May 20, 2005
By Lucille Davie
A NEW year, a new university and now, a new musical at the University of Johannesburg's Auckland Park Campus, entitled Who Killed Jimmy Valentine?
This student production is full of energy and exuberance, tracing the story of Jimmy Valentine and his murder, set among taxi wars on the Cape Flats. A cast of 33, and a quartet conducted by Vaughan van Zyl, creates the competitive world of rival taxi bosses - in this case Ronnie Valentine and Ben Tetwa.
Shades of Romeo and Juliet are evident, with Jimmy falling for Nomsa Tetwa. Although only one lover dies, Jimmy gets in the way of the parents' bitter feud.
Says creator Michael Williams, "When I was approached to direct yet another American show I suggested that I would rather write a piece about our reality in Cape Town than attempt yet another interpretation of American society."
His Jimmy Valentine was "born out of my fascination with crime stories and the popular whodunnit genre", Williams says. He created Detective Jake Mulligan, who went on to appear in Hijack City and The Eighth Man, to solve the crime.
Of Mullins the playwright says, "... I was more drawn to creating a South African detective who would drive the story and be my central character ... he has come a long way from being the singing detective".
This 70-minute long musical, directed by actor Jerry Mofokeng, moves along happily, with simple costuming and unusual lighting, and dancing by the UJ Song & Dance Company. Steven Lewis plays Jimmy, Nomsa is played by Palesa Molemela and Mulligan is played by Daniel Rossouw.
The promised but absent UJ Choir would have added another dimension - maybe it will be present for other performances.
Who Killed Jimmy Valentine? runs until 21 May at the UJ Sanlam Auditorium on the Auckland Park Campus. Tickets cost R30 and R60 and booking is at Computicket.
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 |
