... Komeng (coming soon to Johannesburg's Market Theatre) offers hope that mainstream South African culture can take a passionate, critical look at its own materialist obsessions. Its big failing, however, is that it takes itself a little too seriously, and Ka Ncube could benefit from watching a performer like Raymond Matinyane, who returned to the fringe this year with his drag alter ego "Miss Thandi" in tow.

Matinyane has been dragging up for almost a decade now and so his humour is razorsharp and unabashed. He's also backed by a host of Dutch benefactors - having lived in The Netherlands for some years - and so his music is surprisingly good. Miss Thandi, of course, doesn't have to disintegrate into a sobbing mess (like Ka Ncube's characters) to prove that she's shrugged off the heavy burdens of being a man ...