Daily Dispatch

South African newspaper about Miss Thandi at Grahamstown National Arts Festival, South Africa.
July 3 2000

By Toni Muller

Miss Thandi delights

Miss Thandi, Grand Mousseux Room, Settler's Inn

Miss Thandi looks distastefully over the rather small audience and then with a conspirational glance says the rent-a-crowd didn't come through for her.
Never mind, she just tells everyone to move forward and surprisingly they do. For this particular show, no one wants to blend with the background, there's too much to enjoy up front.
Hailing from Port Alfred but now residing in the Netherlands, Miss Thandi is a drag queen who knows how to flirt with her audience and get them to do just what she wants them to do, be it singing along or pulling Fanie or George up on the stage to dance to African rhythms.
It's all done in good humour and a mother turns to her daughter and says, "She's getting your to make a fool of himself and he's loving every minute of it".
The band is international but the humour is pure South African. Miss Thandi takes her audience on an interesting trip around the world, singing songs and dancing vivaciously around the stage as if this is a private party and at any minute the crowd might stand up and join in.
But it's back to South Africa in the end, even to the point of singing Sarie Marais.
Thanks to the Afro Vibes Foundation and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria, festival goers can enjoy Miss Thandi today, Wednesday July 5 and Thursday July 5 and Thursday, July 6 at the Settler's Inn.
It's a delightful show, full of energy, humour and plenty of bawdy personality (that of Miss Thandi of course).