Melville’s Die Pienk Kerk is heading towards summer with a programme spanning music, comedy and visual art – from a new Gallery 1903 exhibition by Allison Klein and Linda Rademan to acclaimed singer-songwriter Luna Paige, and one of Afrikaans music’s most enduring artists, Jannie du Toit, celebrating the work of Koos du Plessis.
And Die Pienk Kerk is continuing its mission to get Joburgers out for a proper night of live entertainment, with its show-and-meal format and restaurant specials making the evening about far more than simply taking a seat when the curtain goes up.
“We want people to come out again – not simply arrive for a show and go home, but make an evening of it,” says Die Pienk Kerk’s Yanni Briel. “The warmer months give Joburgers every excuse to get out of the house, meet friends, eat together and enjoy live performance. We’ve deliberately made the meal part of the experience and kept our specials going because we want Die Pienk Kerk to be somewhere people can come and spend the evening.”
10 October – 6 November: Between the Lines at Gallery 1903
Die Pienk Kerk’s Gallery 1903 adds visual art to the October programme with Between the Lines, an exhibition by artists Allison Klein and Linda Rademan, opening on Saturday, 10 October at 12:00 and running until 6 November.
Johannesburg-based Klein studied Fine Art at Wits Technikon, majoring in printmaking, and has worked across printmaking, drawing, mural art, illustration and storyboarding for film and advertising. Her love of experimentation ultimately brought her back to printmaking as her chosen medium and, over the past decade, her work has featured in group shows, art fairs and duo exhibitions.
An active member of The Printing Girls, Klein works experimentally across processes including linocut, etching, screenprint and cyanotype, mixing and layering techniques to explore the conflicting messages and visual noise of contemporary life. Her work draws on influences ranging from Renaissance iconography and punk aesthetics to the visual language of urban surfaces.
Paternoster-based Rademan spent 28 years as an art director in advertising and nine years lecturing in art direction at the AAA School of Advertising before moving into full-time art practice. She completed her master’s degree in Fine Arts cum laude at the University of Johannesburg, receiving the Chancellor’s Medal for the most meritorious master’s study in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture in 2017.
Working in drawing, printmaking, embroidery and mixed media, Rademan’s work explores gender politics, memory and female identity. Stitching and “suturing” recur through her practice, examining both difference and reconciliation, with threads that can be read as either fraying or as evidence of something still in progress. Her work has been the subject of academic study, particularly for the way it addresses Afrikaner female identity, patriarchy and the historical silencing of women. Pasted text
Between the Lines will be opened by Fiver Locker.
Opening: Saturday, 10 October | 12:00
Exhibition: 10 October – 6 November | Gallery 1903, Die Pienk Kerk
24 October: Luna Paige – Die Reisigers
Acclaimed South African singer-songwriter Luna Paige brings Die Reisigers to Die Pienk Kerk on 24 October, following the September release of the album and a national tour.
Inspired by Paige’s travels through South Africa and Southern Europe, particularly her pilgrimage along the Spanish Camino, Die Reisigers explores movement, belonging, loss, inner stillness, self-love and acceptance through music and storytelling.
The production has already been seen at Woordfees, KKNK, Suidoosterfees and Kalfiefees and was nominated for Best Music Production at the 2025 Aardklop National Arts Festival.
Performing on piano and acoustic guitar, Paige is joined by celebrated musician André Scheepers for an evening that weaves together songs, stories, humour and reflection.
Saturday, 24 October | 19:00 | R450, including a meal
14 November: Jannie du Toit – Doep is nie dood nie – in Kerstyd
On 14 November, Jannie du Toit brings Doep is nie dood nie – in Kerstyd to Die Pienk Kerk, accompanied by Susan Mouton on cello and Chanie Jonker on piano and accordion.
The production celebrates the extraordinary work of Koos du Plessis, combining his immortal songs with selected poems and texts and moving between much-loved classics and lesser-known works that reveal the remarkable breadth of his writing.
Forty-two years after Du Plessis’s death, his observations of people, the world and life remain strikingly relevant. For Du Toit, who was a personal friend of Koos, keeping that body of work alive for new generations has become an enduring part of his own musical journey.
The programme then moves naturally towards Christmas. Du Plessis wrote one of Afrikaans music’s most beloved Christmas songs, Somerkersfees, to which Du Toit later contributed a final verse. Somerkersfees, together with Christmas music in several languages, brings the evening into the festive season.
Perhaps Koos himself best captured the enduring life of words and music:
“When all is done and past
and earth reclaims its due
this hermit within me
will remain somewhere on a bookshelf.”
Come for the show and fabulous food
At Die Pienk Kerk, performances are designed as an evening out rather than simply a curtain time. Patrons can arrive from 90 minutes before the performance, with the meal included in the ticket price and served before the show. The venue was also recently named runner-up for Best Overall Guest Experience at the South Africa Restaurant Awards. DPK – Media release – Oct
Beyond show nights, Die Pienk Kerk’s Blooming Good Food weekly specials continue, giving Joburgers even more reason to visit.
Tuesdays are pasta days, with a choice of Bolognese, Alfredo, Chicken Alfredo or Basil & Veggie Pasta. Wednesdays and Fridays feature the Classic Burger, while Thursdays are Fish & Chips days – a special that began for pensioners and proved too popular to keep to one generation. Weekday breakfasts are also served.
With an art exhibition and three very different productions across the coming weeks, Briel says that variety is precisely the point.
“Die Pienk Kerk should be a place where you can discover something different every time you come through the door. Great music, comedy, stories we know and stories we haven’t heard before – and a table where you can sit down together before the show. That’s the kind of night out we want to bring back.”
Tickets are available through Quicket.
