August 21, 2007
By Tabisa Mntengwana
FLYING away from one's troubles to a place where fairies, magic and pirates live a carefree existence is a fantasy of many. For Peter Pan, leader of the Lost Boys, this is more than just a dream.
And he will take you along on his journey at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre, where
Peter Pan is this year's pantomime, running from 31 October to 31 December.
Based on the much-loved story by JM Barrie, the panto will be staged at the Nelson Mandela Theatre, supported by M-Net and Jacaranda 94.2, the radio station.
Once again, Janice Honeyman, Joburg's queen of panto, will add her own special angle to the original story in making
Peter Pan - The Pantomime. "Peter Pan has always been one of my favourite stories," she said. "My imagination is flying way beyond Neverland and I'm extremely excited to be given this opportunity to write and direct a brand new panto. It going to be topical and tropical fun."
Hlubi Mboya is Tinkerbell while Captain Hook is played by Tobie Cronjé and his sidekick, Smee, is played by Vusi Kunene
The costumes and sets were designed three years ago and made in South Africa by the British company, Qdos Entertainment.
Tobie Cronjé, a panto veteran, stars as Captain Hook. He has appeared in several other Honeyman productions, including
Goldilocks and the Three Bears and
Jack and the Beanstalk.
He is joined by Vusi Kunene, from
Generations, who plays the part of first mate Smee. Peter Pan is played by
Idols finalist Dewald Louw.
"Our panto audiences have come to expect large casts and surprise casting," says Bernard Jay, the chief executive of the theatre. "
Peter Pan has a company of over 30 performers and probably the most exciting star cast we've assembled to date."
The peppery fairy, Tinkerbell, is played by Hlubi Mboya, who is best known as Nandipha in
Isidingo, SABC3's popular daily soap.
To add a twist, Honeyman has written a part for a new character, the panto's dame and not-so-innocent Clement Coconut, played by Mortimer Williams. Andrew Webster is the gentle pirate, Starkey. He has appeared in
Boogie Nights and
Sleeping Beauty, another Honeyman pantomime.
The beautiful and proud princess Tiger Lily is played by young actress Kim Cloete. Completing the cast is the Darling Family, with Wendy, Michael and John played by Vanessa Harris, Matthew Ross Counihan and Jaco van Rensburg, respectively; and James van Helsdingen as Mr Darling.
Marisa Bosman, Nacia Erasmus, Alina Funani, Rochelle Jansen, Dolly Louw, Dominique Paccaut, Stefan Carstens, Zak Hendrikz, Christopher Jaftha, Ashley Searle, Xander Steyn and Ignatius van Heerden are the Lost Boys of Kensington.
Behind the scenes, working alongside Honeyman, is musical director Heidi Edeling, choreographer Timothy le Roux, lightning designer Graham McLusky and costume co-ordinator Bronwen Lovegrove.
Tickets are available at Computicket, ranging from R85 to R195; there are discount rates for groups of 10 or more. 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 |
