PEKING ACROBATS Cal Performances provides another opportunity for you to gape open mouthed at the extraordinary routines of the Peking Acrobats this Saturday and Sunday. Performances by the troupe combine the deep tradition and rigorous training of ancient folk arts with the sleek theatricality and technical savvy of the 21st century. Dressed in ornate costumes and accompanied by live music on Chinese instruments, the graceful acrobats dazzle with aerial routines, juggling, tumbling, somersaults, and gymnastics, plus daring stunts like trick cycling and the human pyramid. Saturday, Jan. 27, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 28, 3 p.m., Zellerbach Hall.
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO So you weren’t quick enough off the mark to buy tickets for Ladysmith Black Mambazo on Saturday night or for the family matinee on Sunday afternoon at the Freight & Salvage. Don’t panic! There are still at writing a handful of tickets available for the Sunday night performance by the great South African a capella group (with two Grammy nominations in 2017 – they’ve already won four Grammys). Sunday, Jan. 29, 7 p.m., Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison St.
FILM: SHAKESPEARE OUTSIDE THE BOX The Berkeley Public Library’s “mini film festival” of unusual Shakespeare films concludes with a free screening of Oliver Parker’s 1995 film of Othello on Saturday afternoon. This was the first filmed version with a black Othello (how can that be?!), and stars Laurence Fishburne (left) in the lead role. Kenneth Branagh plays Iago and Irene Jacob is Desdemona. Stay after the film for a brief discussion. Saturday, Jan. 27, 2 p.m., Third floor Community Meeting Room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St.
THEATRE: LAST CHANCE: ‘AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ Tonight and Saturday is the last chance to catch Actors Ensemble of Berkeley’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, adapted by Arthur Miller. Directed by Michael R. Cohen and staged at the Live Oak Theater, An Enemy of the People is Ibsen’s great parable about the costs of the truth, featuring a town in denial of the environmental disaster at the center of their livelihood, the baths, and the idealist Doctor Stockmann who is determined to expose them for the health threat they pose, despite the costs to himself, his family, and his town. Friday Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27, 8 p.m., Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave.
BEARS WATER POLO Come cheer Cal’s women’s water polo team in their first home matches of the season at Spieker Aquatics Complex this week. Ranked second nationally, the Bears host the Cal Cup against some formidable opponents: seventh-ranked UC Irvine, 11th-ranked UC Davis, and 22nd-ranked Fresno State. Top-ranked Stanford is also in the tournament but the Bears won’t face their arch-rival this weekend. Plus (as if that wasn’t enough) there will be exhibition matches against the Chinese National Team and San Jose State. Saturday, Jan. 27 and Sunday, Jan. 28, from 8:30 a.m., Spieker Aquatic Complex.
Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:
Hungarian roots music with Zina Bozzay and Valdama
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Insult’ and ‘Vazante’
A treat: BAMPFA’s ‘Way Bay’ displays 200 years of innovative Bay Area arts
