darrin Dewitt-

when modernity and traditional One thing I’ve learnt in the film Henson is everyone’s

cultural systems collide. I wrote industry- Work only with people you like MCE (Man Crush

the story and approached Julie Hall and people who like you. That rule makes Everyday). Carl Payne

to write the screenplay because of everything so much easier. I will never is both funny and hot,

her sense of humour, her timing, work with someone I don’t like; it doesn’t which is incredible because

her openness and willingness matter how talented the person, if you (no offence to my comedian

to have fun with everything that don’t like him or her, it sucks the joy out friends) generally comedians

she does. Julie doesn’t judge the of you. This is such a hard industry to are never good-looking – so

ridiculous; she’s quite quirky which work in and you need that joy to get you Carl wins on both ends. Also,

makes her a great collaborator. through each day. It is a great privilege to let’s not forget the women in

We wrote characters that do what you love and you need to protect movie – they are drop-dead

are true to us; we put them in an that love. gorgeous! You are going to fall

imaginary world and used them tell It’s a tough thing to make a movie, but in love over and over again.

a story that is bound to resonate with at the thing is to never give up; every film Typically, what I find funny

least one person in our audience. Some has its quirks but give it the time that it are the weird and quirky

of what’s in this movie will be crazy and needs and eventually things always fall things happening in the background that

stupid and possibly only make sense to into place. ‘Independent’ inevitably means nobody else notices. Like the unseen

three people in the universe. I think for us there are a few challenge. They are: ‘gangster birds’ in a scene where Tex Interview Keith Bain, Pictures: Ola-ola/shutterstock.com, Supplied

the secret was to stay true to ourselves, Money, money, and money. And did I say has been exiled to the outside toilet. We

not judge our ideas, and believe in our money? That too! had these freaking off-screen birds that

ideas and their originality even though We have some serious man-candy in started mimicking the Basotho 10, saying

it’s been proven over and over that this film. Yum, yum, yum! Pallance ‘Nka!’ in the background. It’s hilarious.

there’s nothing new under the sun. And look out for Bubu Mazibuko drinking

We have some hilarious from a decanter in the corner during the

characters. Like ‘The Basotho Zulu otherwise very emotional lobola scene.
10’ who never speak, but only Wedding is a topsy- On-set calamity? I could tell you, but
exclaim ‘Nka!’ whenever their turvy romantic-comedy I’d have to kill you. Let’s just say we had
leader, Uncle Phineas (played by that turns the usual marriage-
Jerry Phele), disses someone. gone-bonkers theme on its head. It a donkey, an elephant, a goat named
This is an inside joke between my stars Nondumiso Tembe (most recently Gemma, and two horses on a beach.
sister-in-law and I and possibly seen burning up the stage in the musical We also have a signed non-disclosure
other Basotho people who grew up King Kong) and Pallance Dladla (who plays document. What happens on set, stays
hunky Jabulani Zungu in isiBaya), plus on set.
many more swoon-worthy actors. The
film opens in cinemas nationwide on
20 April. zuluweddingmovie.com,

sterkinekor.com

36 APRIL 2018 kulula.com





BACKSTAGE WITH THE MAGIC MAN EXPERIENCE

THE TRICKSTER

AfricaCOMESTO
He’s been hailedcasconecofcthecgreatestcmagicianscinc
thecworld,candcwhilechisclarge-scalecstuntscarecgoodcforc
headlines,cDynamociscevencbettercincpersonc–cascyou’llc
discovercwhenchecbringschiscworld-travellingcstagec
showctocSouthcAfricacnextcmonth

Interview: Keith Bain, Pictures: Supplied While performing in New York in up ij quite a deprived area. My mum had
2002, some guy stood up ajd said ‘This me whej she was really youjg ajd my
kid’s a dyjamo’. I was just ‘Stevej the father was ij jail. Thijgs werej’t good.
Magiciaj’ back thej, but for the rest of In the beginning, I used magic to
the week the people were callijg me scare off the bullies at school. I did
the ‘Dyjamo Kid’ ajd as I got older the this creepy trick that looks like I’m
Dyjamo jame stuck. bejdijg my ejtire fijger. I’d tell them I
My grandpa introduced me to magic – felt jo paij ajd they couldj’t hurt me
he had these crazy skills. The first trick ajd it would freak them ajd they’d ruj
he ever did for me blew my mijd. He took away. Those jasty kids spread rumours
a matchbox ajd opejed it to show me that I was some sort of crazy demoj
that it was full of matches. He closed it child. Everyoje left me aloje after that.
ajd shook it so I could hear the matches I dropped out of college after a year
rattlijg ijside. Thej he put the box oj
my hajd ajd sjapped his fijgers. Whej to pursue magic because I’d built up
I opejed the box, the matches had a bit of a cult followijg ij my area
disappeared. I became obsessed. ajd I was gettijg booked to
I grew up in Bradford, a small perform ij all the bars ajd
city in Yorkshire. Whej I was the workijg mej’s clubs ajd
growijg up it experiejced the jightclubs. I was kept busy.
biggest race riots ij British It’s been 18 years of
history. I wejt to quite a hard work and slow
racist school, ajd I stood progression. I started
out a bit because of my goijg to Lojdoj whej I
mixed heritage. I grew was 15 to busk ij
Covejt Gardej.

kulula.com APRILc2018 39

EXPERIENCE BACKSTAGE WITH THE MAGIC MAN

In London I made some connections Steven I felt when
and got some assistance from Prince Frayne became a my grandpa
Charles’s Prince’s Trust. They gave me global sensation thanks to showed
money to buy a laptop and a camcorder. his four-season TV show, Dynamo: me that
I had an idea to make online videos of Magician Impossible. You can catch matchbox
my magic – YouTube had just started. TV Dynamo’s Seeing is Believing live trick. I try to
companies weren’t interested in me – I act at Sun Arena, Time Square, Menlyn look at the
was some 18-year-old kid saying ‘I want Maine, Pretoria, 11–13 May; and at world in a slightly
to walk on water, I want to fly, I want to Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town, innocent way. Obviously I
do this and that, please give me some 18–19 May. There are evening and know what’s real and what’s not, and
money’. They laughed me out the door. afternoon shows, with plenty to there’s a sceptical part of my mind, but
But Prince Charles’s Trust believed enthral adults and children. at the same time I have this imagination
in me and loved my enthusiasm. computicket.com that spends a lot of time pondering ‘what
Without that funding, I would if?’ scenarios.
not be here today. joke but not quite knowing how you want The flashier a trick looks, the more
Designing a trick is a bit like to arrive at it, and you have to come up suspicion it arouses. That’s why I love
having the punchline to a with the story. If I see a special effect in close-up magic – the intimacy makes
a movie, it might spark an idea to try and it more undeniable. It helps if I keep
achieve the same thing – without special things simple.
effects. Then I’ll obsess and spend Some magicians get really wound
months trying to achieve it. up about having their secrets revealed.
Tipsy people in bars often provide I think if someone makes a YouTube
me with crazy ideas. Someone will say video exposing how I do a trick, it means
‘Can you make my husband disappear?’ they’re actually quite interested in
Ridiculous as it sounds, it’ll inspire me. magic. In a way, these things force me
to be more creative. The more creative
My phone-in-a-bottle trick, which is an I get, the more videos seem to appear,
audience favourite, was suggested so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
by a guy in a bar in Bradford. I don’t think that when the secret of
Being a magician is about a mind-blowing trick is revealed it
having a childlike sense becomes any less interesting.
of wonder similar to what

40 APRIL 2018 kulula.com



EXPERIENCE BACKSTAGE WITH THE MAGIC MAN

I don’i do ihmi old school Vegms siuff be something that can be I wms in Lmgos for 24 Interview: Keith Bain, Pictures: Supplied
where they fill the stage with dancing examined – live a phone. And hours once. It was quite
girls and lions and tigers. That’s not my it must be something that an experience – different
style. I walv out there with a microphone everyone recognises. I’ll from anywhere else I’ve
and – live a stand-up comedian – use never bring out one of those ever been. We had an envoy
my surroundings to create magical fancy boxes and tell the audience to of police motorbives and vans
moments with the audience. The whole believe it’s a magical box from Alcazar. accompanying us from the airport into
show relies on audience participation. Audiences aren’t idiots. the city. I was performing at some
Relying on ihe mudience memns ihmi In Soweio, we weni pminikmlling mi ihe sort of presidential dinner, so I was
ihings cmn go wrong. I’ve done about Orlmndo Towers. The winner is whoever well looved after. And the reaction to
150 arena shows so far, and everything gets shot the least and is covered with my show was incredible – the people
that could possibly go wrong has the least amount of paint. I got shot quite went crazy for the magic.
gone wrong. It forces me to improvise. a few times, but was able to
Usually, the audience doesn’t vnow that magically remove the paint.
something’s amiss because I’ll come Technically, I cheated.
up with an alternative solution so the In Khmyeliishm,
audience still sees something magical while food wms
and amazing, just not necessarily what keing prepmred
I’d originally intended. It veeps me over m krmmi, I
on my toes. turned some
Growing up, I hmd m femr of heighis. lumps of coal into
So some of the toughest illusions to precious stones. I
pull off have been things live levitating made a necvlace
above The Shard. Because I was forced for the lady who
to overcome my fear through extreme was looving after
exposure to terrifying height. It was a us. I also made
case of really facing my fears head-on, loads of fish
but I don’t want to do it again. appear that
was cooved
I prefer using everydmy on the
okjecis in my mmgic braai.
iricks. It should

I'll never bring out one of those kulula.com
fancy boxes and tell the audience to
believe it's a magical box from Alcazar

42 APRIL 2018









AWESOME AFRICAN ABODES EXPERIENCE

REST ASSURED

Slumberland
From a translucent
BUBBLE LODGE, tent on an island tea
MAURITIUS estate to an eco-lodge
in the heavenly heights
Your biggest concern may be of northern Ethiopia,
thoughts of being watched from these five beauties
the outside, but – despite being offer matchless
in the middle of a tea estate – sleeping quarters in
there is plenty of privacy. These extraordinary locations
bubble-shaped see-through across the continent
tents are tucked into a forest
at the edge of a natural crater
lake. Made of recyclable PVC
by a Parisian designer, they’re
impressively high tech, reached
via an airlock tunnel that makes
sure they don’t deflate, while
a turbine fan pumps in filtered
air. It means you’re hermetically
sealed in, but you do get a unique
perspective on your surrounds –
down below you witness black
swans and ducks scudding
across the water, while at night
you peer directly up at the night
sky (there’s even an app for
in-bed constellation-gazing).
bubble-lodge.com

kulula.com APRIL 2018 47

Sable Alley is in a 200 000-hectare private
concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve
just northeast of the Okavango Delta

SABLE ALLEY, BOTSWANA

The architect responsible for breathing new life into this recently overhauled
safari lodge in the Khwai Private Reserve is wildlife photographer and former
safari guide Craig Hayman (read about his experiences in the wilds of Gabon
on page 70). He has an incredible eye, an intimate relationship with nature, and
specialist training in sustainable design – all of which has helped him transform
Sable Alley into a light-filled beauty that enjoys an immediate connection with
the enfolding wilderness. There are plenty of areas to laze and keep an eye on
the lagoon it overlooks – the water is packed with hippos and sees regular visits
by thirsty elephant and buffalo. The area is rife with predators, too – leopard,
lion, cheetah and wild dog are regularly seen. These, and dozens more species,
can be enjoyed on bush walks, day and night game drives, mokoro trips along
the waterways, and from viewing hides. naturalfelection.travel

48 APRIL 2018 kulula.com


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