Janice Honeyman’s Peter Pan at Joburg Theatre’s Nelson Mandela Theatre
Cast: Richard Richard (Smelly Smee), Ben Voss (Mr Darling and Captain Hook), Kensiwe Tshabalala (Mrs Darling), Kiruna-Lind Devar (Wendy), Matthew Berry (John), Diego Hamity (Michael), David Arnold Johnson (Clementina Coconut), Manyano Ngoma (the dog, Nana), Virtuous KIandemiri (Thokolina Tinkerbell), Sandi Dlangalala (Peter Pan), Lesedi Rich (Sam Spaginyol), Gareth Meijsen (Seb Scumdawg), Dirk Joubert (Sparkey), Gugu Dhlamini (Curley), Sarah Leigh (Nibs), Brian Ngobese (Tootles), Bo Molefe (Slightly) and Tania Mteto (Princess Lotus Lily) and the ensemble
Associate Director: Timothy le Roux
Production Designer: Andrew Timm
Lighting Director: Johan Ferreira
Sound Designer: Akhona Bozo
Choreographer: Khaya Ndlovu
Costume Designer and Co-ordinator: Mariska Meyer
Dates: Until December 24 (so get going!)
If you have seen as many pantomimes as I have, you need some incentive (especially when you’re no longer the target market).
For me there were two big ones; Janice Honeyman and my two favourite little ones. Just the fact that I can still stomach a pantomime has everything to do with someone who is completely ruled by her inner child when writing and staging the annual panto.
Not only does she know how to negotiate an audience of young and older children but she also shares her panto story with loads of fun clues for those with many more years on the planet to keep their minds spinning once they’ve seen enough of all the silliness and have had enough festive cheer.
She has also found a compromise with the LED screens and all the bells and whistles they add to this production, while holding on to some of the more old-fashioned sets and designs, which breathe life into the rapidly developing technology.
It’s a miracle just to watch her each year as she finds ways to build novel glitz into the show. She has established her nimble dance to deliver the goods – and that she does with sparkle – time and time again. Small wonder they can’t let her go as she just keeps pushing those stakes higher and higher each time.
This is probably somewhere in the region of my 30th Honeyman panto production and the fact that I can keep going and writing willingly, says everything.
This time it’s Peter Pan and one of the delights which has been been happening for a few decades is the transformation of the South African stage. I know some might ask whether we still have to touch on these colour issues, but it is especially the popular shows that had to get it right and had the most impact. Of course Ms Honeyman did just that. And it easily gets better every year.
David Johnson as Clementine Coconut.
She has created many stars and again, a few are stepping out smartly to show their stuff. I have to confess, I have always been a David Johnson fan. Perhaps he’s not the obvious choice for the panto dame, but that’s another of Janice’s tricks up her sleeve. She doesn’t opt for the obvious and then she delivers another bit of magic by getting a performance that’s different, yet works. Clementine Coconut could have some fun with her costumes which already delivered the goods and to boot, Johnson added some swish and style to his panto tart.
Ben Voss as Captain Hook
Ben Voss, another panto and Honeyman regular, did double duty and delivered a devilishly evil Captain Hook with a smart swagger and punch, which might have scared some and tickled others, and then quietly slipped into the shoes of the more demure Mr Darling.
Virtuous Klandemiri as Thokolina Tinkerbell with Sandi Dlangalala as Peter Pan.
If you have a very traditional view of what and who Thokolina Tinkerbell should be, Honeyman flipped that applecart as well and gave us the sparkly Virtuous (could there be a more apt name!) Klandemiri as well as the light-on-his-feet Sandi Dlangalala who starred and shone as as Peter Pan in this debut performance.
Michael Richard as Smelly Smee.
Michael Richard added a performance with flair and wisdom enhanced by decades of experience as Smelly Smee and the youngsters in the cast kept the energy up and the artistry pumping.
It’s a gran show. This time we sat on the balcony and it was fascinating to get this different yet complete view. I know many people regard the lower level as the better seats. My small companions had seen last year’s panto from the front row.
The full splendour.
But in the end, the balcony offers a complete appreciation of the Honeyman approach. It allows you to focus on the whole rather than individual performances for example but also accentuates the detail that comes together in the design. It’s easy to understand why Honeyman draws you in time and again.
CAST: Chi Mhende (Oberon/Hippolyta), Caleb Swanepoel (Puck), Roberto Kyle (Theseus/Tatiana), Mark Elderin (Bottom), Jock Kleynhans (Demetrius), Aidan Scott (Lysander), Lisa Tredoux (Helena), Kylie Fisher (Hermia), Sizwesandile Mnisi (Egeus/Snug/Faerie), Tankiso Mamabolo (Mechanical Faerie), Tailyn Ramsamy (Flute/Faerie), Zach Esau (Snout/Faerie) and Roland du Preez (Starveling/Faerie)
SET: Jesse Brooks
LIGHTING: Oliver Hauser
COSTUMES: Michaeline Wessels
VENUE: Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre
DATES: Until November 19
Tailyn Ramsamy (Flute)
It’s not often that a press release is so audacious as to claim that a Shakespeare will be one of the biggest hits of a season!
But with the ingenious Geoffrey Hyland at the helm, aided by his magnificent cast, I have no qualms if they grab those particular bragging rights.
Swept off my feet at the recent Woordfees with this production staged at the openair Libertas Amphitheatre, I was keen to go a second round with these players.
The setting (outside, specifically) might have added an extra sprinkle of magic, but with this Shakespeare, as is usually the case, the players and the play are what count, the director assured me.
And if I look back, even with the magnificent original outdoor setting which lent itself especially to this madcap and weirdly wonderful, romantic bouquet, it was the marvellously talented, youthful cast, fully representative of the clichéd rainbow nation and seen here with such genuine gusto, that stole my heart.
The director was confident that they would pull off the indoor setting and, as we entered the theatre, I immediately loved the stage, which had been transformed into a colourful green space. With a little imagination, you could almost spot the twinkling stars once the auditorium lights went off. And all round there was a sprinkle of fairy dust, I’m sure of it.
That is what brings this colourful play to life so brilliantly. It is the way it has been staged, dressed and lit, as well as an exuberance from the full cast from start to finish. There’s a glorious abundance of brightly coloured cloaks for example, which become part of the emotional impact in the way they are carried and manipulated with every movement. It’s a brightly-coloured, sweeping spectacle.
Robert Kyle (Tatiana) and Mark Elderin (Bottom)
It is in essence a romantic romp and as with any Shakespeare, you have to close off everything around you and take a leap into that world to allow the words to take charge and the actors to whisk you away.
It’s not a play where you want to single out performances because with such a big cast, there are always roles that steal the limelight. But, it is the patchwork of performances, which knits it all together so magnificently. And that is where the true magic lies – the choice of cast. Everyone seemed perfect for their part.
Hyland has quite a few tricks up his sleeve, knows when to throw in a quick slip of a local tongue, trusts audiences to buy into the local accents rather than the Queen’s (sorry, has it changed to King’s?) English, introduces original music which is sung with wonderful whimsy and pushes the production’s energy impulses with great enthusiasm.
It’s difficult not to buy into the dream world of luscious language and love adventures which transports you to a place of laughter and merriment in a way which is a perfect nod to the coming festive season.
Perhaps I was late in discovering Geoffrey Hyland’s theatre smarts, but then it’s not often that plays of this magnitude with so many players are swapped between the Cape and Gauteng.
What a brave move Mr Toerien. And one that hopefully Gauteng audiences will embrace wholeheartedly .
The play absolutely deserves all our attention and accolades. May this be the start of much more touring theatre of this kind.
Experiencing director Geoffrey Hyland’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at this year’s Woordfees a few weeks back, was a revelation. Thrilled to hear that the production was coming to Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre, I immediately touched base with the director to find out more about this astonishing not-to-be-missed Shakespeare. DIANE DE BEER reports:
Scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Photographers Llewellyn de Wet and Mark Wessels.
Tankiso Mamabolo as one of the Faerie’s.
It’s difficult to resist nagging everyone to get tickets for this amazing Shakespeare. I almost missed seeing it at the Woordfees, because I thought I might have lost my head booking for a Shakespeare during a very hectic festival schedule.
Fortunately I was persuaded to go and it was one of the best decisions I made at the festival. Chatting to the director about this particular production, I have even more reason to plead with theatre enthusiasts to go.
“This was the first Shakespeare at Maynardville post Covid,” explains Geoffrey and he elaborates. “Having been through some dark times, the organisers and myself thought: WOW! it’s time to celebrate love, life and exuberance with fantasy and dreams in a wonderful colourful and passionate production.
“Are there deeper things, of course there are deeper things, there always are in Shakespeare, but I think one goes along on this wonderful joyride of misadventure and laughs and that celebration of love and the funny things that humans do to pursue love,” he encourages prospective audiences.
It’s time to take some time-out from the world, to remind ourselves about how wonderful life in all its permutation is, notes Geoffrey. That’s why he selected this particular Shakespeare to kick off Maynardville post-covid, to re-energise this space. The wonderful forest setting in the play was a reflection, which meant it was doubly joyous.
He is often asked about his favourite Shakespeare and of course, it is the one he’s working on at that moment. “That’s the one you dive into and you’re investigating and you’re finding new things all the time,” he says.
When he start with any play, his approach is getting to know the play, reading and more reading, imagining, and listening to music that resonates just to get a feeling of what this thing means to him.
“I can’t do it if it doesn’t mean something to me, if it doesn’t light my fuse. I know I’m not going to be able to light the fuse of the actors, or that of the audience, so I have to find my way into a particular production.”
What got him going was watching kids playing with bubbles, and suddenly he thought, this is the play, “these wonderful bubbles flying, joyously, madly, they make no sense whatsoever and yet they lift the spirit.”
He had found his first connection, the lightness of fun, and the absolute beauty of those brief moments of life that are so captivating.
Only then came the company – the actors. The producers gave him a free hand in choosing who he wanted.
“It’s never about individuals. It’s about people you know are going to meld and enjoy each other. I needed people who would be team players rather than individual stars. They’re all stars believe me, but they needed to give and come to the play with an open heart and to come along with me as a director,” he emphasises.
Because they had a very short time to work, he also needed a cast who would be willing to give extra time. They needed to understand instinctively that they had to give everything to the role, he stressed.
What he enjoys about actors, is their ability (with him) to find their character. “I don’t come with a preconceived notion. You are the character and we must find that character in you,” is what he shares with his actors.
“My part as the director is to evoke the performance from what is in front of me and I need people who will continue to give to me and allow me to shape what is already in there as part of them.”
“I’ve never worked with a group of people together who are so much part of each other and giving and taking in equal measure between each other. The important thing for me as a director is to make the actors feel beautiful, then they will give of their best and I think the way we’ve come to do the production, they do.”
He describes the way they want to be on stage, bringing an exuberance and an energy, and because they’re tapping into themselves, into their life force, they are enjoying playing in front of an audience who then plays with them.
But all of that happens in a wonderful discipline of recreating a performance, never overdoing it, but sparking off each other all the time.
They’ve been very lucky, the audiences have responded beautifully and have enjoyed every single performance. And I can attest to that.
With Shakespeare especially, Geoffry thinks this is where teachers play a huge role in young people’s lives. “I was drawn to Shakespeare by a teacher. I think I was in grade five and went to see a production at Maynardville. I was captured for life and I went on reading and being interested. It inspired and unlocked something in me and probably was one of the impulses that made me the creative person that I feel I am today.
“Having had that experience as a young person, it has been one of my goals to inspire the same kind of experiences in other people. It’s a desire I have to make them feel the same things that Shakespeare had made me feel. I don’t think it is only about feeling, but rather unlocking yourself, potential things within yourself and once actors get it, there’s no going back.”
Because the two previous seasons were both performed outdoors, how would Geoffrey counter that missing element at Montecasino, but he seems to have all the answers and as a recent devotee, I’m going to take his word.
“There’s always give and take. With outdoor theatre, because you don’t have so much control on the technicalities, you need to focus completely on the actor in front of you and anything else that comes with that is a bonus.
“It’s a decoration and added depth of flavour, so that magical forest setting of Maynardville is impossible to duplicate.
“However, this production was created for and by Maynardville. We can’t physically duplicate it, but it has inspired the actors and in a sense they have got Maynardville, that beautiful energy, inside their performance. So having strongly focussed on the actors in creating this production, I still believe that they are what is the essential heart of the show.”
There will be small changes, he agrees, but the actors will be there to tell this wonderfully mad story and that is what you focus on when changing a venue. “It’s that live person in front of you that creates the magic.”
That’s exactly what he has achieved with this amazing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. One of the things I thought while watching it for the first time, was that this was the perfect introduction to Shakespeare if you’ve never seen any of his great works.
Writer/director Janice Honeyman loves pantomime because it is also her time to play – even when putting it all together is serious work. “If the cast don’t genuinely believe in their characters, it won’t work,” she says. And that is what she works hard to get through to all the panto novices in her cast.
It all started for her when she was asked to do a panto by Lynette Marais, who headed the drama department of the Performing Arts Council in the province at the time. “I found a book open panto titled Oh Yes It Is”, a phrase used in every panto to involve the audience and get them fully on board.
That happened more or less 36 years ago, but we’re not really counting and in-between she might have missed three shows. But not only does she direct the pantos, even more importantly, she writes them. And this is where her imagination often runs riot – in the best sense of the word. Her child who is always lurking emerges and it is blast-off time.
So much ther queen of the pantomime, Janice Honeyman has her own pictureIn in the children’s room in Peter Pan.
the writing, her dad is ever present. “He loved telling jokes around the dining room table,” she explains. “They weren’t always that funny,” she admits. But still, this year, she has again included two. And she smiles…
It’s nostalgia, it’s a traditional story, like this year’s Peter Pan with the awful Captain Hook and his sidekick Smee who cause trouble for the hero Peter Pan, the Darling children, lost boys and of course, Tinkerbell. One of the delights of any panto is always the dame and in this instance, Dame Clementina Coconut who introduces much of the Honeyman wit, fun and playfulness, double-entendres and, of course, her dad’s jokes.
Don’t forget about the audience participation and, naturally, a few surprises.
Dame Clementina Coconut (David Arnold Johnson) with Smee (Michael Richard), two of the colourful characters in this year’s panto.
Her last foray into Neverland was 14 years ago and since then many things have changed on stage. For the past few years, because of Covid, she has swapped the sets for LED screens, but she has missed the tangibility and theatricality of the sets and this year, she decided to combine the two, using the best of both worlds. Expect a spectacle of sorts!
“I found it tough to adapt to no furniture,” she says about the LED screens, but all that changes with the combo.
More than anything, pantomime is an invitation to Janice to do all the stuff she feels great affection for. “I jol straight through this.”
And moving from the look of the latest panto to the cast with its combination cast – youth and experience – that’s what she most enjoys, working with the actors. She loves the energy of the young cast, while the experienced actors can show the way to the youngsters. “They represent the well-trained professionals who set the example,” she says.
And Janice herself learns from her casts who keep her on her toes. That’s where especially the youth plays a particular role. They know what is happening on the ground, what is buzzing and what has fallen off the trend scale for example. It’s part of her script to play with her audience’s world so that her jokes can land smoothly.
On stage, Sandi Dlangalala, who will be playing the brave hero Peter Pan, says: “I am beyond excited to be in the Panto this year. It is my first Janice Honeyman pantomime. I am ready and so excited for rehearsals to start and to be given the lead role is such a huge honour.”
For veteran Ben Voss, it’s different: “Playing Captain Hook in this year’s magical romp, Peter Pan will be my fourth year dishing out mayhem, malice and mischief. It’s the silliness, the scale and the slickness that I love so much. I am already making great progress growing my four- inch moustache, mending my pantaloons and carving my cutlass. Hopefully, like me, you will be HOOKED too!”
Some scene stealers in this year’s panto.
Michael Richard, who has also performed in panto many times, will be playing Smee, Captain Hook’s right hand. “This is my fifth or sixth pantomime for Janice over many years and I am still so excited about embarking on this new adventure. I may not be able to prance around as much I used to in my younger days, but the thrill is still there.”
Kiruna Lind-Devar will be playing Wendy. “Some of my most precious friends and memories come from Pantoland, so I cannot wait to step back into that space and dance, sing and fly. All with a little faith, trust and pixie dust!”
Their Dame Clementina Coconut will be played by David Arnold Johnson: “Being a Dame is always a treat. Working with Janice even more so.”
This time around, Virtuous Kandemiri will be sprinkling fairy dust as Tinkerbell: “I’m so excited, I’m soaked in fairy dust. I can’t wait to play Tinkerbell, a character that I’ve always loved as a child, and one that I know many people love equally, if not more. I’m really looking forward to my first Honeyman Pantomime.”
The rest of the cast year include Matthew Berry, Inge Breytenbach, Gugu Dhlamini, Diego Hamity, Tarryn Heard, Dirk Joubert, Sarah Leigh, Charity Madhlazi, Siya Makakane, Gareth Meijsen, Noni Mkhonto, Bo Molefe, Lesedi Mpshe, Tania Mteto, Sibusiso Mxosana, Tshepo Ncokoane, Brian Ngobese, Manyano Ngoma, Zamaswazi Nkosi, Micah Stojakovic, and Kensiwe Tshabalala.
And always by her side is her appreciated associate director Timothy le Roux
In conclusion, the one thing she truly believes is that everyone needs end-of-year entertainment. With panto, it’s recognisable, has heart and gives her an opportunity to make them laugh.
Everyone also relates to Once upon a time… and Everyone lived happily ever after.
If you look at the winners of this year’s Aardklop productions, it is the veterans who grabbed all the awards.
A very surprised but bursting with pride Elzabé Zietsman reigned supreme with three wins for Femme is Fatale.
I remember when I first saw this in-your-face production at the Vrye Fees last year – it hit hard. In a country where gender-based violence reaches pandemic-like numbers, you need to grab audiences by the throat. And that’s exactly what this singer/actress does with a magnificent gloves-off script and an attitude that dares anyone not to take notice.
From her initial on-stage look until she strips down to throw the horror of what is happening to individuals in this country in your face, she doesn’t make a wrong move. It’s attention grabbing for all the right reasons and takes someone as experienced, brave and talented as Ms Zietsman to swing high and low with your emotions.
It’s one of those performances that will stay with you forever and it is her intention, even before winning for Best Musical Performance, Best Music-Driven Production and Best Overall Winner, to find a way to take the show to schools across the country. And in her acceptance speech, she sung the praises of her accompanist Tony Bentel – with reason.
Hopefully, this has empowered her plan of action and promotional campaign. If she can’t encourage change with this one, the world is a really sad place.
Sandra Prinsloo’s performance in Moeder also never flagged. Again, I’ve seen it many times, mostly for her performance and an astonishing script as well as a near-flawless production directed by Christiaan Olwagen.
I’ve said a few times that his place is on stage, it’s where he shines brightest, even though he will probably prove me wrong sooner rather than later.
But he has such a good eye, a filmic vision and the heart to realise that Prinsloo could and should play this woman. It’s one of her best performances ever and I’ve seen many. At the festival I heard people often praising her performance in Masterclass because, of course, Ms Prinsloo hardly ever appears at a festival in just a single production.
I hope she leaves notes for her younger counterparts about concentration, focus and stamina. And again, as so many times in her life, she was rewarded for an astonishing performance in Moeder with the production named the Best Theatre Production as well as Best Production by an independent group of art lovers, Aardklop Hartsvriende (Friends of the heart).
A scene with Bettie Kemp and Dawid Minnaar in Mirakel.
Another stalwart, David Minnaar, played her flawed partner and, as always, he knew how to pitch just the right tone as the errant husband, but it was in Marthinus Basson’s tour de force Mirakel where he was given a part which especially revealed his comedic qualities.
It is one of Reza de Wet’s lighter works although the message is as hard-hitting and relevant as anything she has written. But Minnaar with Basson as his champion walked a fine line with great relish which added to the performance.
I felt that he was enjoying the play as much as anyone watching it. Because of the travelling theatre company and its dramatics that rule this play, he could charge with dramatic fervour through the hysterics of the flailing players all trying their best to make their lives and livelihood work.
It captures that world which has remained almost unchanged with such dexterity as only a De Wet/Basson partnership can achieve thus allowing a Dawid Minnaar to soar and win as Best Actor and Basson to pick up yet another Best Director award.
An ENTRANCE by the delightful Eben Genis while the company’s leading couple sleep on.
In the same play, Eben Genis (above) also announced his welcome return to the stage to great delight of theatre goers and was warmly received with a Best Supporting Actor award. It is his subtlety, his nuanced excursion into this world, which is a reminder of the fine actor he is.
The Best new Afrikaans text was claimed by Philip Rademeyer who wrote and directed Goed wat wag om te gebeur, the Afrikaans version of The Graveyard starring Gideon Lombard, Antoinette Kellerman and Emma Kotze.
It deals with Hendrik’s return to his childhood home where he struggles with past demons including violence, blame and addiction, all the while trying to suppress his anger and hurt with drink. The only niggle was a text that would have been even better with some clever culling, and this was probably the most common culprit in too many productions.
At a festival where the experienced artists were the ones who often captured the audiences and my praise, I was again overwhelmed by Nataniël’s Ring van Vuur. It is no secret that he is one of my most cherished performers, but there’s reason for that. And again he proved me right with a show that was simply sublime. Not only did he give one of his best performances, he also introduced me to guitarist Loki Rothman whose name was familiar, but no one had ever mentioned his particular flamboyance on a guitar.
Not only does Nataniël give us a quality show, he is also generous with the artists he introduces to a wider audience. That’s the sign of a great and confident artist. I know most music fans will be familiar with Rothman’s prowess on the guitar, but because I am mainly a theatre writer/critic, I have never had the privilege.
Most of these productions made sharp u-turns as they winged their way down to Stellenbosch with the much larger Woordfees, welcoming audiences as Aardklop was waving goodbye.
And again, there was much to praise with a festival bulging with new presentations and productions, enough to have everyone smiling. It’s not about the one or the other. Both have equal right to their audiences, they shouldn’t compete and if I have to make deductions about attendance, both have a strong following for their particular brand. Mostly it probably has to do with where audiences live and how far they’re willing to travel. Convenience, I suspect, will be the determining factor.
As a working journalist, I was blessed to go to both.
And if I have to start with a production that had me thinking, shocked me to my core because of content yet filled me with admiration for the inspirational Jaco Bouwer and cast for tackling such a daring and dangerous text – in the best sense of the word.
Melissa Myburgh (left) with Tinarie van Wyk Loots pictured with Myburgh (right) in the startling Die Vegetariër.
Bouwer, one of our most exciting directors has been working in the television and film world for the last while and has been missed because of his brand of theatre, which always pushes boundaries and challenges audiences to engage with tough issues rather than turning away and tuning out.
From the moment you enter and witness the amazing set of Die Vegetariër, your mind starts racing. There’s something pristine and perfect about the space and yet it’s a slaughterhouse, which is an ominous sign even before the action starts.
Die Vegetariër pictured by Nardus Engelbrecht
But in typical Bouwer fashion, he hits you in the solar plexus from start to finish and while you might be reeling throughout trying to contain your emotions racing ahead, it’s the unflinching text and cast that stay with you as you keep unravelling the lives of the people who share their stories.
And you keep coming back to the slab of meat you keep staring at as you enter and the meat hook that just hangs there menacingly until it captures the crux of what you are witnessing. It’s hardcore, but in the world we live in with gender-based violence such a scourge (as already mentioned), we have almost become immune not only as individuals but as a society.
The cast – Stian Bam, Wilhelm van der Walt, Tinarie van Wyk Loots and Melissa Myburgh – are staggering in this brutally honest portrayal of life for far too many as physical and psychological abuse becomes the common language in relationships. And the young Myburgh deserves a special mention because her character’s youth embodies vulnerability and defencelessness in all its harshness and is the most exposed.
It’s not easy to watch, but because of the approach of everyone involved, from Willem Anker’s adaptation of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian to Bouwer’s brilliant conception and the way he seamlessly pulls it all together from the enveloping visuals to the overwhelming performances, it’s simply a privilege – and one that stays and niggles at you forever.
Hold Still with the astounding acting couple Mwenya Kabwe and Andrew Buckland.
On a different spectrum but as challenging, Jay Pather’s Hold Still with an extraordinary text by Nadia Davids tackles refugees, one of the toughest issues in today’s unravelling world as we roll from one crisis to the next. And if you look closer, refugees are at the centre of most of them. Think Gaza.
But what she does is take a model modern couple and make them face today’s harsh reality. There’s a reason refugees cause such heartache and often horror. There aren’t solutions or none that is workable, so many simply turn their backs.
It’s gritty yet glorious theatre as two veteran actors (Andrew Buckland and Mwenya Kabwe) star as a delightful couple who lovingly banter away until the very essence of their family relationships is blown apart. Both these actors take your breath away with performances that are in your face and completely in the moment. They’re complemented by the two youngsters in the cast, Lyle October as their son and Tailyn Ramsamy as his friend in search of refugee status, hence the dilemma.
As the mother so aptly confesses: they sold their son a story about their moral selves which they themselves had come to believe. It’s real world issues, tough to work through and easier to ignore, yet this is the perfect platform to grapple with our reality today.
An exuberant Caleb Swanepoel in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Llewellyn de Wet.
And the third piece that blew me away was Geoffrey Hyland’s Maynardville Shakespeare production, which I am thrilled to announce is coming to Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino in November. If you see nothing else this year, don’t miss this production.
It is simply glorious and will have you screaming with laughter from beginning to end. I cannot imagine a better introduction to Shakespeare than this play that symbolises everything that this fantastic playwright is about. It’s entertainment writ LARGE and simply the perfect end-of-year production with an astounding cast put together magnificently.
My only qualm is that it was first staged at Maynardville, Cape Town’s glorious outdoor theatre venue, and I saw it at the Libertas amphitheatre in Stellenbosch, but with Hyland’s astonishing artistry, I’m sure you won’t even notice. Never before would I have thought that I would be so happy to see a Shakespeare at a festival. That it was included in the programme, was simply a stroke of genius.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a spectacle in colour and charm. Picture: Mark Wessels.
Just go – and tell everyone around you not to miss this fantastic show. You won’t regret it and start this festive season in the best possible way. (See full review once it has opened with a run from 8 to 19 November.)
I have singled out only a handful of productions which I saw at the festivals. There are many more to praise, but I grabbed those few that grabbed both my head and heart and wouldn’t let go …
Author Damon Galgut with Sylvaine Strike and suggestions by the cast
DIRECTOR
Sylvaine Strike
CAST
Chuma Sopotela, Rob van Vuuren, Kate Normington, Frank Opperman, Jane de Wet, Jenny Stead, Albert Pretorius, Sanda Shandu, Cintaine Schutte
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND ARCHIVIST
Kirsten Harris
SET AND LIGHTING DESIGN
Joshua Lindberg
MUSIC DIRECTOR, SOUND DESIGN AND ORIGINAL SCORE
Charl-Johan Lingenfelder
CHOREOGRAPHY AND INTIMACY CO-ORDINATOR
Natalie Fisher
COSTUME DESIGN
Penny Simpson
VENUE
The Market Theatre
DATES
Until November 5
Jane de Wet, Rob van Vuuren and Jenny Stead.
One has to admire artist Sylvaine Strike’s process when she decides on a project. It’s all systems go and in Strike’s world, the focus is unfailing.
She spent 18 months hard at work on this extraordinary piece of theatre, which has finally reached The Market Theatre.
But there are a few things to take on board before you arrive. It’s based on a book, Damon Galgut’s The Promise, and that means that it is her interpretation of Galgut’s writing and script, even if he was closely involved throughout.
Also, it is two hours 40 minutes long and for many less-experienced theatre goers, that might be quite
an ask. One has to be theatre fit.
Albert Pretorius and Sanda Shandu as two policemen
But for me there’s no question that it has to be seen, and a very packed and excited audience obviously in anticipation was ready and waiting on opening day. Even when we arrived to collect tickets there was an audible buzz and it was lovely to experience a theatre event of this kind. The last one was the August Wilson production at the Joburg Theatre last year.
Five minutes into the production, I already had a smile. For this one, Strike created her own theatre language in which to tell her story and for me, it couldn’t have been further from the language and storytelling of the book, yet both had a very individual and personal flavour which I loved.
I almost felt as though I had walked into a kind of grotesque fairy tale for adults and, while the approach might have felt comical to some, it was anything but because of the content and the story it was telling.
Frank Opperman.
It was also clear that as individuals, those watching the play would have to buy into the concept – and for me that wasn’t a tough ask. It’s why we watch theatre, to catch those productions where those participating take risks to give audiences a storytelling experience that’s novel and best suited to a particular text.
The Strike brand has always been about her individual style and, while she pays close attention to the text, her language is much more than just something we listen to. She uses the stage and everything visual as part of the ensemble and then she adds very specific movements and rhythms as well – as in this instance, a soundscape by genial music man Charl-Johan Lingenfelder with a kind of music/sound box on the side of the extraordinary stage designed insightfully by Joshua Lindberg, who was also responsible for fantastic lighting (so delighted that the family name lives on in our theatre landscape).
And that in itself sets the tone for this topsy-turvy world the Swart family inhabit. The matriarch of the family, seemingly the one that held them steady with a strong hand and a moral compass, has died. Thus we find all of them in turmoil as they come together for the family funeral (one of four that determine four periods in a country gone mad).
But there’s one obstacle – Amor (Jane de Wet), the youngest sibling, had heard Ma (Kate Normington) extract a promise from Pa (Frank Opperman) that he would give Salome (Chuma Sopotela) her house on the furthest corner of the farm, mainly because she was the one who diligently and lovingly looked after the mother in her illness.
A familiar scene in many white South African households and the rest of the family simply disengage while Amor keeps at it relentlessly – determinedly – as their conscience. The ensemble of nine work well together as a group and individually, although I suspect, audiences will have different favourites.
Cintaine Schutte and Albert Pretorius .
Amongst the men, my favourite performer was Albert Pretorius who even though his many different characters often had a comical edge, he manages such a fine artistic line and knows just how to hold it back. Frank Opperman also captured his different characters masterfully. Rob van Vuuren is at the heart of the piece as Anton Swart.
Chuma Sopotela is the key of the piece as both Salome and the storyteller, and in both roles her strong presence holds The Promise, both in the production and at the centre of the story. She was the perfect fit.
Each one of the performers added to the whole. Because many roles were played by each actor, some characters worked better than others, and who you like or discard will be a personal preference. I don’t think with the adopted style there’s a right or wrong, it’s a preference thing.
So how did it all come together. It’s a HUGE production. I suspect, especially while writing this review, that one needs more than one or two viewings to truly appreciate the breadth of the drama and staging. I can simply stand back in awe.
What for me personally would have worked better, would have been to lose most of the second half (obviously not the end). Up to the interval, everything worked perfectly, but then it started to unravel. A trim of an hour would have been my ask and would have served the actors and the story better.
It was as if sustaining the production for swo long was too big an ask and detracted rather than added to the final product.
Should people go? What a question! It’s a theatrical experience. There’s a cast that does exquisite work, moments that will take your breath away, a set, costumes and lighting that all contribute to the bigger picture and, finally, a director who puts herself out there, pushes as far as she dares, breaks boundaries and develops ways of telling stories that keep you riveted.
You might not love every minute, but you have to admire the artistry, the vision and the theatricality with scope that’s daunting yet inevitable when Strike decides to do it. And we’re the beneficiaries.
Time was the rare gift that celebrated director Sylvaine Strike was given with her latest production, The Promise, written and adapted (from his novel) by author Damon Galgut. She tells DIANE DE BEER more about the extraordinary process which started more than 18 months ago and is on at The Market (until November 5) following its recent Cape Town run:
“In a way, The Promise selected me,” she explains, because Damon approached her to adapt it for the stage, thinking that she would probably be the right fit because he had foreseen that it would have to be done very theatrically and very physically if it were to have a theatrical life at all.
She was utterly smitten by the idea, but insisted that Damon adapt it alongside her because she was reluctant to tinker with his text. “I needed him to travel the road and structure it in a way that he would feel could live as theatrical version.” She had read the novel twice even before he contacted her and was delighted.
The Promise with the full cast as well as author, Damon Galgut (left) and Sylvaine Strike (right).
When it came to casting, it began with finding the right person to set the bar from a physical perspective and she knew from the outset when reading The Promise and imagining who her Anton could be, that it was Rob van Vuuren.
Gifted this opportunity of a role that is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Rob was thrilled just to delve into this exquisite character and the very many facets of it. Sylvaine knew he would be the one who she would work off in finding the rest of the family, which includes Frank Opperman as Anton’s father, an Afrikaans patriarch, Kate Normington as his mother, jenny Stead as Astrid, his middle sister, and the young Jane de Wet as Amor
“The pivotal and most important character of Salome is played by Chuma Sepotela, who holds this exquisite part in two dimensions in the sense that she’s also the narrator of the piece, as Chuma herself, who plays the story conjuror.”
Sandu Shando plays Lukas, Salome’s son, and “the amazing Albert Pretorius and Cintaine Schutte, both adding deep dimension, comedy and pathos in the roles of Tannie Marina and Okkie as well as the many characters they portray,” she concludes.
In total it’s a cast of 9 and, before anything else, they did a workshop with Sylvaine to discover the physical language as the blueprint to the play.
In rehearsals: the cast and director Sylvaine Strike.
With both the director and writer growing up in Pretoria, their coming together was almost written in the stars. “I think growing up in Pretoria and being aware of the glaring chasm between the haves and the have nots, the ability for Pretoria to ride that knife edge between ignoring the political reality, the lies that have been woven to its children, the incredible duality between darkness and light, tragedy and comedy that this book engages with and its calling out for us to face the shame for how we lived,” all of that made the book irresistible.
“There’s no escape but to look it in the eye, which is what this was and showing what it felt like for me. The novel forced me to do it as it named everything I was feeling growing up there as a child and being a teenager there and sensing that something was so terribly wrong with it.
The full cast on stage. Photographer: Claude Barnardo.
“Four decades of Pretoria so distinctly captured, I rose to the challenge of telling the story on stage because I wanted to reach people with it and make them feel what it felt like for me to read it and everything it made me feel to confront our whiteness in its brutal hideousness and its complexity and own it.”
Once the decision was made, she and Damon sat for two solid weeks unpacking the novel. At first he really battled with seeing how it could be put on stage. Sylvaine thinks that in his mind the locations were so specific that it took some time for them to understand the kind of language it would need in order to tell the story.
“We both agreed that the very fluid narrative that Damon captures and writes in, a narrative that changes perspective all the time, changes its mind all the time, needed to come from a chorus almost in the Greek tragedy sense, to comment on the action, to speak to the hero or the anti-hero, to contain their thoughts, and to move swiftly through the action alongside it.”
Scenes on stage. (Pictures: Claude Barnardo)
Neither the reader nor the writer could hold on to all their darlings. They knew they had to lose certain bits of the novel, cutting and culling, choosing only the very essential parts of the story, and look at compressing it into a time frame that would suit theatre, so much more condensed than in a book.
They also needed to find a theatrical language and a physical language that was able to edit between time and place very swiftly, where actors could age from one decade to the next simply by using their bodies. Damon then proceeded to write five drafts which incorporated this language and refined it more and more and more.
In between the first and second draft they had a workshop which Damon attended in which she worked with her cast and at which Charl-Johan Lingenfelder (music/soundscape) and Joshua Lindberg (set and lighting design ) as well as Penny Simpson (costumes) were present. “It was a collaborate effort to reach a place where script was done and created,” she explains.
Wearing her heart on her sleeve, director Sylvaine Strike.
Photographer: Martin Kluge
In conclusion, after all the hard work, the introspection, a fantastic cast, long hours and hard work, she hopes audiences take a good hard look at our country – and a soft look as well. “And by that I mean allowing us to enter its deep humanity and inhumanity, looking into a mirror, admitting our own whiteness, hearing it, not making excuses for it, not trying to explain it, but most of all really looking at the relationship we have as South Africans with each other.
“There’s also the microcosm of a family and its domestic worker Salome, which is a microcosm for the dynamics within our country, the difficulties, the obstacles, the promises made and broken, the lack of care we have for one another, the care in some aspects, about our country looking at itself, not being spoken down to, but simply observing itself, taking a step back to see more clearly, not back in time, just to get more focus on where we’re at.
“And what I love about The Promise is that it doesn’t offer any solutions, just gives us a glimpse of what we have done and what we have become over the last four decades of our country’s democracy.”
October is a month packed with performances for one of our most prolific performers, Nataniël. He tells DIANE DE BEER about his punishing schedules as he presents three shows – all completely different, yet all with one thing in common, the artist and his creativity:
It all begins with Momentum Beleggings Aardklop which is back in Potchefstroom following the upheavals of the pandemic
Ring van Vuurattempts to bind five fiery elements together: original music from more than three decades; original stories as only he can imagine; the rhythms and techniques of countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru; a shimmering set of costumes designed by his personal designer Floris Louw; and seven world class musicians.
Charl du Plessis on keyboards is joined by Werner Spies (bass) and Peter Auret (bass) as well as four brilliant guitar players: Juan Oosthuizen, Loki Rothman, Leon Gropp and Luke van der Merwe.
He promises to present 90 minutes of heartache, humour, heat, virtuosity and rhythms.
As part of the Aardklop festivities, the show will be presented on October 3 at 3 and 7pm in the Beeld Auditorium
Nataniël follows this with a short new season titled ROME ’62
On October 10 to 15, he returns to Pretoria’s Atterbury Theatre.
At a fair in the Free State, there’s a stall that sells second hand clothes. In between the rather tired-looking garments, there’s an unusual outfit, handmade by an acclaimed Italian designer. This discovery a few years back, was the first sighting of what has eventually turned into this particular show.
From family secrets, suspicion, stunning strangers, international travel, legendary films, timeless radio hits to exuberant fashion and the most dramatic designs, everything is included with stories in both English and Afrikaans, as well as music in abundance, brand new as well as six decades old.
Charl du Plessis (piano), Werner Spies (bass), Peter Auret (drums) and Wernd van Staden (cello) will be the accompanying orchestra.
Finally a performance that Nataniël is hugely excited about and describes as his best:
Titled MASS FOR THE GOOD PRINCES it is a follow-up of last year’s successful DIE SMITSTRAAT SUITE. This one though is his first full length musical mass based on the classical structure of a composition with five, six or seven parts, which is a prayer for goodness, new leadership and the hope of a new generation.
The mass will be sung in Latin and English with stories and descriptions in Afrikaans.
As before, he shares the stage with Ockie Vermeulen (organ),
Charl du Plessis (keyboard), Juan Oosthuizen (guitar), Werner Spies (bass), Peter Auret (drums and percussion) and the Akustika Chamber Choir led by Christo Burger.
The Charl du Plessis Trio with the Phoenix Orchestra conducted by Richard Cock will showcase some unique and exciting music for piano and orchestra (sponsored by MayFord Seeds) on September 10 at the Linder Auditorium. DIANE DE BEER chatted to the much loved conductor Richard Cock about music and its longevity:
Musical chums Charl du Plessis and Richard Cock.
He has worked as a conductor in so many spheres of music, from the old days of the National Symphony Orchestra with strict classical repertoire to these days conducting the beloved Starlight Classics concerts with pop, rock and crossover music, which has everything to do with stretching the appeal to reach as wide an audience as possible.
And while more serious concerts will always be part of his repertoire, most of his work involves the crossover type programmes like this one with Charl and his trio and the Phoenix Orchestra, which started during the Covid period when they were trying to create work when there was none. “We have continued since as it worked well and players were responsive,” says Richard.
On piano: Charl du Plessis
With piano the featured instrument for this concert, Richard believes that it is the instrument that most audiences identify with most easily hence the attraction. “I think many people have played the piano in their youth and they can associate with it quite easily. You can also see how it is played, and it is pretty impressive to see the hands flashing over the keyboard. There is a big visual element that comes into play.”
The programme will include arrangements of music by classical composers as well as some new upbeat arrangements in diverse styles, ranging from rock and boogie to blues. Audiences can also look forward to big band jazz and soothing film music sounds. The concert will also include arrangements of music by Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Mozart, as well as Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington and Astor Piazzolla.
Richard Cock
“It’s a wide range of music, beautiful and expert arrangements by Charl, and unusual contrasts (Grieg and Lady Gaga). All of this and the presentation where Charl and I chat to each other about the music makes it unique,” he explains.
“We have worked together since he was a young boy singing in the Bloemfontein Children’s Choir! And a lot more recently. I love his energy and creativity, and we have a good verbal exchange on stage. The chat is unrehearsed and spontaneous, and thus lively and fresh every time.”
Conductor for the ages: Richard Cock.
With so much on offer, live and online post Covid, audiences will always be a need for what is perceived as more niche art forms, but the conductor is excited about the future. “ I see audiences changing and a lot of younger people are attending classical and orchestral concerts.” As one of the presenters on Classic 102.7 for many years, it was a loss to many regular listeners but like many things in life, Richard knows how to mourn and when to move on. “The chances of getting another Classic station are low.”
Instead he puts the emphasis on what he can still do and something that has always dominated his life – conducting. It invigorates and challenges him still. “I love the creative process of bringing music off the printed page and into the air. It never fails to excite me, and I hope the audience too.”
DIANE DE BEER talks to Nataniël about the few weeks ahead…
After an absence of several years from any Johannesburg theatre stage, Nataniël brings his award-winning show, Prima Donna, to the Teatro at Montecasino for five performances only from August 17 to 20 at 8pm, with a matinee included on the Saturday at 3pm.
And while this is a show which he has performed before, it is a new staging with new stories or old ones updated and even the old songs have new arrangements.
Over the past few years Nataniël has written and staged more than 13 productions not seen in the Johannesburg area, and extraordinary moments from these shows as well as brand new material has been put together for five unforgettable gala concerts.
And, if you should wonder, naturally the costumes are all new, created by Floris Louw.That’s just who Nataniël is. But he’s nervous. This is a huge theatre, and even if it is similar to the seasons he used to stage annually at Emperors, he was familiar with the audience.
This time he doesn’t know because he hasn’t been in Joburg for some time. But those who know his work, won’t want to wait to buy tickets. His trademark stories will be in English and Afrikaans with songs in English.
In this tale as the title suggests, he is dealing with prima donnas. It’s a touch of fantasy, a dash of humour, some sadness, and as a reality check, a take on history, family, failures, hope and modern society.
“We all know these drama queens, know how they operate and what they’re capable of. But we indulge them, their behaviour becomes worse and only death can release us,” he warns.
Charl du Plessis Trio will join him on stage for both shows with other musicians in tow.Pictured are Werner Spies (bass), Charl du Plessis (piano) and Peter Auret (drums).
He knows he also has that reputation, but his demands are about performance and what he knows he needs on stage. “I never fight, because I don’t like confrontation,” he says.
Never able to resist raising an eyebrow, he adds that he always believed one of the perks of success was being difficult!
“We hate them so we would rather do without them,” he says. But, in case you start taking all of this seriously, he says he chose the title because it looks good on the poster!
See what an interviewer has to contend with.
Vocalists Dihan Slabbert and Nicolaas Swart
But before you lose patience, he includes one of his elaborate and irresistible descriptions: “If Sarah Bernhardt, Maria Callas and Isadora Duncan had a child, it would resemble my costumes!”
And, he adds, a touch of Florence Foster Jenkins.
His music he describes as a combination of the dramatical and accessible. “I sing many of my own songs and familiar old songs.”
With him on stage is Charl du Plessis who now travels with his own Steinway piano (and that’s a whole other story) Luke van der Merwe (guitar), Marcel Dednam (keyboard), and Werner Spies (bass), as well as Dihan Slabbert, Wiehahn Francke and Nicolaas Swart on vocals.
Having a final word, Nataniël notes that the show is vocally driven. “That’s what a prima donna does!” He’s been waiting for this one for 12 years. “I’m ready for that farewell concert,” he says.
And the force with which he speaks is almost persuasive, but I know about his addiction – performance – and he’s so good at that!
For those who are looking for something completely different, there’s a second concert of Afrikaans in Styl on September 9 presented at Sun Bet Arena in Times Square.
This time the artists included on the bill are Spoegwolf, Elvis Blue and Corlia.
“I’m the headgirl,” says Nataniël who will be staging the show. “It’s rare that artists are given a free hand to stage their own shows on this kind of platform,” he says, excited by the prospect.
Nataniël and Spoegwolf in a different kind of performance.
And if you’re not familiar with some of the performers, he explains it thus: Spoegwolf brings the war, Corlia brings the notes, Elvis, the smoothness and blues, and he brings the sequins.
The performers will almost exclusively be performing their own songs. “I love that. It’s rare that someone like Corlia who has such a huge voice is allowed to get away without singing Barcelona.”
Perhaps this time. It’s up to each one individually what they wish to perform.
He is also thrilled that this is a once-off. It won’t be filmed. If you’re not there, that’s it.
“The performers are all people who regularly perform in theatres.
“People must come and see. It will be new and not commercially driven. The artists will be adventurous with their performances and the staging will be daring.
“As artists (and audiences) we need to step out of our comfort zones when we go to shows. It’s a time for rebirth and venture.”
He always keeps in touch with what is happening in the rest of the world because it takes a time to reach our shores.
“We’re all ready to try new things!”
And why not.
“This time my brother won’t be hiding backstage. But we might have one or two surprises up our sleeve.”
And talking about that, Nataniël also has a new Christmas book in shops in October.
The title is Help, Help, it is beautifully packaged with a special cover for the festive season, and once you’ve seen it, packed with unpublished Afrikaans and English short stories, your Christmas shopping will be done.
And still there’s more: Rome 62will be staged at Atterbury Theatre later in the year, a new Mis will be performed at Aardklop Aubade in Pretoria and there’s the annual Christmas season also at the Atterbury Theatre.
And even then he’s not done. But we will wait for the final conclusion to his year.
De Beer Necessities 