Vettie Vettie #OutAndAbout

'Vettie Vettie', the first ever Afrikaans play to appear on the Pieter Toerien's Montecasino Theatre stage. A privilege to have attended the opening performance, and something of a historical moment.

Has their ever been a South African theatre legend quite like the Tobie Cronje... 

Fred Astaire meets Robin Williams meets Stanley Tucci. 

(think about that for a minute)...

His sheer brilliance, wonderful subtlety, genius timing, animated physicality and divine carrying of the character/scene between the lines...  I could watch Tobie perform the cygnets from Swan Lake whilst whistling 'Siembamba mamma se kindjie' and I'd think it's amazing. (it probably would be too) 

But it's his gentle giant nature, his 'Tai Chi' spirit and his kind, humble soul that just draws you in and makes you want to sit at his feet and absorb his goodness. I have had the honour of working with Toobs in two different productions and am so grateful for it. He is probably one of the most popular people after a show, but took the unhurried time to meet and shake hands with our mentorship students, Jaydee and Mongene joining me at the event. 

Love you Toobs x 

The other three cast members, namely Hanna Grobler, Luan Jacobs and Andre Lotter are faced with quite a feat to match up to the level of expertise and experience of the theatre veteran in their midst, but I truly enjoyed each of their performances. I adored Hanna especially for her lovable and miserable 'fat' Vicky, Luan for his quirky and excellent physicality (not spilling that coffee was sheer magic) and Andre for his suave manner and using his small amount of stage time so well. 

I laughed... hard and a lot. 

But even through the light comedy, this line spoke to me... 'meeste mense ploeter maar voort, 

omdat hulle nie die moed het om te verander nie.' 

I do have things I want to change (don't we all), and they ain't gonna change all on their own. It's going to take some guts, determination and lots of perseverance. 

Now I just need a 'Henry' (played by Tobie) to follow me around and make sure I don't eat any chocolates, or deviate in other ways from my goals! 

Any takers? 

(Vettie Vettie is showing until the 1st of June and then travels to the Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town, tickets available at this link. )

Chat soon, 

The Sound of Music #OutAndAbout

The hills are alive with the sound of...  me singing 'Climb ev'ry mountain' all the way down the corridor...

What an incredibly special night out and such an amazing South African production - Pieter Toerien's The Sound Of Music. There is a certain expectation that precedes a classic like this and this production not only meets those expectations but even exceeds them.
The entire production is so well oiled and smooth with beautiful set transitions, truly incredible sound design and wonderful performances from the pro's and the children alike.

There is no doubt that Janelle Visagie, playing Mother Abbess is an absolute crowd favourite. Her delivery of Climb Ev'ry Mountain was just spectacular and a wonderful end to Act 1, which was already jam-packed with all the well-known favourites like Do-Re-Mi, My Favourite Things, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, The Lonely Goatherd and the title song The Sound of Music.
I could listen to the sweet sound of those nuns all day and  I want to make a special mention of my friends and two favourite nuns Genna Galloway (Sister Berthe) and LJ Neilson (Sister Sophia). I thought they were so magical in How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria....

One of the staging choices I loved was the use of the side isles in the Montecasino's Teatro.
Our seats were close to the sides, so it added a thrill and made you feel like you were right in the pews of Nonnberg Abbey when the nuns passed singing during the first scene holding small flickering candles. Or it made you tense and nervous with the gun-holding Nazi's along the sides during Captain Von Trapp's performance of Edelweiss.

Bethany Dickson is marvellous as Maria Rainer and there are moments you feel like it might even be Julie Andrews in the flesh playing opposite the stern and stringent Andre Swartz as Mr Von Trapp. And how brilliant to see such sensational theatre greats as James Borthwick playing the wonderfully animated Max Detweiler, Malcolm Terrey faultless and fabulous as Franz, Rika Sennett as the charming housekeeper Frau Schmidt and Taryn Sudding, beguiling as the wealthy Baroness Schraeder. The children were all really delightful to watch and it does help to have the oh-so talented and gorgeous Carmen Pretorius taking the lead as the eldest Von Trapp child, Liezel.

I do take my hat off to friends Duane Alexander (Resident Choreographer and Children's Director) and Anton Luitingh (Resident Director) who have the responsibility of casting and coaching three complete sets of the 6 younger Von Trapp children who rotate performances. And there is even a full stand-by cast present at the theatre every night 'in case of emergency'. And emergencies do happen! Some of the children are dealing with chicken pocks at the moment and even a few of their adult minders are down, poor things! Oh, the life of an actor! ;)

It is a captivating production that made me feel so proud watching fellow South African performers proving over and over again that they are more than a match for international stages and critics.
My favourite moment and the thought that stayed with me was when Mother Abess tells Maria...
You must find the life you were meant to live... 

Chat soon,