Some familiar characters - Bumpy Dog, Mr Plod and Noddy - put in an appearance at the People's Theatre

RELATED LINKS: Warm chilly winter nights at the theatre JOZI'S winter theatre line up has something for everyone,from ghost stories to futuristic musicals, from drama to children' s entertainment. Read more Catch the Ginger bread man at Peoples Theatre THE Gingerbread Man, Noddy and Cinderella are just three of the well-loved characters that will come to life in the People's Theatre line-up this year. Read more Market theatre bangs the drums in its 30th birthday A MUSICAL smorgasbord has been lined up to celebrate the Market Theatre's 30th birthday. And Pieter Dirk Uys has written a play especially for the occasion. Read more

Ntsepa Pitjeng, Justin Swallow and Francois Theron in a previous production of Noddy

Noddy brings magic to the Civic This winter Noddy takes children on an imaginative, educational ride at the People's Theatre in the Johannesburg Civic Theatre. June 8, 2006 By Thuli Ntuli ALL geared up to bring a little magic to cold wintry days, Noddy and his friends will set off on an adventure-filled journey at the People's Theatre, which has enchanted young audiences with wholesome, educational entertainment for 17 years. Young audiences will be transported to join all the Toyland characters during David Wood's More Adventures of Noddy. "It's a brand new production; never performed in South Africa before," says People's Theatre director Keith Smith. Supporting Enid Blyton's lovable lead character are the familiar favourites: Big Ears, Mr Plod, Bumpy Dog, Sam and Sally Skittle, and Tessie Bear. And, of course, Sly the Goblin. More Adventures of Noddy, directed by children's theatre stalwarts Jill Girard and Keith Smith, aims to teach life skills in an imaginative way. Vukile Mabuya is Noddy, while Ntsepa Pitjeng takes the role of Tessie Bear, Johnny Klein the magician Tootle and Enslin Botha is Mr Plod. Performed against a colourful and imaginative set, More Adventures of Noddy comprises two acts: Noddy and Noah's Ark; and Noddy and the Tootle. The first sees the group of friends on a journey through the Dark Forest on a quest to collect money to save the ark and its animals. In the second, the friends meet the Great Tootle, a magician who can make people dance. "It's a great educational play," says Smith. "The concept of collecting money for a good cause is relevant to the children, they collect money at schools to save the environment, for example." The play is one hour and 45 minutes in length, with a 20-minute interval. Noddy will be on at the People's Theatre until 5 August. Weekday performances are at 9am and 11am, while on Saturdays and public and school holidays the show is at 10.30am and 2.30pm. Tickets are R70 for non-members, R45 for kids club members, and R60 for anyone accompanying audience members. There are special prices for a group of learners, with R40 per learner and one complementary ticket for an educator per 20 learners. Bookings can be made at Computicket or at the People's Theatre on 011 403 1563. 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