Panto time
The plot combines the babes-lost-in-the-forest story with the Robin Hood legend. The young children, Hansel and Gretel, come to visit their uncle, the Sheriff of Nottingham, little suspecting that he is plotting their demise.
RIDING through the royal forest of Sherwood on a glorious May morning, you don’t have a care in the world. Then you hear a bird call, the faint rustling of trees, and suddenly a man armed with a longbow appears in your path. He wears a feathered cap, or is that a hood? You can’t see the man’s face clearly, but you don’t have to. He is dressed in Lincoln green, the colour of Robin Hood – the most famous English outlaw of all time.
Janice Honeyman’s brand-new pantomime adventure, ‘Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood’, on the stage of The Mandela at Joburg Theatre, will be playing from November 5 to December 30.
The plot combines the babes-lost-in-the-forest story with the Robin Hood legend. The young children, Hansel and Gretel, come to visit their uncle, the Sheriff of Nottingham, little suspecting that he is plotting their demise. But never fear, help is at hand – in the shape of Robin and his Merry Men, plus Maid Marian and the Spirit of the Forest.
Playing the role of Robin in his first Joburg Theatre pantomime is Izak Davel, best known to TV viewers as Isidingo’s arrogant Bradley Haines, and whose hit recordings include Verlei My, Is Jy In Of Is Jy Uit and Vreesloos.
Much loved panto star Desmond Dube returns to Joburg Theatre to play the jovial Friar Tuck, Idols finalist Bongi Mthombeni features in his fifth Joburg Theatre pantomime as the dandy Will Scarlet and leading lady of South African musical theatre, Kate Normington, will surely be wildly comic as Silly Sylviana, the Spirit of the Forest.
“It’s an exciting year for us when Janice Honeyman writes a brand-new pantomime script,” says Bernard Jay, executive producer of the panto. “We don’t know exactly what to expect until the last minute, but we do know it will be full of her magical flair for story-telling, spectacular special effects, zany comedy and outrageous double entendres!”
‘Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood’ has preview performances on The Mandela stage at Joburg Theatre on November 5 and 6 with tickets from R170. Its official opening night is scheduled for Sunday, November 6 and the season continues until December 30, with tickets priced from R220.
Over 30 000 tickets have already been sold for this year’s panto, so best to hurry and get yours now for South Africa’s most popular family entertainment tradition. Tickets are available by visiting www.joburgtheatre.com or calling 0861 670 670, as well as through Webtickets and at Pick n Pay stores. For group bookings of 10 or more, contact the theatre directly on 011 877 6853/6815.
For details of the full schedule and performance times, visit www.joburgtheatre.com
You may also be interested in:
Joburg Theatre is proud to present its 2014 pantomime – Janice Honeyman’s Peter Pan
Don’t miss the Christmas pantomime – Sleeping Beauty
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