|
Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince *****
AFTER several grotty to middling previews, joy of joys, the preview on 4 November was the 6th in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.
Harry Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are in their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Magic. It is midsummer. But evil is abroad and Harry and his friends get involved and have to pull out all the stops to combat it. The Death Eaters are still abroad trying to harm and obstruct Harry who has to find a mysterious Horcrux which contains half the soul of one of his enemies. Harry also has to delve deeply into other people’s memories which have been siphoned from them and stored in liquid form in bottles. The liquid memory can later be poured out into a special bowl and Harry immerses himself in the memory observing what has happened previously.
Amongst all the adventure and mystery Harry falls in love and receives his first kiss although the giver of the kiss is not who you automatically expect it to be. A surprise awaits!
All the characters from the previous five films are with Harry and his friends again plus a couple of new characters. All the lead actors, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) turn in excellent performances. They are joined by Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall), Robbie Cotrane (the half giant, Hagrid), the sneering Alan Rickman as Professor Snape and Ian McKellan as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore. A newcomer is Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn who is a catalyst of all the mayhem that ensues. All performance, the direction, the Special Effects and the sets and costumes are superb.
Sadly, this is the penultimate film series. The final one Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is in production.
What is multi-millionaire author, JK Rowling going to do for an encore I wonder. I hear that she has been tossing around some new ideas. But Harry Potter will be a difficult, if not impossible act to follow. Fans of Harry Potter will rave about this film as I did. It’s full of excitement, wonderful effects and great action. Enjoy!
I will definitely be acquiring the DVD when it becomes available and I wish I could cover this article with five stars, but as it is I award a maximum excellent, “Don’t Miss It!.” Five stars to Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince.
Theatre News
There are a number of excellent shows lined up in Harare during the festive season.
This evening sees a one-off revue taking place at Reps Theatre. It’s called Simply The Best and has been arranged and presented by the Dance Trust of Zimbabwe as a fundraiser for Reps Theatre, which is planning to carry out renovations and refurbishments in the coming year. The show starts at 6.30pm and will be great entertainment for all ages, and tickets are available from the box office from 5.30pm.
Running during this week at Reps is the second week of Stars of Tomorrow, the annual showcase for future talent, with shows each evening from Tuesday to Saturday and a matinee this afternoon (2.30pm) and on Saturday November 21.
Next up at Reps is the annual pantomime, always great fun for the whole family. Directed by Graham Crutchley, it is called Sing A Song Of Sixpence and is presented in Harare for the first time, with cast members that include Marc Thomas, Sue and Martin Bolt, Nigel Hopkins and many others. Musical direction is by Meg Mackenzie. The panto runs from Tuesday December 1 to Saturday December 19 (with a matinee performance on December 5. Booking opens this week for the whole run. Spar has become involved and there is to be a Spar hamper given away to a lucky seat holder at each performance. The spar connection has also brought in Childline, which will use the panto for fundraising and awareness. People coming to the show are being encouraged to bring a toy along to put into a box at the Childline desk.
Rory Kilalea’s award-winning play Colours will be revived in Theatre Upstairs in early December, presented by Oxfam. This will run for only three performances — December 3, 4 and 5. Zane Lucas will be staging Striking Twelve, an innovative and moving modern musical based on the story of the Little Match Girl. This runs through most of December.
Linda Hyde is staging her traditional end-of-year fun show on the Reps Main Stage over the new year period. This time it will be Flying Circussess, a Monty Pythonesque show of skits. This will open on New Year’s Eve and run for only four performances.
Celebrity Subscription Concerts have lined up four concerts between now and year end. The first is on Saturday November 21, with an evening event at the Hellenic Academy in Alexandra Park.
Sunday will see a performance by the Lyric Trio from South Africa, including works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich. This will be at the Harare International School Theatre at 4pm.
On Sunday December 13, Celebs will host a Young Persons Concert featuring Zimbabwean student Angela Wilde and two colleagues from university in South Africa, together known as The Driske Trio. They will perform a variety of works, including a Christmas medley. This will also be at the HIS Theatre and also at 4pm. The Driske Trio will then perform in Bulawayo on the Tuesday evening, December 15, and at Victoria Falls on Thursday December 17.
Watch out for news of Reps’ bumper celebratory year in 2010/2011, marking the 50th anniversary of Reps Theatre on January 13 2010 and the 80th anniversary of the Repertory Players on February 17 2011. Celebs will also be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010 and has plans for its usual line-up of top international performers throughout the year.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form