Centrestage - Entertainment Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth-based production company, Centrestage, responsible for the popular music and comedy collaboration series with Aaron McIlroy The Magnificent 7, will be bringing the same band back to Durban’s Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre to showcase 3 new hit shows at the end of March.

From 24 March until 4 April, the Centrestage All-Star Band will be joined by comedian Mark Banks to take a light-hearted look back at the decade which spawned lyrca, bad taste, outrageous fashion, the mullet hairstyle and neon…stuff – you guessed it – the show is entitled The Crazy 80’s Centrestage!

A schizophrenic decade in so many respects, Mark Banks will be using ‘the gift of hind-sight’ along with his acerbic and irreverent wit to look back and remind us about at a time which the fashion police clearly forgot!

The 80’s was the era which provided the now nostalgic sound track to the misspent youth of the middle-aged of today – and Banks reminds us of the bitter-sweet embarrassment and inexplicable folly that went along with it all.

Musically, stadium rock, new wave, electronic and pop metal were blended and commercial, catchy hooks and increased pop aesthetic was embraced. This was the age which launched a new level of lighters aloft, with the marriage of guitar and keyboards creating an absolutely distinctive sound for the time.

Against this backdrop, The 12 piece Centrestage All-Star band will be joined by a brass section and 3 keyboards to again recreate the huge 80’s sound with the same kind of authenticity and sheer energetic entertainment which was so apparent in their previous Magnificent 7 outings.

The show is jam-packed with hits by the likes of Duran Duran, The Eurhythmics, AHA, Talking Heads, Wham!, Dexys Midnight Runners, Bananarama, Talking Heads, Reo Speedwagon, Foreigner and Yazoo.

The energetic Wayne Kallis performs as John Cougar Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen, Donna Africa takes the stage as Tina Turner and Madonna, while Lani Botha pays tribute to Blondie and Cindy Lauper. The electric Melvyn Matthews, last seen in Durban tearing up the stage as Bob Marley in The Magnificent 7 2, takes on the role of Michael Jackson, while musical director Donovan Hattingh is Huey Lewis.

The Crazy 80’s Centrestage offers a whirlwind of the best music and comedy combined, from a company which has proved its pedigree and knows how to thoroughly entertain an audience. The show will represent the sixth run that the Centrestage All-Star Band will be staging in Durban, their last outing before this being to perform Elvis Centrestage for the Playhouse in 2008.

The two week run at the Elizabeth Sneddon will be followed by 6 performances of their 70’s salute The Magnificent 70’s from 7-11 April, before the final week sees the Best of Magnificent 7 1 and 2 taking place at the Sneddon from 13th-17th April – but more about that later.

Tickets to all shows can be purchased from Computicket, starting at R95.

For more information see www.centrestage.co.za or for video previews, type ‘centrestagelive’ into Youtube for a collection of video highlights from various Centrestage shows.