Lobola negotiations are the cornerstone of some South African cultures, and no one grasps this better than Ace Ngubeni, the ultimate lobola negotiator.
Directed by Thabang Moleya, Lobola Man is a brilliantly executed romantic com that stands out with its unique concept. It centres on a character who turns the uncommon role of a Lobola negotiator into a full-fledged career. While being a lobola negotiator is typically a one-time or occasional event in real life, the film creatively imagines it as a recurring career, presenting this imaginative twist with a fun and light-hearted approach.
Given the predictability of the plot, the film still manages to captivate you with its sharp humour and wit. It skilfully embraces classic rom com tropes, like the notorious player finally meeting “the one” and the familiar enemies-to-lovers arc.
This film thoughtfully displays cultural diversity through authentic attire, accurately reflecting each culture’s unique identity. Ngubeni’s sharp intellect shines as he steps into a family home as a “fake” relative, quickly reading the room and using his keen observations to gain valuable insights into the family’s dynamics and strategizes the best way to win them over.
The film’s cinematography perfectly complements the genre, utilizing bright lighting that enhances the vivid, colourful clothing. The soundtrack, featuring lively South African classics like “Faki Mali” by Tumza D’Kota, further energises the narrative. The deliberate use of colour and lighting not only amplifies the atmosphere but captures the essence of city life and young adulthood.
Duke Maseko, portrayed by 31-year-old actor Sandile Mahlangu, is one of the Lobola Man’s more amusing clients. The dynamic between Ngubeni and Maseko adds a layer of humour to the film, as Maseko, unimpressed by his own family, enlists Ngubeni’s help to secure his marriage. Their playful, offbeat relationship brings a fun energy to the story, making their interactions a highlight to the film.
Overall, Lobola Man is a refreshing and entertaining watch. Its vibrant cinematography and engaging performances make it a standard rom com that offers both laughs and heart.
Whether you are familiar with Lobola negotiations or new to the concept, this film delivers with a fun, light-hearted experience that is well worth your time.
Vuvu Rating: 9/10.
FEATURED IMAGE:Netflix SA Lobola Man Meme by Netflix SA on Instagram.
If you think the return of Wolverine in this movie cheapens his well-earned death in Logan, then welcome to comics – nothing is sacred or permanent, not even death.
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Vuvu Rating: 7/10
The Merc with a Mouth’s third instalment is both a love letter to Fox’s X-men franchise and an obituary to the now Disney-owned 20th Century Studios.
Centered around Deadpool attempting to save his timeline from being annihilated, the film gives us an honest, if slightly underdeveloped, look at Ryan Reynold’s’ Deadpool’s view of himself. Someone destined for greatness but unable to reach it without the help of someone he views as greater than himself. Most portrayals of Deadpool often forget the core aspects of the character. The insecurity he masks with humour, and bravado he employs to cover the pain.
Irreverent to an almost masturbatory extent, the film starts right where 2017’s Logan concluded. In classic Deadpool fashion, he speaks directly to the audience while using Wolverine’s decomposed skeleton to decimate oncoming TVA agents to the tune of NSYNC’s BYE BYE BYE. Taking the multiverse shenanigans of post-endgame MCU to the extreme, Deadpool & Wolverine manages to reinvigorate Marvel’s fourth-phase slump, while packing the entire movie with enough fan service to make even the most casual fan salivate.
In 2019, Disney acquired Twentieth Century Fox for a whopping $71 billion and immediately renamed it to 20th Century Studios. This marked the final nail in the coffin for what was once a legendary studio, home to more iconic franchises than Deadpool has Disney-friendly euphemisms for cocaine. Allegedly, the prospect of adding the X-Men to its billion-dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was the main motivation for the purchase. However, it left an important question unanswered: how will Fox’s favourite mutants wrap-up their convoluted (and occasionally disastrous) story?
The film gives Marvel a clean slate to work from, but more than that, helps us wash the salty taste of 2019’s Dark Phoenix from our mouths. With the titular characters travelling to “The Void”, a location for discarded characters accurately described as “a little Mad Max-y”, hilarious dialogue carries us from one gratuitous action scene to the next. Unfortunately, the plot and character work to take a back seat to Director Shawn Levy’s insistence on ever present winks to the audience.
The movie does more than laugh at the decline of Fox (who infamously butchered Deadpool’s first appearance), instead choosing to arrange a worldwide chorus of audience members to roar directly in their face. With a $400 million global box office, it is safe to say it managed to arrange a two-hour contemporary dance on Fox’s grave. But nonetheless, Reynolds’ love of the character can be felt in every drop of blood on-screen.
Deadpool & Wolverine wraps itself up with a montage of bloopers and clips from some of the most iconic scenes in the 22-year history of Fox’s X-men. The movie goes to great lengths to give every character stuck under the Fox umbrella a conclusion worthy of their influence. The modern reincarnations of the characters are given as much respect and presence as their original versions.
With some actors having portrayed these characters for the better part of two decades, Deadpool put a heart-shaped bullet hole into some of my all-time favourite characters. With the intricate web woven ever larger with each MCU release, this movie is a direct lesson. A character may actively desecrate everything you hold dear as a fan. And all you can do is enjoy the ride.
FEATURED IMAGE: Deadpool & Wolverine promotional poster. Photo: Disney
Curtains down for the Joburg Ballet Company’s SCARCITY, a quartet of ballets which explored pressing social issues.
Comprising of four individual ballets that came together as one body of work, Joburg Ballet’s recent season at the Joburg Theatre from March 15-24 responded artistically to the issues of social, political, and environmental scarcity in South Africa.
Four choreographers were involved in the production of SCARCITY. Joburg Ballet’s CEO, Elroy Fillis-Bell, said the quartet aimed to portray the idea of scarcity from an “array of emotional responses in a range of storytelling styles”.
Ballet is a universal artistic form open to individual interpretation, and this is where its strength lies. Neo Moloi, a member of the ‘corps de ballet’, the group of dancers often assisting soloists or principal dancers, likened each of the four ballets to a puzzle piece, and when put together, created a beautiful body of art.
Dancers Bruno Miranda, Tammy Higgins, Chloe Blair and Alice le Roux during a pre-performance class. Photo: Victoria Hill
Ukukhanya Kwenyanga: A Moonlight Waltz, meaning “moonlight” in isiXhosa and isiZulu, by South African Craig Pedro was created to “attract our people [and] show them that classical ballet can have an African name, and that classical ballet can be danced in African attire”. It represented how our nation, when faced with many social issues, “continues to make something out of nothing and dance in the moonlight,” he said.
Jorgé Pérez Martínez created Azul, a ballet that used movement to personify the feelings of being alive and spirited. Dancers described this work as representing inner peace and grace, capturing fluidity and musicality.
This was starkly contrasted by Hannah Ma’s The Void which symbolised the vastness of human souls and highlighting the beauty of human existence and value of life. This evoked raw emotions from audience members, with audible gasps being heard throughout the entire performance, me included.
Salomé by South African Dada Masilo interrogated the kind of desire, power, and passion that destructs. It spoke to the universal issues of lust and greed. The movement in this piece was fast, intricate, and awkward, telling the story of how scarcity of resources in one’s life can lead to a very vulnerable state of living and being.
Dancers Luhle Mtati and Miguel Franco-Green during a centre exercise in class. Photo: Victoria Hill
Josie Ridgeway assisting Savannah Jacobson with her hair in the dressing room before the performance. Photo: Victoria Hill
Fillis-Bell said this is one of the first instances where ballet has been used to communicate in the form of a social movement in post-Apartheid South Africa. Interrogating the discovery and/or loss of one’s identity was at the core of this performance, eliciting transformative thoughts and reactions from all who watched he added.
Tumelo Lekana, a member of Joburg Ballet’s ‘coryphée’, the leading dancers of the ensemble, described ballet as an “edutainment”, where stories told in this classical art-form depict South African contexts and lived experiences.
I have always been a lover of ballet, and being a dancer myself, I have an appreciation for it that will never cease to be. My favourite choreography from the show was hard to choose, but The Void spoke to me on a personal level. The way loss was portrayed on the stage left behind philosophical meanings that life is worth living, even when you think there is no point in struggle and strife. It left me with a sense of hope, and I wish I could play the performance on repeat in my mind’s eye.
SCARCITY showed audiences the variety of emotions that are simultaneously living in many hearts. Joburg Ballet brought these feelings and people together to reflect in the light casted by the social awareness left behind on stage.
Vuvu rating: 8/10
FEATURED IMAGE: Pointe shoes lined up in a principal dancers dressing room ahead of a performance. Photo: Victoria Hill
‘Barbie’ dominates the box office, with millions of tickets sold in its first weekend of release
In a whimsical fantasy comedy film, Barbie’s, writer-director Greta Gerwig humanises the infamous doll by critiquing the unrealistic beauty standards it represented for many young girls around the world.
With the rise of the feminism movement in the 2000s, Mattel Barbie doll’s popularity waned as consumers did not like what the doll stood for: sexism, negative body image, and its lack of diversity.
Bearing these debates in mind, Gerwig’s movie takes a different route, in the film, she takes us through the journey of Barbie, played by actress, Margot Robbie, whose perfect world is tainted after she repeatedly has thoughts about death.
To fix this, she is advised to travel to the real, to meet her owner, who might be the one struggling mentally. She is accompanied by fellow doll Ken, who discovers patriarchy and seeks to implement it in Barbieland.
One particularly pleasing aspect about of the film is how it was able to showcase that women in the real world are still being reduced to their beauty and body; while in Barbieland, they are seen as people, who are celebrated for their intellects
Matriarchy and patriarchy are both put to the test in the film. However, although the film tries to send across a message of women empowerment, it makes it seem as though a world run by women would disregard the role that men play in society. This is in contrast with what feminism stands for, and that is equality for all genders.
In its first weekend of release, the movie made $162 million in North America, while cinemas in Sandton, Montecasino and Clearwater Mall in Roodeproot were filled with eager fans.
Whether you love or hate the seemingly perfect doll, are male or female – we all have something to learn from her. Be it doing some self-introspection or unlearning patriarchal mindsets.
The Barbie movie premiered in cinemas on Friday, July 21, 2023.
Vuvu rating: 8 out of 10
FEATURED IMAGE: Barbie movie poster starring Margot Robbie who plays ‘Barbie’. Photo: www.barbie-themovie.com
The life of Reeva Steenkamp unpacked through intimate testimonials from those closest to her.
My Name Is Reeva is a documentary series about model, Reeva Steenkamp, who was murdered by her then boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius on February 14, 2013, Valentine’s Day of that year.
The documentary looks into the model’s life before and after the murder, through the eyes of her parents, Barry and June Steenkamp. The three-part series first aired on August 25, 2022, on Mnet, and was then later made available on DSTV CatchUP and streaming site, Showmax. The documentary was written by Justin Strydom, produced by David Taylor and directed by Warren Batchelor.
The first episode introduces us to a sad, nostalgic when viewers first meet Steenkamp’s parents, Barry and June Steenkamp. Suspense builds as the pair are introduced to the concept of the victim-offender dialogue, a process where the victim of a crime or surviving family members and the offender of the crime in this case, Pistorius, have an in-person meeting. The hope is that through hearing the perpetrator’s side of the story, the victim or their loved ones may possibly get closure.
The pain is evident in Steenkamp’s eyes even ten years on, to them their daughter’s death is still a fresh and raw wound. Conversations with their lawyer Tania Koen bring back the memory of the night they lost their beloved daughter.
The re-enactment of the scenes of the fateful night when Steenkamp lost her life ground much of the documentary. The excellently cast actors in the re-enacted scenes help provide a glimpse into the possible chain of events that unfolded on that fateful night, according to Calvin Mollett’s (co-author of the book Oscar vs the Truth) running theory.
In the second episode, the documentary turns to factual evidence through crime scene photographs and videos taken by the investigating officer. Other evidence from the scene which is analysed included blood stains, bullet holes on the bathroom door and the damaged furniture.
Verbal testimony from the trial is also dramatised. Pistorius’ neighbours testified that they heard raised voices and a woman’s scream. A chilling reenactment is used to illustrate that testimony in the documentary.
One shocking revelation made in the documentary comes from a painting of a man standing with a gun in hand, and a woman on the stairs going to heaven with wings. Reeva made the painting when she was just 14. Mrs Steenkamp said she thinks her daughter unconsciously knew about her death before it happened, that the painting was a prophecy.
In episode three we get to hear about Oscar’s character through interviews with Reeva’s best friend, Gina Myers, who said Pistorius “…is aggressive and irresponsible with his gun and how he was obsessive towards Reeva.”
The documentary also highlights hidden and tampered evidence, that was not presented in court. Apparently, Pistorius’s brother Carl Pistorius deleted the contents on Pistorius’s cellphone, which included phone calls and messages sent on the night of the murder.
My Name Is Reeva helped to get a sense of who Reeva was, her life journey and how her murder has had a lasting negative impact on her parents. The documentary is a deep dive into gender-based violence and its many manifestations.
Vuvu rating: 8/10
FEATURED IMAGE: My Name Is Reeva Cover. Photo: Keshet International/Supplied
In a compelling Netflix documentary, sexual assault victims face the heartbreaking reality of police accusing and arresting them for ‘false reporting’.
The Netflix Originals documentary, Victims/Suspect follows the journey of journalist Rae de Leon from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Through her investigation, she uncovers a shocking revelation, exposing how sexual assault victims were subjected to intimidation by police during lengthy depositions, ultimately pressuring them into recanting their statements.
The documentary directed and produced by Nancy Schwartzman, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2023, and was released on Netflix on May 23.
Schwartzman’s previous work includes, Roll Red Roll, which dealt with the permissive “bro culture” around the rape cases which took place in 2012 in Steubenville, Ohio.
In Victim/Suspect she was able to craft an enthralling and provocative investigative documentary by tracking De Leon’s investigation and exposing how policing across the US can allow law enforcement to transform sexual assault survivors into criminal suspects.
De Leon utilised police interrogation footage, victim testimonies and interviews with legal experts to gain insight into where the potential flaws within the police system lie.
Beginning with piecing together the victims’ stories of assault, De Leon then compared them with the police’s handling of their cases before they subsequently closed the cases by arresting the victims.
By scrutinising the work of the police De Leon uncovered a recurring pattern, noting that when law enforcement officers had a form of scepticism towards possible sexual assault victims, they would resort to employing suspect interrogation tactics against them. These interrogation tactics included subjecting the accuser to hours of prolonged interrogation and repeatedly asking them questions until they reached the point of just wanting to exit the room. Additionally, police officers would lie to the victims claiming to possess surveillance footage of the location where the incident allegedly occurred.
It seems that the officers’ modus operandi had very little to do with justice and more focused on bringing the victims to a point of submission and having power over them. The reasons could range from police officers trying to protect a prominent local figure to them undermining the women’s recounting of their attacks to shorten the investigative time.
Although this aggressive approach was used on the victims, the alleged attackers were barely interviewed, if at all.
While the documentary is compelling and showcases excellent journalism, it is regrettably presented in a manner that is distracting and challenging to follow. The film is loosely centred around the journalist who had been working on exposing the flaws in the way sexual assault victims and cases were handled by the police for years, but the inclusion of documented evidence at random points in the timeline can cause some confusion.
The voiceover switches between past and present tense regarding the creation of the journalist’s article, yet there are no visual cues to assist viewers in navigating this continuous shifting. Not only did this create an unnecessarily complicated viewing experience, but the jumbled flow of events also took away from the impact some of the footage could have had on the viewer.
At times, the documentary also seems too much like a profile of a fired-up go-getter journalist. Although De Leon’s actions were admirable, placing so much focus on her could arguably have taken the spotlight from some of the victims’ interviews and the footage used as evidence throughout the documentary.
Overall, the documentary is a good and necessary watch. As a student journalist, the documentary taught me the significance of setting aside personal fears to advocate for those who cannot speak up for themselves. One aspect that resonated with me deeply was when De Leon mentioned her own apprehension when confronting individuals by knocking on their doors. However, she recognises that she serves as the voice for those who may be voiceless, and this realisation empowers her to overcome her fears and pursue her mission.
The biggest flaw in the documentary may be the lack of access to the police officers in question as they declined to participate in the film. This leaves the viewer feeling a lack of closure and somewhat enraged knowing that none of the officers were held accountable.
Vuvu rating: 7/10
FEATURED IMAGE: Victim/Suspect, a Netflix Originals documentary. Photo: IMBD
The ensemble put together by producer and trumpeter Mandla Mlangeni took the Great Hall audience through the stages of grieving the failed dream of freedom.
The Amandla Freedom Ensemble led by the Standard Bank young artist for jazz 2019, Mandla Mlangeni, launched their interdisciplinary album Oratorio of a forgotten youth at the Wits Great Hall on Saturday, May 27.
Mlangeni told IOL that the album was the culmination of a production that started in 2019, that sought to tell the story of how far South Africa had come in confronting its past.
The production brought together a collaboration of musical ensembles, with their own distinct sounds, laced with provocative spoken word poetry and a visual artist who used sand to draw intricate images with his hands, live, to the sound of the music. The images changed throughout the production but the most memorable were clenched fists and trees that had African faces instead of leaves. The visual artist, Tawanda MuAfrika also created the album art.
The empty stage was set up as though for a multi-piece orchestra with what initially seemed like too many moving parts. And when the artists walked onto the stage, it was difficult to know where to focus one’s attention. To the right, poet Lesego Rampolokeng sat at a desk with his anthology in front of him, a string quartet and a nine-piece choir behind him.
Jazz pianist Yonela Mnana set up with afro-jazz group A Brother Moves On and visual artist MuAfrika on either side of him. MuAfrika’s sand art was being projected on a screen at the back of the stage. Right at the front was the Amandla Freedom Ensemble with Mandla Mlangeni poised like a conductor with his back to the audience.
Producer Mandla Mlangeni leads a large musical production, fusing poetry, jazz, choral and orchestral music. Photo: Morongoa Masebe
The Great Hall was half full with a mix of students and non-students, with the audience appearing as if they were in the creative industry by the colourful ways that they were dressed.
Katleho Hubi, a third-year bachelor of fine arts student who attended the show, said that she was deeply moved by what felt to her like “a spiritual experience”. She said that the production had inspired her to want to explore the relationship between music and visual art in her own work.
Mlangeni’s production took the audience from mourning to celebration by blending a bit of afro-jazz, afro-beat, classical, poetry and chorus like a true oratorio, which is a large-scale musical production that blends orchestral, voice and choral music.
The first piece of the night, the gathering, started with Rampolokeng loudly reciting spoken word poetry that sounded like a lamentation over a broken promise. The slow introduction of the bass and a soft djembe drum began to drown out the poet and brought in the hum of the choir. The saxophonists led the trumpet in, and then everything went quiet, leaving Mlangeni in a trumpet solo.
The choir was reminiscent of an African indigenous church, with the use of music as a medium for connecting with spirit. They took the lead on ubaba, a song about the search for a missing father. The entire ensemble joined into a melancholic sound of a prayer that for a moment seemed to be a petition that was no longer to an absent earthly father, but to a heavenly father, who seemed to be absent and blind to the pain of African people.
The arrangement came together beautifully. Led by the protest poetry of Rampolokeng, the production carried the same impassioned energy that can turn a church service into a site of protest.
The afrobeat sound of inkululeko brought Siyabonga Mthembu of The Brother Moves On onto the stage to lead in the demand for the freedom that democracy had promised.
The drummer played the consistent sound of a marching band in #movement/soldier’s lament and Rampolokeng came back to remind us that “our hopes are buried alive”, when those who were at the forefront of fighting for freedom, turned to gatekeepers of the wealth that should have been shared amongst all.
In darkness, all the different pieces of the ensemble seemed to do their own thing, like loud mourning at a wake deep into the night, all crying separately, over the same loss. Rampolokeng also cried in his own way, about the disillusionment of protests that yield nothing in the long term, even after lives had been lost. He juxtaposed the 1976 uprisings with the 2015 #FeesMustFall protests and expressed sorrow over the lack of change.
Crying turned to celebration when the show closed with woza, which got the audience to its feet to dance and rang in my head long after the show had ended. The high tempo and vibrant piece goes “Woza mama, woza” but the audience recast it as “Woza Mandla, woza” as it sang along all the way out of the Great Hall.
Vuvu rating: 9/10
FEATURED IMAGE: Trumpeter Mandla Mlangeni leads a multi-disciplinary musical production at the Wits Great Hall. Photo: Morongoa Masebe
Loyiso Mkhize’s comic book Kwezi has been adapted into a play – with a stellar cast
The Adventures of Super Smanjie sheds light on how rampant corruption can cripple a country’s economic prospects.
The comedic play is an adaptation of Loyiso Mkhize’s comic book Kwezi, which was done by the Market Theatre Laboratory’s graduates.
The show takes viewers through the life of a shero called Smanjie (played by Mathuto Mahlangu) who is gifted with superpowers at birth by her ancestors — but ends up misusing them to gain popularity on social media.
She is told by her ancestors in a dream that she needs to save the city of Marapong from Muḓagasi, meaning electricity in Tshivenda. Muḓagasi is the city’s villain who has been stealing electricity cables to make himself stronger. To defeat him, she must first overcome her desire to use her powers to gain followers on social media for social approval.
The production was composed and performed by Market Laboratory graduates: Rofhiwa Mundalamo, Mathuto Mahlangu, Slindokuhle Shabangu, Jack Moloi who is currently doing his postgraduate diploma in dramatic arts at Wits, and Wits fourth year theatre and performance student Zilungile Mbombo — whose illustrious performances provided a convincing mockery of the state of our country.
The comedy’s simple set with just a chalk drawing backdrop of the city and and actors wearing plain colored t-shirts with leggings and sweatpants forced the viewer to focus entirely on the rawness of acting presented by the team.
I was captivated by their exaggerated and mimetic use of body language to tell the story.
Smanjie’s ancestors gifting her her powers at birth. Photo: Nonhlanhla Mathebula.
However, all the actors played more than one role in the play, which made it a bit difficult to follow on the development of each character. There was also not enough time in the play to memorise who played which roles exactly. Super Smanjie is the only exception, as she only played two roles.
Although the play needs a certain level of familiarity with the South African social media landscape to understand some of the jokes, one can expect some serious comic relief that lightens up the mood on some of the issues affecting the country.
Moloi told Wits Vuvuzela that it was hard producing the play themselves due to their busy schedules. However, the practical experience they received at Market Laboratory equipped them with valuable skills to finish the play.
The show ran at Emakhaya Theatre on the 19th floor of Wits’ University Corner from May 26 to May 28, 2023.
FEATURED IMAGE: The cast of The Adventures of Super Smanjie during their curtain call. Photo: Nonhlanhla Mathebula.
Prime a popular drink amongst teenagers fails to quench thirst with no guarantee it won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth
Prime, the new popular range of sports and energy drinks amongst teenagers that retailed in South Africa at Checkers stores from May 1, 2023 disappoints in taste.
The drinks were launched in 2022 by popular YouTubers, Logan Paul and Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji also known as KSI. “We created Prime to showcase what happens when rivals come together as brothers and business partners to fill the void where great taste meets function,” said the pair on their Prime website.
The drinks, which are marketed by Prime Hydration have been publicised on social media platforms that it was sold out shortly after it was stocked to retail, with scores of teenagers and parents standing in long queues to stock up.
I had been trying to get my hands on it for more than a week before it was finally restocked at my closest Checkers in Rosebank mall. The drinks are clearly in high demand, thanks to its brand reputation and how well it was advertised by the YouTubers.
There are four flavours to choose from which are: tropical punch, lemon lime, ice pop and blue raspberry. I got all four bottles, with each drink retailing at R39,99.
The ice pop flavour tastes like medicine, it’s sweet and bitter at the same time and it leaves an after taste in the mouth after drinking. The blue raspberry tastes a bit sweet. You can taste the raspberry flavour in it as well as the coconut water. It also tastes similar to the Powerade energy drink, the mountainblast flavour.
The lemon- lime flavour, tastes good with a hint of sweetness and bitterness, you can taste the lemon lime in it. While the tropical punch flavour is sweet and it tastes like a combination of guava juice and watermelon.
Despite the flavours, the drink does not hydrate, instead, I had heart palpitations a few minutes after consuming the drinks – even though I did not taste all of them at the same time.
Uyathandwa Mani, final year BCom student at Wits told Wits Vuvuzela that she did not feel any difference after drinking it, “it did not hydrate me at all, the only thing I felt was a headache.”
The ingredients listed on Prime include: 10,5% coconut water, filtered water, branch chain amino acids, electrolytes, vitamin B, E and A, citric acid, several antioxidants and flavouring.
The Sport Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) said on their website, “Although the Prime website claims the Hydration drink to be suitable for all ages, other sources have warned children under 15 years old from consuming it. Based on the nutrition label provided on the Prime website, the Prime Hydration drink compares with similar drinks in the sports/hydration category.”
However, the two creators said in a video on Paul’s YouTube channel that Prime hydration drink has no caffeine which makes it safe for children to consume whereas the Prime energy drink (which is not available in South Africa yet) has caffeine and it’s not suitable for people under the age of 18.
The packaging of the hydration drink is very simple. I like the ice pop flavour bottle which has several colours combined that make it interesting and appealing. The rest are simple 500ml bottles coloured blue, lime and red with the drinks’ name written in black.
Overall, the hydration drink is overhyped as people made exaggerating claims about the drink saying it’s too good and truly hydrates. Wits Vuvuzela rates it a five out of 10 because the taste was disappointing in three flavours. For the price it retails for, one expected more.
FEATURED IMAGE: Friends drinking Prime hydration drinks at night. Photo: Sinazo Mondo
A family restaurant nestled in the heart of Rosebank deviates from the norm in the upmarket mall, catering specifically for patrons who want to play more than they want to eat.
An outdoor play area with swings, slides and obstacle courses is overlooked by the patio. Photo: Sbongile Molambo.
Joburg’s newest addition to the culinary scene JoyJozi located on 51 Eastwood Road, Dunkeld is a great place for children who need to expend energy and parents who need to take a break.
Located opposite the Radisson RED hotel in Rosebank, JoyJozi is both a playground and a restaurant, “a place where kids can take their adults out,” is their tagline.
Upon entering the restaurant, one is greeted by big cute knitted stuffed animals such as lions, giraffes, elephants and other toys lined up on the walls. The foyer then leads to an indoor play and outdoor play area.
Danielle Green, JoyJozi’s manager says “The space was designed with kids in mind, kids spend too much time on gadgets and PlayStation, so the owner wants kids to have fun and play without the distraction of technology.”
An amphitheatre at the back of the garden and an arcade game room are some of the other tailormade spaces.
Parents and guardians can watch their children from a safe but peaceful distance on the patio while enjoying a meal. But there are staffers dedicated to watching over the smaller patrons as an extra measure.
When it comes to the menu, one must be prepared to part ways with their hard-earned money because the cost of the food stretches one’s budget. The cheapest item on the menu is a side, the twice fried fries, and will set you back by R38. The most expensive, the Wagyu ribeye, will set you back by R560.
Wits Vuvuzela ordered the FUNGUY pizza, priced at R142. The pizza was underwhelming with chives that didn’t add much as a topping but were rescued by perfectly cooked mushrooms.
For dessert, the baked cheesecake (R95 a slice), topped with orange zest looked most appealing, and it did not disappoint. One could taste the sweet citrus flavour that was infused in the syrup, every bite better than the last.
The menu also has vegan options on offer, like their vegan pizza and dessert. Their menu consists of “everyday food” with a touch of gourmet dishes for more discerning palates.
JoyJozi has an entrance fee of R60 per child whereas adults do not pay an entrance fee. Although walk-ins are available the restaurant doesn’t guarantee that you will get a table, so reservations are encouraged, especially as it is a popular spot with an average waiting time of 10 to 15 minutes when at capacity.
FEATURED IMAGE: JoyJozi signage is lit by LED lights at night at its entrance. Photo: Sbongile Molambo.
Rosebank’s newest eatery is the coziest spot for winter in Johannesburg.
Fugazzi opened its doors in April 2023 at the Zone in Rosebank Mall to serve soul-warming Italian food with a twist.
This is the latest restaurant venture by Warren Murley, owner of other successful restaurants such as Proud Mary, which is opposite to Starbucks in Rosebank and Mama Samba which lies just next door to Fugazzi. Manager of Fugazzi Marco De Costa told Wits Vuvuzela jokingly that Murley has “a bit of a chokehold on the area.”
It takes a special restaurant to be full of chattering people on a cold Tuesday night and Fugazzi achieved just that.
The cosy wood-finished interior is influenced by 1980’s New York diners, with long red booths lining the walls and 80’s inspired green tiling and eclectic artwork, adding colour to the large, open space.
The vision behind the restaurant’s concept pays homage to the way Italian cuisine has been altered by restaurants in the United States of America. This is why Fugazzi is no regular Italian restaurant, “if you want Andiccio’s, there’s one on every corner, but if you want Fugazzi, this is the one and only” said De Costa, adding that: “Fugazzi means different or messed-up” which means that everything served comes with a twist from the traditional Italian recipe.
The interior and bar of Fugazzi restaurant in Rosebank. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
When entering the restaurant, the warmth from the surplus of gas heaters with bright orange flames flickering around the room immediately makes one forget about the winter outside. The price of the food ranges from R80 to R250 for a main course meal, stretching a student budget slightly. The most affordable beverage option is a soda float or an ice-tea, which will set you back R50, while the pricier cocktail and martini selection ranges up to R100.
The service was efficient and friendly as the waiter was happy to recommend both food and beverages; and brought everything within a reasonable time.
Fugazzi prides themselves on their wine collection, and I was impressed by the recommendation of a glass of Mason Road Chenin Blanc, which was smooth and lightly wooded. It was not too dry and easy to drink.
For vegetarians, the many menu options which catered for me were a pleasant surprise. The waiter’s recommendation was the linguini Aglio e Olio, a linguini served in a sauce made of olive oil, garlic, chilli and cherry tomatoes. The dish was delightfully presented in a tangle of pasta on a long oval plate.
The linguine aglio e olio and the pasta Genovese with glasses of red and white wine inside Fugazzi. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
The food was flavourful and comforting to eat, however the twist from traditional Italian food is difficult to notice. In addition, the waiter said that they don’t make their own pasta dough and so one cannot help but feel that the simplicity of such dishes, does not warrant a price of R95.
The warm interior of the restaurant and the carb heavy nature of the tasty food makes this a great place to go to escape the cold, as winter approaches.
FEATURED IMAGE: The entrance to Fugazzi restaurant in the Zone at Rosebank Mall. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
The exceptional childlike fusion of art forms enabled the audience to have encounters with our material conditions through art.
Created by the renowned Jade Bowers (director), Lebo Mashile, Tina Redman (performers) and Yogen Sullaphen (musician), the site-staged work took to Nugget Street outside the Windybrow Arts Centre in Hillbrow from April 20 till April 22, 2023. The theatre work was produced by the University of Johannesburg Arts and Culture division and the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS), and aimed at young audiences although with a broader appeal to people of all ages.
Bowers, Mashile, Redman and UJ Arts and Culture students created childhood experiences of living in Johannesburg with all their innocence, naivety and boundless play.
In a press release, UJ Arts and Culture said that Breaths of Joburg was part of a “larger research project that considered creative writing and site-specific theatre as tools for engaging urban publics in dialogue about every day, ground-up, place-making in city spaces”.
Lead researcher Alex Halligey told Wits Vuvuzela that a “smaller model of the research project asks the questions of how we use creative arts, how you can see something in the city and write a poem about it”.
The Windybrow Arts Centre mostly draws in young people coming from school who use the centre as a place of play and diversion from the stresses of living in the city. Promoting access to art for everyone, Breaths of Joburg enabled the audience to have encounters with our material conditions through art.
The performances, which were outside the arts centre, attracted children coming from school, students and adults, who lined the wall fence, settled on the pavement and on the theatre’s steps that lead to the street to resemble a theatre in the round.
Using short and immersive acts, the actors took the audience to a Johannesburg familiar to me – from late night encounters to the vibrant economy of the city run by street vendors, hairdressers and taxi drivers who can take you almost anywhere in the city.
This Johannesburg is Sindi’s and Babes’ world, two little girls played by Mashile and Redman respectively. The production used plastic beer crates as props and the performers’ creativity to create this world and the characters’ transition from childhood to adulthood.
Babes (Tina Redman) and Sindi (Lebo Mashile) perform for an audience of schoolchildren at Windybrow Arts Centre. Photo: Mbalenhle Dlamini
“The show is about them (Sindi and Babes) travelling through the city. They want to learn how to make money, and we are those adults,” Redman told Wits Vuvuzela.
The actors had tough conversations with the audience as they explored themes that could be deemed complicated for young children to digest such as crime, death and sex work. However, Redman and Mashile and the student actors gained the young children’s attention with animated singing, dancing and hand-clapping games.
Mashile captured the audience with her spirited spoken-word performance while the rest of the cast huddled quietly around her, moving in ways that symbolised air and a flowing river. She spoke about how Johannesburg was land that had rivers and fed its people before “they” (colonialists) “discovered” gold. It was an effortless transition of the child into the world of adults that they were trying to convey.
After the three-day run at the Windybrow Arts Centre, Halligey said, “We are looking for funding to do Breaths of Joburg again and opportunities to do projects that are similar to what we did with Breaths of Joburg.”
Vuvu rating: 9/10
FEATURED IMAGE: Babes plays a monster chasing Sindi around the streets of Joburg. Photo: Mbalenhle Dlamini
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