Autumnal moves

Art & design

Salone Internazionale del Mobile

Ingenuity, vision, innovation, and sustainable excellence characterise the companies and brands that exhibit at the Milan Furniture Fair, the leading international event for the design industry. Contributing to the 2025 programme is architect Sou Fujimoto, furniture designer Pierre-Yves Rouchon, Italian film director Paolo Sorrentino, and theatre director Robert Wilson.

Dates: 8-13 April

Venue: Rho fairgrounds & across Milan

Tickets: From €35

salonemilano.it/en

Don’t miss

• Lady Skollie’s “Madi, Madi” solo show at Everard Read Joburg until 26 April
• Deborah Poynton’s “Fever Dream” at Stevenson in Cape Town until 10 May
• David Goldblatt and Clive van den Berg’s “Trace, Tremor, Remnant:” at Goodman Gallery, London, from 3 April - 3 May
• Vusumzi Nkomo’s “Discordant Infrastructure and Other Minor Gestures” solo exhibition at Everard Read Cape Town until 26 April

 Theatre

Pieces of Me

Pieces of Me is a moving exploration of family secrets, with resonances that still echo today. Bo Petersen grew up in a white family in apartheid South Africa. When she was 19, she uncovered her father’s secret — he was not white and had married the love of his life, who was white. This award-winning play tells the story.

Dates: 9-27 April

Venue: Market Theatre, Newtown, Joburg

Tickets: R110-R220

webtickets.co.za

Diary of a Wimpy Kid — The Musical

Middle school… it’s awkward, it’s unpredictable and, for Greg Heffley, it’s all about surviving the social ladder. The beloved character created by Jeff Kinney goes on an entertaining musical adventure in this popular production.

Dates: 3 April - 4 May

Venue: Theatre on the Square, Sandton, Joburg

Tickets: R160-R190

webtickets.co.za

Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater

This electrifying one-woman show created by theatre-maker Neil Coppen and actor Mpume Mthombeni is set in a Durban women’s hostel and introduces Zenzile Maseko, a grandmother declared legally dead by a broken system. Once a feared political assassin, Zenzile confronts her turbulent past as she battles bureaucracy and reawakens the vengeful spirit of Impundulu, the Lightning Bird. If you missed this wonderful performance the first time around, this is your chance.

Dates: 9-19 April

Venue: Baxter Flipside, Cape Town

Tickets: R150-R250

webtickets.co.za

Music

St John Passion

Bach’s magnificent St John Passion will be performed by the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg and the Phoenix Orchestra, conducted by Richard Cock. The role of the evangelist will be sung by tenor Siyabonga Maqungo, with Chris Vale, Bongani Khubeka, Brittany Smith, Minette du Toit Pearce, and Bongani Mthombeni in the other roles.

Date: 18 April

Venue: Linder Auditorium, Parktown, Joburg

Tickets: R210-R420

quicket.co.za

Yaron Kohlberg

Acclaimed pianist and Steinway artist Yaron Kohlberg is in South Africa on a national tour. He will play the 3rd Piano Concerto by Prokofiev in the first concert of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra’s Autumn Symphonies this year and will give recitals in Pretoria and with the Johannesburg Music Society in Joburg.

Joburg: 13 April, Linder Auditorium, quicket.co.za

Cape Town Jazz Festival

Among the many, many luminaries gracing the stage at this year’s CT Jazz Festival are Black Coffee, Nduduzo Makhathini, Thandiswa Mazwai, and the Kyle Shepherd Trio. For the inaugural concert, Black Coffee and Makhathini have put together a set that will propel audiences through various repertoires, ranging from the classics to newly created bodies of work.

Dates: 25-26 April

Venue: CT International Conference Centre

Tickets: From R1 050

ticketmaster.co.za