EL BLANCO: TALES OF THE MARIACHI

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4.65 (51)

EL BLANCO: TALES OF THE MARIACHI

11 performances between Oct. 14, 2015 and April 10, 2016
Theatre
Performed by James Cairns. Written by Gwydion Beynon. Sound Design by João Orecchia
60mins
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Performer James Cairns (Dirt, The Three Little Pigs, The Snow Goose) teams up with writer Gwydion Beynon (The Epicene Butcher, Amateur Hour) to tell the epic tale of El Blanco : The White One.

One of only two Gold Standard Bank Ovation Award winners at this year’s National Arts Festival, El Blanco swept audiences off their feet during the show and onto their feet at the end of the show. Cairns’ trademark mastery of the one-man show coupled with Beynon’s gripping, unpredictable and hilarious text make for a theatre experience par excellence.

There will be songs, there will be stories. And there will be many lies. Maravilloso!
THE TEAM: 
Gwydion Beynon is the best writer in his apartment complex. James Cairns is the best actor in his road. The result of their combination can only be stupendous or wonderful or both.

THE SHOW: 
There might be singing, but it will be loud and over soon. If you cry, it will be because you are entranced and not because you are horrified – unless you are horrified in the right way, in which case, you will be horrified!

There are audiences who have paid to see their work before. You could join this lucky group of people and see their work too. Everyone will be happy. James and Gwydion will be happy, because they will be able to pay their bonds and you will be happy, because you will be able to chuckle to yourselves as you fondly remember the good time you had. It could be that you will weep quietly as you remember El Blanco, because that is the kind of performance we are talking about here – from the alpha to the omega, the yin to the yang, the peso to the dollar, you could laugh, you could cry, because El Blanco has it all.

There are so many reasons why El Blanco: Tales of the Mariachi will be the best thing since Pancho Villa. We would like to list them, but here there is not enough space. To list them all you would need most of the internet and we all know that the Americans would not allow that.
Here are some advantages that El Blanco has over other shows (a small and concise list):
Only one actor, so you don’t have to look around so much.
One guitar and one ukulele, so you don’t get bored of the same instrument.
Songs, for the people who like musicals.
Talking, for the people who like jokes.
Sounds made right in front of your eyes to help you believe your ears.
AND…
No wigs – because it is so easy to get confused.
Bring to us the cries of your emotions, your claps of appreciation, your whoops of joy and your open eyes of wonder. Also your money, let’s not make a mistake there. If you can get a ticket, that is…

Audience Responses

We thought it was superb, brilliant acting by James Cairns. Loved it!

Sarah • Attended April 7, 2016, 8 p.m.
5.0

IT WAS AMAZING

Simon • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

#FeesMustFall

Daniel • Attended Oct. 18, 2015, 3:30 p.m.
4.0

Enjoyed the show!

Arlene • Attended April 6, 2016, 8 p.m.
3.0

Great show!

Phil • Attended Oct. 18, 2015, 3:30 p.m.
5.0

Funny, sad and wise

Pieter • Attended April 10, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
5.0

Really enjoyed the show! Had no idea what to expect but the Ovation award from Grahamstown was enough to convince me to book and I'm very glad I did. Amazing story and performance! Also, it was at least my second visit to POP Art and I found the chairs as uncomfortable as ever. Wouldn't stop me attending but maybe something for the future!

Nicholas • Attended Oct. 16, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

beautiful.

Lea • Attended April 10, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
4.0

Loved it. James, think about wearing either a "male support" for dancers, (to lose the "panty line") or make the panty line more obvious. A delicious show, beautifully written to showcase some of James' considerable talents.

Tony • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Very impressive show, and very entertaining. Felt like the plot line was a bit disparate but loved how versatile the actor was and all of the insights, humour and accents. Love coming to watch shows at PopArt!

Jenna • Attended April 10, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
4.0

Excellent show! More please.

LOUISE • Attended April 7, 2016, 8 p.m.
5.0

more 4.5 than 4, I'd say ~c

Cyril • Attended April 8, 2016, 8 p.m.
4.0

I would definitely recommend a viewing! :)

Amy • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Fantastic! My hubby and i thoroughly enjoyed the performance. James Cairns was superb. Thank you for staging the event & giving us the opportunity of seeing this brilliantly piece!

janet • Attended Oct. 16, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Wonderful show. Great night's entertainment

Michelle • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
4.0

You need to fix some of the seats. Somebody was sitting on a broken seat on the front row and had to get up and sit on the floor which interrupted the performance.

Julian • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Superb show in a fantastic space. Thank you for bringing us such brilliant theatre and keeping "live" alive!

Louise • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Although the actor was very good, a lot of the "throw away" lines were fast and muttered fast so we missed a few, even though we were in the front row. Still, an enjoyable evening.

ANN • Attended April 9, 2016, 8 p.m.
3.0

El Blanco was very entertaining. I was expecting a funny, bleating sort of play about the woes of white South Africans- I supposed we get conditioned to expecting that. He was great and I really enjoyed the story line and how engaging he was.I love POPART.

Julie • Attended April 7, 2016, 8 p.m.
4.0

It was a brilliant performance by James ! Best I've seen in years. The writing/ script too was formidable and ingeniously clever. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rossana • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

world class production

Kathryn • Attended Oct. 16, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

James Cairns is sublime

Nina Lucy • Attended April 6, 2016, 8 p.m.
5.0

Hugely enjoyable - great performance!!

John • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Excellent show! The acting was brilliant and the story line was gripping. We thoroughly enjoyed it- looking forward to te next one.

Laura • Attended April 8, 2016, 8 p.m.
5.0

Beautiful tale masterfully told. SA theatre at its very best.

Greg • Attended April 10, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
5.0

James is a wonderful performer with an equally wonderful script. Well done to both the writer and actor.

Elinza • Attended Oct. 18, 2015, 1:30 p.m.
5.0

Fantastic - such an exceptional talent

Patricia • Attended April 9, 2016, 8 p.m.
5.0

Simply one of the best shows I have ever seen (multiple times) at POPArt. And I have seen some amazing shows at POPArt. World class writing, world class acting, a triumph. This is a five star review, but it reads like a six...

Paul • Attended April 9, 2016, 8 p.m.
5.0

We loved the show, will be back!

Neville • Attended Oct. 16, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Fantastic performance - funny, energetic, brilliant acting. Well done. All our party of 8 loved it. :)

Liz • Attended Oct. 17, 2015, 8 p.m.
5.0

Great performance! Highly recommended.

Heinrich • Attended April 7, 2016, 8 p.m.
5.0

An incredible solo performance with a good lesson to tell.