It is rare that a still-living, still-breathing person is portrayed on stage in two simultaneous productions inside the Pretoria State Theatre. It is rarer still when that same individual is someone both revered and reviled by different parts of a nation. We're talking about Winnie, of course. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

Amid the fluff and frivolity filling Johannesburg stages at the moment, an offbeat and intelligent piece of theatre is challenging audiences at The Market, writes LESLEY STONES.

Half-way through the first act of  “Dance Of Desire” I realised I’d lost the plot. Which was a little careless, because there really hadn’t been much of a plot to hang onto in the first place. By LESLEY STONES.

The news that world’s most-wanted terrorist was dead came as glad tidings for a US press fallen on hard times. Osama bin Laden’s death not only gave tabloids a rich source of sensation, but bumped up newspaper sales across the board. By MANDY DE WAAL.

You may not have heard, but one of Daily Maverick’s correspondents is getting married this year. The hubbub for these imminent nuptials—while considerable in our offices—has yet to impact on the wider world. We are, however, learning some vital lessons from our social superiors and former colonial overlords. Boy, do they know how to do it right? By RICHARD POPLAK.

When Bang Bang Club member Greg Marinovich was shot in Thokoza in the early 1990s, his initial thought was that he’d paid his dues for “the crime of being the lucky voyeur”. A film about those events has just been released in the US, but following as it does on the deaths of leading photojournalists in Libya, can Hollywood really do these brave and complicated men justice? By KEVIN BLOOM.

Al Jazeera’s English channel is to boldly (very boldly) tread where other news networks have so far only tiptoed, with a television show known as The Stream. It promises to incorporate social media in a way no other network has done before. Or rather, other networks have sort of tried and have been dreadful at it. What will Al Jazeera do differently? By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

As the world hunkers down under the continued threat of a meltdown at Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, the result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that ripped through that country a month ago, a chilling anniversary is being commemorated elsewhere. Twenty-five years ago, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, exploded, sending a cloud of poison into the atmosphere. A quarter of a century later the legacy of that disaster is still being assessed. By RICHARD POPLAK.

Two weeks ago, the filmed version of Ayn Rand’s divisive mega-selling 1957 novel “Atlas Shrugged” was released in the US. Made on a small budget, without the backing of Hollywood’s marketing might, the independently financed film grossed $1,675, 917 for the first week at the box office, ranking it number 14th. What’s more, this is only Part 1—implicit in the title is the threat of sequels. Predictably, the film has divided critics along political lines. The right think it’s alright. The left think it’s bereft. By RICHARD POPLAK.

HL Mencken, looking back on his life, wrote that journalism “is really the life of kings.” Which may not entirely be true, although sometimes in the job you do get to meet one (a king, that is, or perhaps a future king). In the middle of April, on a project entirely unrelated to the royal wedding, KEVIN BLOOM got to interview Prince Charles at his private residence in Scotland. Here’s how it happened.

It was bound to happen. The “Twelve Tenors” have held hugely successful tours around the world, proving audiences have an appetite for accessible, semi-classical music. So what better way to capitalise on that than by giving us eight sopranos? Same idea, same presentation, and at least one of the same songs too still failed to impress LESLEY STONES.

Friday afternoon finally brought some good news for Anton Hammerl's friends and family as the Libyans told the South African government they were holding the photojournalist, and he would phone his family soon. This is only the first step in securing his release, but at least we now know he's alive. By THERESA MALLINSON.

After 16 days of no news, there was finally something to celebrate on Thursday when detained journalist Clare Gillis phoned home. But for Anton Hammerl's friends and family, the call brought sobering news that the South African photojournalist was not with Gillis, Jim Foley, and Manu Brabo when they were captured in Libya. Which means we know even less about his whereabouts than we did before. Of huge concern is that (to the best of our knowledge) our diplomats have yet to make a breakthrough. President Zuma, it's time for a personal appeal to Gaddafi. By THERESA MALLINSON.

Following an avalanche of complaints and a formal objection, Cabinet endorsed the department of minerals and energy’s decision to hit the freeze button on licenses for fracking in the Karoo. Can you hear the cheers? By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

It's now been 16 days since South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl was captured in Libya, along with fellow foreign journalists Jim Foley, Clare Gillis and Manu Brabo – and still there is no definitive information regarding their whereabouts. But while they wait for news, family, friends, and supporters of the captured journalists are doing their best to keep the story alive. By THERESA MALLINSON.

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s all-or-nothing fiscal plan came under serious question on Monday when the Big Three rating agency Standards & Poor’s downgraded its outlook on US sovereign debt to “negative”. But will the new S&P outlook cause a sudden outbreak of accord on Capitol Hill on how to tackle the mounting budget deficit? And why is the S&P’s wish Wall Street’s command? Who is S&P anyway? By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has just released his memoir, revisiting those legendary early years at Microsoft. Allen wants the world to understand just how bad Bill Gates was, and just how brilliant and innovative Allen was and how unfair it is that Gates gets all the glory. Ah, geeks and their Shakespearean dramas. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

For the last nine months, Wikileaks source Bradley Manning has been held in solitary confinement and subjected – according to leading legal experts – to unconstitutional and immoral treatment. He hasn’t yet confessed to a relationship with Julian Assange, and now the US authorities have announced he’ll be moved to more comfortable facilities. What makes Manning tick? And more importantly, what lies in store for him at the trial? By KEVIN BLOOM. 

Conspiracies are everywhere and do their best to derail the ANC and Cope. The DA wants to shake off smaller parties and govern alone in Beaufort West, while the ACDP accuses the DA of taking all the credit for Cape Town. Solidarity will not be backing any political party.

In the steadily growing field of those making a pitch for leadership of the Republican Party in the upcoming US primaries, one name sticks out. No, it’s not Sarah Palin, whose political stock has fallen considerably in the past six months. We’re talking about Donald Trump, real estate mogul, reality TV star, and now, as it turns out, a hardened cynic who is dragging US politics down a few notches. By RICHARD POPLAK.

What thoughts and considerations went through editors’ minds when they chose to put the horrific images of the beating and subsequent death of Andries Tatane on television and on front pages? With violence a national staple in South Africa, how do editors weigh up what best serves the public interest? By MANDY DE WAAL.

While Cell C continues to yap and snap at Vodacom’s ankles with adverts that take artistic licence a little far, and Vodacom paints the town red, MTN is growing what must be SA’s smartest sponsorship property, the MTN Radio Awards. By MANDY DE WAAL.

A look into Andries Tatane’s life after his televised death shows him to be a civic-minded person, a nation-builder type and a human being who loved helping others. Tatane died after being beaten and shot, allegedly by police, during a service-delivery protest in Ficksburg. The great tragedy of the police brutality that took Tatane’s life is that it snuffed out the potential of a community activist who dedicated his own life to improving the lives of others. By MANDY DE WAAL.

The Cape Town Opera's latest presentation at the Artscape Theatre, the two parts of the original Puccini's 1918 triptych, lead the audience through two hours of irresistible lightness and harrowing emotions. By EMILY GAMBADE.

Sir David Attenborough, the voice, smile and incomparable passion behind years of BBC's natural history TV documentaries, delivered a lecture on Wednesday evening at Cape Town's Baxter Concert Hall, that had the room amazed and enchanted. Much laughter and a standing ovation later, there it was, everything one ever needed to know about Alfred Wallace and the birds of paradise. By EMILY GAMBADE.

As the dust settles and the pro-democracy groups lick their wounds, the people of Swaziland have many lessons to learn from the protests dubbed the “April 12 uprising”. Perhaps, most of all, it is the state that must look back on the events of the past 72 hours and reflect on what they mean for the sustainability – or otherwise – of the Tinkhundla royal regime. But the pro-democracy movement also has some soul-searching of its own to do. By MANQOBA NXUMALO.

South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl has been detained in Libya for 10 days – and counting. SA's diplomats say it is a “delicate situation”, and can’t give details of negotiations for his release. Yet four New York Times journalists captured in Libya in March were released after only six days, while, in another great example of great skill and dedication of our government, the South African consulate in Tripoli has yet to locate Hammerl. And it took them eight days to just to contact his family. By THERESA MALLINSON.

I’m all for a bit of decadence, so a night at the theatre promising sex, temptation, indulgence and extravagance sounded like a delightfully insalubrious evening. Yet I felt strangely out of synch with most of the audience as they laughed, gasped and applauded as “Decadence” made its comeback. By LESLEY STONES.

In 1991, the Basque city of Bilbao in northern Spain decided it needed a makeover. As its industrial sector evaporated, its tax base disappeared and the town reeled from a recession, the city’s administrators understood they needed to do something drastic. They called in Thomas Krens, director of the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation. In 1997 the Bilbao Guggenheim opened, and the world streamed in. Bilbao proved that cities do indeed have second acts. Could the same principles be applied to South Africa’s metropoles? By RICHARD POPLAK.

The ANC Youth League has finally had an epiphany and realised Twitter's miraculous and revolutionary powers. And they are not threatening to 'closer' it anymore. It should be fun. By STEPHEN GROOTES.