Civic Theatre CEO Bernard Jay with Brian Mitchell

RELATED LINKS: Civic Theatre Johannesburg Civic Theatre aims to stimulate and enrich the lives of the people of Gauteng through quality productions. It is also the Civic Theatre's goal to be a self-sustaining business that provides not only a platform for entertainment, but also for the empowerment and education of people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. Read more 2005 shows at the Civic Theatre The Johannesburg Civic Theatre has a full line-up planned for the rest of the year, with a little something to suit all tastes. Read more

Panto lands a knockout BOXER Brian Mitchell will be putting the cast through their paces in the annual pantomime this year. He is to play the circus ringmaster in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", and more cast surprises are in store. March 2, 2005 By Tabisa Mntengwana THE THREE bears have a sparring partner! Brian Mitchell, the world champion boxer, is the guest star in this year's annual pantomime. The Johannesburg Civic Theatre said on Wednesday, 2 March, the boxer would play the ringmaster in Janice Honeyman's "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". "We have found that our audiences love surprises and celebrities in our pantos and this year we are excited to have one of South Africa's legendary household names, Brian Mitchell, to work side by side with the country's finest comedic stage talents," said Bernard Jay, the theatre's chief executive officer. In a career spanning 47 fights, Mitchell lost only one. He was named South African boxer of the year five times, before retiring from the sport in January 1992. The panto is Mitchell's professional acting debut. "I've done a little bit of acting, doing TV adverts with Baby Jake Matlala and others, and this is another great opportunity for me to show my acting skills - and take a short cut to Hollywood!" said Mitchell. Other cast members are well known actors, including "Backstage" heartthrob Carlo McFarlane as Billy the circus boy; comedian Marc Lottering as the evil circus owner; and everyone's favourite panto dame, Tobie Cronje, as Gertie, Goldilocks's mother. Philip Godawa, Byron-Lee Olivato and Maggie Benedict also feature. Who will play Goldilocks is still under wraps while negotiations are completed, and Jay said more surprise castings were in store. As usual, Honeyman's panto takes a beloved fairytale and turns it on its head. Goldilocks will taste the bears' porridge, sit on their chairs and take a nap in the smallest bed in the bears' house; and run off into the woods in fright. Her circus-owning mother then takes centre stage. Panto maestro Hugh Durrant will provide sumptuous costumes and sets. The show will run from 2 November to 31 December 2005, and already more than 13 000 tickets have been sold. Preview performances run from 2 to 6 November 2005, and tickets for these will be discounted by R50. Tickets can be booked at Computicket. For more information, call the Johannesburg Civic Theatre on 011 877 6800. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za