Nataniël giftwraps a special show for you

Nataniel

Nataniel

Published Nov 24, 2015

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Diane De Beer

ESCAPE to a fantasyworld with Nataniël as he shares his latest songs and stories in both English and Afrikaans. It’s an evening of original acoustic music and great story-telling, all gift-wrapped as a gripping tale set in a restless garden.

“I’ve always been slightly distracted by the moon,” he says about How The Moon Got Her Name which opens early in December.

His annual Christmas shows started off as a present to himself because he loves Christmas music, but have developed into something of a present for those who want some escape – even if just for 90 minutes.

How The Moon Got Her Name is pure fantasy. “It’s about wonderment,” he explains. The story starts with the logic of a little girl. “And please, audiences don’t have to worry, I won’t be that little girl,” he quips wickedly.

It’s not about healing either, he says which is a theme that pops up often in his concerts. “It’s about a world that overwhelms.” He knows that once a month, he manages to escape but that’s not something everyone can do.

“We’ve become so stressed, we have neglected the small things,” he explains. It’s time to laugh, to exhale, to think a little and then also to be blown away by the costumes. Because this is in a more intimate theatre, the spectacle is perhaps more concentrated.

“I’ve asked my designer (Floris Louw) for artworks,” says the artist who claims he cannot perform if he doesn’t feel he has just stepped into the most exquisite costume in the world. “I need that to get into my character fully and into the show.”

The musicians of this celebratory season include Charl du Plessis (piano), Werner Spies (bass) and Hugo Radyn (drums). “I love the simplicity of the band,” he says, using this as a counterpoint to the more extravagant ensembles at his bigger shows. It allows him to pick up on much loved jazz and blues sounds without the audience slipping away.

His staging will be unusual. He says he is building on something he started in Prophets and Painkillers which had the cast/band members building the set while the story was unfolding on stage.

“I love that,” says Nataniël. “It’s as if something extraordinary is happening right in front of your eyes.”

There will be no interval, no children under 15 and no cell phones, he promises.

The show will be presented at the Atterbury Theatre at Lynnwood Bridge from December 7 to 12 and again for two weeks at the end of January and beginning of February for two weeks before it moves for a season to Stellenbosch’s Oude Libertas.

Book at Computicket.

Also look out for his latest Afrikaans cookery book Die Huis Van Rye which is crammed with recipes (no less than 150) and good advice.

“It’s a balancing act, the language thing,” he says. His previous two books are titled The White House and Gatherings.

He has also launched his latest Checkers kitchen range and he is especially proud that he has managed to find an attractive cutlery set.

“I can happily go to heaven now. My name is on a fork… finally,” he says.

And if you want to catch his current TV series Die Edik van Nantes, it is on KYKnet at 8pm on Tuesday nights with many repeats throughout the week.

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