Out Of Order at The Intimate

Just when you thought the offerings of the independent Cape Town Theatre scene couldn't get any better there are two young theatre companies who are out there to prove you wrong.


The Pink Couch, in association with The Space Behind the Couch brings you the most exciting collaboration since jam and peanut butter on toast.


Over the past few years The Pink Couch has established itself firmly as a young South African theatre company that is dedicated to producing work that appeals to the young, hip and happening generation that is usually overlooked, especially in artistic circles. At the same time The Space Behind The Couch has increasingly made important inroads into establishing itself as an exciting new young visual theatre creative. The Space Behind the Couch was the first recipient of the inaugural Handspring Award for best debut at The Out The Box festival in 2010. At 2011's Out The Box festival The Space Behind the Couch presented Madame Touxflouwe to remarkable critical and general success which only cemented their reputation as an incredibly talented and innovative company.
Now these two amazing companies offer you the chance to witness what happens when they meet to create work that is a melting pot of utter amazingness. It was only a matter of time until it happened and hopefully it wont be the last, but rest assured, you can be guaranteed a truly unique experience whenever a poster bares the heading; A Space Behind The Pink Couch Production.
We invite you to come and join us at The Intimate Theatre on UCT's Hiddingh campus on Orange Street from 25 November at 20h00, Tuesday to Saturday, for an experience that is quite literally, not of this world.  


Here's a brief summary of what Out of Order is about:


Everyone else has retreated... the enemy army is approaching... the end is near...but two soldiers, trapped in an old hospital in the middle of the Karoo are too tired to run... and long past fighting... One refuses to take off a wedding dress, the other is missing half his brain and all of his memories... It has been a long and crazy war, full of secret weapons, spies, flying machines, assassination attempts, daring escapes in drag, Russian roulette, explosions, squabbles and koeksisters... Out of Order is their story... This is the end of the Boer war... just maybe not the one that you know about...
Out of Order takes stories from the Boer war and meshes them with steam-punk, quirky comedy and comic books to create some of the most unbelievable war stories you have ever heard... it is visual theatre comedy that blends performance with graphic novel to create a whole new mythology of the Boer War and brings something epically ridiculous and ridiculously epic to the stage.

...miskien is heading Down Under

Following the success of The Couch's previous international excursion to Amsterdam, it has now been confirmed that ...miskien will be heading off to Australia in February next year for the Perth Fringe Festival. Through the kind support of the NAF and the organizers of The Perth fringe we'll be getting the chance to showcase this award winning piece of theatre on yet another foreign shore. It's hard to believe that in just a few years this show has come so far and it certainly bodes well for what will hopefully be a very productive year for The Couch.

Good Times and Saying Goodbye

Guy Fawkes, that infamous night of the year, provided an excellent closing for The Pink Couch's new baby; Mafeking Road. It was one of those nights in Cape Town where many different shows seemed to converge on their closing nights all at the same time. In Kalk Bay, Shirley Kirschman closed off her hilarious though sadly under-appreciated show; Catch.

At The Fugard, Klaasvakie bid a particularly emotional farewell to one of South Africa's greats in Wilna Snyman who will likely never be seen again on stage. Those who did get to see this production can be assured that they were a part of something really quite special. Great actors and actresses such as Snyman are one in a million and to be able to share in the last hurrah of such legends through the masterful direction of Martinus Basson and the delicate guidance of Hugo Theart should not be taken for granted.

As The Pink Couch we would like to add our deepest respect and thanks to Wilna for what she has added to South African theatre and film/television over the years. 

As for our own closing night; it was really rather special. Besides having sold out (our 4th sell out night of 5 for this week) it was also a particularly special friend of The Pink Couch's birthday. Caitlyn Lewis, Mat Lewis' sister chose our closing night to host her 22nd birthday bash and brought along a whole host of awesome people to share in the evening's festivities. A post show braai and many visits to The Intimate Bar ensued to ensure that 5 November 2011 was exactly what it should have been; a celebration of another successful Pink Couch production coupled with a rather special gathering of loved ones, acquaintances, and people newly met. (Pictures to follow soon)

As for Mafeking Road...it will return we promise! Watch this space, as well as out twitter feed and facebook page for more info. 

Apart from the awesomeness that is Bosman, 2012 also holds some other tantalizing prospects for The Couch and we would love it if you'd join us for the ride. So keep one eye firmly fixed on our fine upholstery for all the latest news. 

Poll Results

Ok...admittedly the numbers aren't enormous with only four votes being cast in our online poll but the results are still intriguing. When asked the question; 'Should South African theatre be more issues based?' 50% responded by saying definitely while half of that, or 25% agreed but favoured a more subtle approach. The same amount were indifferent as long as what they were watching was good while no one thought that we should leave things well enough alone. All in all it's kind of encouraging to hear that people are keen to engage instead of turning a blind eye. Let's hope our young theatre makers are listening.
Check out our new poll at the bottom of the page and have a say by casting your vote.

Remember, remember, the 5th of Novemeber

So Mafeking Road is drawing to a close at The Intimate Theatre with only three shows left to go and what a great run it has been. The last week in particular has seen audiences gathering in their numbers and spaces are being filled quite quickly with Friday and Saturday night already looking full. We'll be closing off the run with a special birthday performance for Caitlyn Lewis, Mat's sister, on the 5th, complete with a post-show braai and plenty of drinks courtesy of The Intimate bar. So if some Guy Fawkes night frivolity appeals to you, bring along some braai-vleis and some drinking money and come join us on this special occasion. If you're still planning on seeing the show then we suggest making a booking in advance to avoid any disappointment which you can do by phoning 072 367 6878 or by emailing thepinkcouch@gmail.com. Hope to see you there.

One HUGE step for a man

Gideon Lombard, one of The Pink Couch's founding members is on the verge of graduating from UCT's school of Theatre and Performance and making the leap into the professional world. With such an accomplished CV already, there are few doubts about how far he will go. Not to mention how excited The Couch is to finally have him all to ourselves. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!

More seriously though; immense kudos and congratulations to Gid. It's been a long road but you're finally there and we couldn't be more happy for you. Here's to all that lies ahead.

For those of you who want to check out Gids' final piece, it's showing at the Arena Theatre on UCT's Hiddingh campus on Thursday 27 November. The whole program begins at 18:00 and features the work of Gabriella Pinto and Thenji Stemela as well. We also highly recommend that you check out the directorial adventures of Merryn Harriet Carver, Tazz Rossouw and Richard September on Wednesday 26th November, and Friday 28th November, also at The Arena. This is the future of SA theatre people...pay attention!

Marico magic

During the weekend Mafeking Road toured to the Groot Marico to attend the Bosman literary festival. It was a coming together of Herman Charles Bosman fans from all over the coutnry with Mafeking Road featuring as the main performance on Saturday night. It was one of the most incredible experiences ever to be able to visit the place where all of his most beloved stories come from and to meet people who are as fanatical about his work as we are.

It was an amazing 36hours of great food, excellent music courtesy of Meri Kenaz, Ben Badenhorst, Martin Wolfhardt and Derek Gripper, and wonderful people not to mention the mampoer!!!

Plus we got to laugh at Andrew's monumental hangover on Sunday morning. If you've never been into this very special part of South Africa we highly suggest you check it out. The festival runs annually and is a very special place to be.

Look out for photos and videos to follow soon.