Donna Cormack-Thomson may be the new kid on the block but she has already taken the Cape Town theatre scene by storm. In her one short year since graduating from the UCT School of Drama, she has performed in Monster at The Cape Town Fringe Festival, The White Whore and The Bit Player at the Alexander Bar and now she is putting her spin on ‘Melody’ in The Fugard Theatre’s smash-hit return production of Bad Jews. Continue reading
At first glance, most may know Taryn Sudding as musical theatre royalty but there is so much more to this talented performer who has truly earned that title. Currently starring in Annie, a show that has come full circle for her during her career, Taryn takes on the role of Grace Farrell. We caught up with Taryn in her dressing room before a performance of Annie at The Artscape Theatre.
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Candice van Litsenborgh is someone that is easy to obsess over. A multi-hyphanate, she is primarily a performer but has also formed her own production company, Canned Rice, where she seamlessly seems to do it all, from writing to producing to designing and even headshot photography. In the last few years Candice has become a staple in the South African musical theatre scene and has started producing her own work, the most recent being Court, a straight play which had a sold-out run at The Alexander Bar. Currently she is performing in Annie at the Artscape and is about to start rehearsals for her next big musical, the South African premiere of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
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I first encountered the work of Ipeleng Merafe during this year’s Cape Town Fringe Festival where she was performing in #BalletMustFall, a satirical look into the world of ballet. A self-proclaimed modern-day gypsy, Ipeleng constantly finds herself on the move all in pursuit of her passion for dance. From South Africa to Paris to New York and more, Ipeleng is a supernova in the dance world who shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Welcome to Part two of our conversation with Anthea Thompson, Amy Louise Wilson and Emily Child, currently starring in The Fugard Theare’s sold out production of Florian Zeller’s The Father. Part one of our conversation can be found here. Continue reading
“Growing old is an inevitability we all face-Time waits for no man and as sure as taxes, the reaper will visit us all.”- Greg Karvellas.
Florian Zeller’s award-winning play The Father makes its South African premiere at The Fugard Theatre featuring an all-star cast led by the incomparable Marius Weyers. Translated into English by Christopher Hampton, The Father peers into the mind of Andre, a retired dancer living with his adult daughter Anne and her husband. Or is he a retired engineer receiving a visit from Anne who has moved away with her boyfriend? Why do strangers keep turning up in his room? And where has he left his watch? THE FATHER is a funny, sad and poignant roller coaster ride on a fight against insanity that twists and turns with all the excitement of a taut thriller. After spending an evening peering into the mind of Andre, we were fortunate to be granted the opportunity to peer into the minds of the female cast members of the show; Anthea Thompson, Amy Louise Wilson and Emily Child.
Bianca Le Grange made a name for herself after competing on the first season of South African Idols. A few years, and a lot of hard work later, Bianca has become a full-fledged Musical Theatre leading lady tackling roles in David Kramer’s District 6 Kanala and Blood Brothers, for which she won a Naledi Award, Anita in West Side Story and most recently, as the narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. We sat down with Bianca before one of her final performances of Joseph to chat about the role, her return to Anita and her Musical Theatre journey. Continue reading
Loren Loubser is an actress who recently performed in Niqabi Ninja at The Cape Town Fringe Festival. I have been very vocal about my admiration for this powerful and necessary play. With abandon Loren performed as the title character alongside Bianca Flanders in the two-handler play. On top of being a performer, Loren along with Kelly-Eve Koopman and Kim Windvogel, has created an NPO called Femme Projects which empowers and educates young women. Continue reading
Opening this week at the Roxy Revue Bar, GrandWest, Shout! The Mod Musical follows the story of 5 women in the swinging 60’s. It is an inspiring celebration as we watch each of these women navigate womanhood and experience her own rite of passage to discover her true self through a decade of emotional highs and lows. What is also interesting to note is that Shout! centers around the fictitious Shout! Magazine: a magazine for the Modern Woman, so it was only fitting that Sarafina Magazine sat down with the cast to chat about the show. Ticket information and cast bios can be found at the end.
Ameera Conrad is a writer, director, actress and one of the Theatre Arts Admin Collective Emerging Young Director’s bursary winners. Currently she is starring in The Fall at The Baxter, a play which she also helped workshop and co-directs. Her new play Reparation, which she has written and will direct, will be produced later this year. Her resume is already impressive but what may surprise many is that Ameera graduated from UCT less than a year ago.
Sarafina Magazine 