JOHANNESBURG – A sprinkling of magic dust – and a real helicopter on stage! – is all that’s needed to reach Neverland in Janice Honeyman’s swashbuckling pantomime adventure, Peter Pan, opening at Joburg Theatre on November 5 and running until December 28.
In true panto style, the villainous Captain Hook will have audiences booing and hissing, while his side-kicks, the non-conforming Mr Smee and “Dame” Clementina Coconut, balance out the villainy with laughter and fun. Tinker Bell, Mr and Mrs Darling, Wendy and the Darling boys, their nursery dog Nana, The Lost Boys, the pirate crew and their beautiful girls fill the stage in this fast-paced, lavishly designed, over-the-top Janice Honeyman written-and-directed panto -with plenty of surprises and thrills for adults and children alike.
Peter Pan features award-winning stage and television star Craig Urbani (The Buddy Holly story and Thoroughly Modern Millie in the West End and South Africa) as Captain Hook and the irrepressible Idols favourite Bongi Mthombeni as Mister Smee, in his record-breaking fourth successive Joburg Theatre pantomime.
“I did panto in Wimbledon and Bradford in the UK,” says Craig Urbani. Never one in South Africa so I’m looking forward to performing on stage again! Especially the Mandela stage! It has amazing memories for me, my theatrical home! Doing panto is going to make this a special Christmas season!”
Michael Riff Themba will play the courageous and gutsy Peter Pan. In just over a year in professional theatre, Michael has appeared in Starlight Express directed by Janice Honeyman, The Coloured Museum directed by James Ngcobo, and most recently, Monty Python’s Spamalot.
The passionate and peppery fairy, Tinker Bell, will be played by Thembsie Matu, best known to South Africans for her hilarious character Prudence in the DSTV adverts on-screen.
Weslee Swain Lauder will play the side-splitting zany role of the Dame, the Nanny of The Darling Family, but with a family secret hidden deep into the plot!
The Darling Children will be played by Joanna Abatzoglou( Rocky Horror Show, Aladdin, Starlight Express), Emil Haarhoff (Jack and the Beanstalk) and Clint Lesch (West Side Story, Starlight Express).
The full company of the panto is completed by TeeKay Baloyi, Cameron Botha, Delray Burns, Pasha Dos Santos, Clive Gilson, Nurit Michele Graff, Samuel Hyde, Angela Inglis, Kent Jeycocke, Brandon Lindsay, Dolly Louw, Sabelo Radebe, Dale Scheepers and Natasha van der Merwe.
This year’s creative panto team consists of Graham McLusky (lighting designer), Roelof Colyn (musical director), Trevor Peters (sound designer) and Timothy Le Roux (choreographer and resident director).
And this year Joburg Theatre introduces a new “sensation”, Odourama. Scratch ‘n sniff your way into beautiful scented rose gardens and wonderful beach cocktails….but beware of a few surprises on the way!
Fly away with Peter on a magical adventure to Neverland, full of old and new songs, indians and pirates, and more than a sprinkle of fairy dust: this year’s production of Peter Pan is sure to delight the whole family. So if you believe in fairies, “hook” your tickets now for this perfect panto full of family-friendly festive fun!
When Janice Honeyman first unveiled her Peter Pan at Joburg Theatre in 2007, it proved to be the most successful of all her pantomimes to date. Terrific pre-season sales for 2014 indicate that Peter Pan is destined to be just as popular on its return, with over 40 000 tickets already sold.
“It’s a Scentsation!” says Janice Honeyman. “This is a panto that we not only see and hear but smell as well! Or sometimes not so well, for instance Captain Hook’s Stinky–Toe–Jam–Socks. Using smell we hope will be evocative, create atmosphere and enhance the overall impact of the story. You will not only experience sound surround but sense surround.”
Honeyman continues; “Peter Pan is going to be fun, full of adventure, youthful enthusiasm and life! We are going to follow Peter Pans exploits and escapades, Tinker Bell’s magical mischief and Captain Hook’s bullying, malicious and monstrous mayhem. The panto team refuse to grow up! So fly with us, soaring through the stratosphere on an airborne adventure to Neverland. As a panto it’s typical, topical and tropical. We assure you barrels of laughs and cannon shots of comedy. So all aboard for a full sail journey to Peter Pan’s Panto land.”
Janice Honeyman’s Peter Pan opens on The Mandela stage on November 5 and runs until December 28. Tickets from R195 to R310 are on sale now through visiting www.joburgtheatre.com or calling 0861 670 670.
Popular discounted ticket rates for groups of ten or more are available by calling the theatre on 011 877 6853.
Hospitality packages – from youngsters’ birthday parties to private fine dining – are available in one of Joburg Theatre’s five-star suites, as well as in the theatre restaurant, Stages.
Janice Honeyman’s Peter Pan is proudly brought to you at Joburg Theatre by BankservAfrica, in association with M-Net, Jacaranda FM and Your Family Magazine and is produced for Joburg Theatre by Bernard Jay.
