By BRUCE DENNILL
The Royal Countess Zingara / Creative Director: Richard Griffin / Melrose Arch, Johannesburg
Formerly branded as Madame Zingara – she’s earned a promotion, apparently – the Royal Countess Zingara offers ‘dinner theatre’ that is far beyond the realm of what is generally meant by that term. As the concept has developed over the years (version one was launched in Cape Town in 2001), it’s been refined and perfected, expanding the vision of the artistic and entertainment offering to a degree where it really is a sublime stage production as well as a glamorous, delicious meal out.
Currently nested in an open area adjacent to Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, the Zingara set-up creates drama and excitement the moment you step out of your parked car or Uber. Two searchlights light up the sky and the glow of the big tent emerges over the top of the Arch Pavilion’s perimeter wall, with its Moorish flourishes. Heading to the door of the Carousel – the magnificent Spiegelpaleis (“mirror palace”) Big Top tent in which the dining area and stage are positioned – there are already signs that this is not an average dinner date. Performers in lavish costumes (think Louis XIV’s birthday bash at Versaille) dance or greet or otherwise interact with or near guests queuing to check their table numbers. Inside, with the dining area still roped off, the tent extends to multiple bars and lounges, with face painting – exquisitely detailed – tarot card readers, a shop full of extravagant outfits and accessories, a Little Person in a giant cocktail glass and musclebound guards in everything from tuxedoes to Egyptian kilts and headdresses.
Pacing yourself is a good idea – there is much still to come – but suddenly finding yourself on a Stanley Kubrick film set creates an instant buzz (probably reflected in the bar receipts…).
In the main part of the tent, the stage extends into the audience, meaning no-one is too far from the action, whichever of the differently priced seating zones they’re occupying. If you’ve booked a big party, you’ll know everyone as you arrive; if not, you’ll know everyone by the time you leave. Costumed waiters and waitresses – looking like everyone from Jack Sparrow to a cast member from Hair via Harry Potter and ensemble members from The Greatest Showman – arrive to take orders and explain running orders before morphing into a larger organism of well-oiled teamwork that keeps everything running without a hitch, serving and linking items and areas with effortless choreography.
The acts in the stage production – La Dolce Royal – range from very good to astonishing. There are feats of incredible strength and precision from Jamie and Beata; aerial expertise from Juan Pablo Palacios and Victoria Perez Iacono; risky balance work on a high platform from Axel Perez and regular musical interludes from wonderfully talented quartet The Clorettes (Andrea Anthony, Edith Plaatjies, Brandon Jonathan and Nazneen Abrahams), whose collective vocal excellence is matched by the creative arrangements of the hit songs they perform.
Laced into all of this is the serving and eating of four delectable courses, portioned well to both feel like a treat and not over-fill and make you drowsy. Every sense is engaged and indulged, but not in a way that celebrates excess for its own sake. The Royal Countess Zingara has a stated goal of celebrating life and togetherness and it is perhaps the most impressive outcome of the whole evening that this goal is achieved, with a feel-good sensation carrying you to your transport on the way out.
There are cheaper ways to spend a night out, but precious few that will reward you with an encounter as luxuriously satisfying and enjoyable as this.