Nataniël - #WhenGiantsWaltz

Sitting down with one of South Africa's artists that is most probably a household name is something that not everyone would say they have done. But having High Tea with Nataniël really does takes the cake. (Mind that pun.)

There is a new show, waltzing it's way to Emperors Palace. And Nataniël is taking the lead in his 18th production in 18 years at Emperors - When Giants Waltz. Lets be honest, this is one man that gets on stage year on year with a concert that I think is bigger & better than the one before. Nataniël on the other hand believes that the audience knows what they like & you always need to make sure that you don't change it too much.

Nataniël's biggest supporter, his grandmother always said that when things are shaken up, that is when giants waltz. And the world is currently changing at a rapid pace, where 'giants' represent the government, global warming, diseases & the unnatural occurrences on earth that results in humans becoming 'smaller & smaller' over time. That is only the starting point of the show. (A show where every song has a costume change just by the way. So Floris Louw has been working incredibly hard over the last year to put new costumes together.)

Nataniël jokes that this is the 1st show that he really talks about himself, because usually you make up "lies" or tell stories about someone else. This is the production that we have been waiting for. An honest insight into the life & perspective on the world that he so boldly explores, exploits & explains. Delving into the contrasts of BIG and small, the struggle between the threatened & the indestructible. The war between the individual & the establishment.

And dare I say, the debate between the political & the intelligent. (Without actually even discussing politics, as politics, as Nataniël puts it, is organised evil & has never seen anything good come from politics, as it is a last resort. Politics is unattractive & the people in that, dress bad. So it's not something that he wants to bring into his show, because his show is beautiful & is supposed to inspire, which he believes politics doesn't do. 

Nataniël explains: "I'm the master of living in a bubble. So this show is a 95 min survival guide to living in a bubble in the modern world." This is going to be a show that you'll be able to experience on more that one level. Sit back & enjoy the stories, costumes & songs or dig into all of that a bit deeper as he elaborates on the evils in the world. But Nataniël does want you to walk into the theatre & lose yourself in the moment & forget about the outside world for a moment of pure entertainment. 

If you've seen a Nataniël show before, you'll see some familiar faces - Nicolaas Swart & Dihan Slabbert, who have been working with Nataniël for over 15 years now. These 2 gents who started their careers back in 2003 with the South African boy band - Hi-5, have grown from strength to strength & will be back on stage doing vocals. With Charl du Plessis on Keyboard, Juan Oosthuizen on Guitar, Brendan Ross on saxophone, Werner Spies on bass & Peter Auret on the drums, you know that there is an amazing group of artists that will be there to entertain. These are the guys that have become like family & everyone understands the others, which makes working together a whole lot easier.

This is most definitely not the last that we will see Nataniël on stage. He has his heart set on being on stage until the very last. And why not? The likes of Cher, Barbara Streisand & Bette Midler are still singing & to quote Nataniël, "Patti Labelle now sings the paint off the walls." And interesting fact, Nataniël walks a minimum of 25km everyday. Walking, he believes is the best exercise for the lungs & for the heart that is not strenuous on the rest of the body.

Nataniël emphasizes that the days of stopping with concerts, productions and being on stage, only happens the day you no longer have an audience. And I do think we want to see him on South African stages for a while longer, so get your tickets now at Computicket, for 1 of 12 unforgettable concerts at the Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace from 4 to 27 October. 

Tickets for #WhenGiantsWaltz start from only R160 per person. (That's honestly a steal guys. You should buy tickets for the whole family!) 

A Night of The Forgotten

For as long as I can remember, whenever someone asked me: "If you could invite any 5 people over for dinner, who would they be?" The 1st person on my list has always been Nataniël. Today, I was caught between a moment of being starstruck & sounding completely incoherent. I was fortunate enough to invited to an exclusive brunch with Nataniël, held at Aurelia's at the D'Oreal Grande Hotel at Emperors Palace. It was literally a dream come true.

His new production - '30 Years, 90 Minutes' kicking off 24 August to 24 September at the Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace, is a show that you will definitely not want to miss. Watch as the world through the eyes of Nataniël is constructed on the stage. You will get to see things that have long been forgotten & hear stories that once were told during the last 30 years of career on stage. A total of more than 6,000 live performances, 79 stage productions, 17 music albums (and not 1 hit, as he says) & 17 published books you can see why Nataniël is a household name. Well that & the Checkers Boerewors ads. 

Outfits from years back have now been reworked & remade, "because we are not poor," Nataniël said as he told us about what the show is about & what we can expect. It's bound to be something for the whole family in English & Afrikaans.

"I get inspiration from the ordinary things." Nataniël believes that ordinary things are a middle point of peoples' existence & he only glorifies these ordinary things on stage. Presenting family life in a very 'non family' way is definitely why people understand & get where he come from because it comes out of their own homes & thus they can relate. 

One thing about Nataniël that I have always found absolutely intriguing is his Avant Garde wardrobe for productions. The name behind the garments is Floris Louw & has walked a long path with Nataniël. What I didn't know is that Nataniël is very much involved in the entire design process where he actually draws all the designs himself & then explains to Floris Louw what it is that he wants & this is where the exhausting collaborative effort starts with fabrics sourced from Vogue & all over the world. Many times with the fine tuning of a garment it goes back & forth until they are happy with it, or until they realise no changes are going to get it perfect.

I asked Nataniël if there was anything from the last 30 years that he would have done differently knowing what he knows now. One thing I realised that we have in common is a love for travel. It was also during the early stages of his career that unfortunately South Africans weren't welcome to travel to many countries around the world & so he focused on making name for himself here & then thereafter, as he put it: "for about 10 - 15 years I 'forgot' to travel. Having an obsession with cultural & social history & paintings, he now travels as much & as far as he can, taking in as much of the cultural aspects in the world. "I should have started travelling a lot earlier in my life. It is a big regret that in my lifetime, I won't be able to see everything I've wanted to see."

Living in France for around 3 months a year, has convinced Nataniël that it is definitely the place where he would live & if he could retire there alongside his family that resides there it would be a dream come true. Living there & living here, but not really fitting in anywhere he says: "I love the 1st World experience. I love the fact that there; art, culture & preservation is a priority, where politics & survival is ours here. So I go to France to heal & then I come back to South Africa to exhaust myself out. So as I get older, I will eventually spend more & more time there, but my end goal is that I don't ever want to 'belong' to one country, so I'd like to just be a visitor here & a visitor there."

Soft scrambled eggs. Now who would of thought that's the meal that Nataniël prefers to prep himself when his personal chef is not cooking for him at home. "It's my favourite dish & everyone in South Africa makes it wrong, so I just make it myself, the way I learnt how in France."

"I lead a shockingly simple life & people are shocked when they arrive at my house. My career & my life at home are 2 different worlds. I eat the most simple foods & then I have to exercise a lot because I eat dessert twice a day as it is my joy in life." Sounds to me like another thing Nataniël & I have in common is a sweet tooth & our love for sweet things.

Silence & his daily morning yoga routine in his garden. The things that Nataniël won't be able to live without. His greatest luxury is living alone & in a forest. Now who wouldn't love that, being able to have peace & quiet in what is one of the most serene places you can find? He even jokes about asking his neighbours to move because they owned a dog... Now he owns that house.

"It's very boring. I am Monk... But with Sequins," he adds as I giggle under my breathe at his very sharp sense of humour. 

"All my fantasies I live out on stage. I wear my extravagant clothes. But I live in a white house & I wear all black & it is very simple."

Luxury limited edition souvenir programmes are currently being put together especially for this show & will take you on a journey of the last 30 years.

Tickets available at Computicket here.

Starting from only R160.

I end off my interview with him, wishing him all the best for the show & that I am looking forward to seeing him then. His response: "ek is die dikke in die swart rok." I simply can not wait to see this show.

Follow #Nataniel30 on Social Media to see whats happening. 

#Mannequin

'Kaalkop' is back...

Nataniël has been in the industry for over 2 decades and is truly a South African icon on stage and screen. I have always been a fan of the 'Kaalkop' and thoroughly his performances. Now Nataniël has returned to the stage in the Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace and will be on stage until 25 September 2016 in #Mannequin.

This is a production which tells the story, in English & Afrikaans, of an author who plays with the idea of writing a book about the life of tailor and his reclusive lifestyle. Now #Mannequin is the story that is told by this tailor. If you are a Nataniël fan, you know that his productions are always full of surprises which are full of fear, cruelty, humour, truth and a bit of fantasy. #Mannequin is exactly that! And what is a Nataniël show without a few of his creative stories of people of his past.

Nataniël surprises theatre-goers with a few of his own versions of some of the world's best known songs from the late sixties and eighties. His rendition of Prince's - Purple Rain is just incredible.

Every little detail on that stage is crafted to perfection. The lights are in the perfect positions. They don't shine a mere centimetre off from exactly where they need to be. The movement of props on stage happen without you knowing it and within the few seconds where the stage lights go off & on again, the stage is transformed and Nataniël is in a new extravagant costume, designed by the multi award-winning designer Floris Louw. The decor and props on stage are extravagant in true Nataniël fashion and just add that extra bit of something on stage.

Nataniël shares the stage with some of his long-time fellow musicians: Charl du Plessis, Juan Oosthuizen, Werner Spies & Hugo Radyn and singers: Nicolaas Swart & Dihan Slabbert. (The scene where they perform Purple Rain is beautiful!)

A word of warning. Do not even take your phone out during the production. Nataniël will single you out and make you feel like an idiot in front of the entire theatre. (It's the funniest thing ever and honestly, it is amazing when no one in that entire theatre has a cellphone light shining up into their face and they can enjoy the show.)

Tickets available for the 90 minute show at Computicket or on www.emperorspalace.com

Oh, there is an age restriction of No Under 15's. (Yes, it is Nataniël and he does use words that will make you blush.)

Share your Nataniël #Mannequin experience on social media using the #Mannequin 

Kaalkop

"En al drink julle net vanaand water of aanmaakkoeldrank, jy sit vir hom in 'n mooi glas... Jy weet nie wat gebeur more nie." - Nataniël

If any one of you have ever had the opportunity to go watch a show or production of Nataniël and not gone, this is where I shake my head in disappointment. Any of his shows are an absolute must see!

Nataniël is most certainly one of South Africa's top performers and you are guaranteed to have the most fabulous time whilst in his company at any of his shows.

A quick bio. Nataniël le Roux born in Grahamstown. Studied music in Stellenbosch. Started cabaret and became a fantastic stage artist. Currently residing in Pretoria and most days you will find him presenting his cooking show 'Die Nataniël Tafel' or managing his brand 'Kaalkop' or running his charity organisation.

His latest production on stage at Emperors Palace - Rainbow at Midnight. As he puts it; "the most advance project of my career." The story is starts out when a descendant finds a diary with an entry based on the events of one night back in 1880 when a group of people visiting the rainbow traveling fair have an experience which some would consider supernatural and how it would affect and alter their lives forever.

One can only expect this story to be told in a true Nataniël style. There is music, stories in English and Afrikaans and the most stunning designs which will captivate your every sense.

Since Nataniël has combined strength with singers Corlea, Lindiwe Bungane, Nicolaas Swart, acrobat Brad Dreyer and resident band consisting of Charl du Plessis (keyboards), Juan Oosthuizen (guitars), Werner Spies (bass), Hugo Radyn (drums) and Tonia Selley (percussion and vocals), the company has turned - in true Victorian style - into a performing troupe, creating two more stage productions plus a brand new cd, Moodswing. Nataniël describes this past year as one of the best creative periods in his life with one of the strongest companies of his career.