Beauty and the Beast: Fairytale magic before Christmas

Catch pure fairytale magic at Johannesburg’s Peoples Theatre in Braamfontein until December 23 with the lively staging of Beauty and the Beast.

Directed by Jill Girard and Keith Smith, the fairytale was originally written by French author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. La Belle et la Bete was published in 1740, and later condensed and rewritten by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.

This version, published in 1756, was followed in 1889 by Andrew Lang’s take on the story.

Beauty and the Beast’s cast features Masego Mothibakgomo as Belle. This singer-actress’ love for the arts began when she was a child in Kuruman and Mothibistad, and her mother was a church singer.

Mothibakgomo has a BA in Drama from the University of Pretoria and her theatre performances include Disneyland (Lion King), Romeo and Juliet, Alchemy of Desire, Dead Man’s Blues and King Kong the Musical. She has also starred in the short film, Seussical. As a singer, she is currently working on an original album. Mothibakgomo is also involved in outreach programmes doing drama and vocal training at schools.

Jonathan Blaine Shore, who stars as Beast, is a screen and stage actor, dancer and voice artist. He has a BA in Performance from Afda in Johannesburg, where he graduated on the Dean’s List with Distinction, achieving cum laude in the screen and stage disciplines and winning the Undergraduate Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Masego Mothibakgomo as Belle and Jonathan Blaine Shore as the Beast. Picture: Supplied

Other cast members include Alida Senekal (Mrs Potts), who studied Performing Arts and Drama at Stageworld Theatre School in Port Elizabeth and Musical Theatre at Trinity College London. Her stage experience includes Medea, The Crucible, Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Animal Farm.

For young audiences, she has worked on King Arthur, Stayin’ Alive, Into The Woods, Enchanted Forest, Cinders Panto, The Three Musketeers, Khoko’s Treasure, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Annie Jr.

Her Afrikaans work includes Mamma Ek Wil ’n Man He, Wie’s Jou Pappa, Dokter, Wat Die Hart Van Vol Is and Pippie Langkous Die Musical for which she received a Broadwayworld SA nomination for Best Performer For Young Audiences 2017.

Alida was the head anchor on the Bay FM breakfast show for two years and appeared in KykNet’s Binnelanders as nurse Petro Bam.

Travis Hornsby, who plays Gaston, is a performance artist, fitness instructor and cultural theory enthusiast. Having recently returned from teaching aerial acrobatics in the Netherlands, he has been with the Peoples Theatre for its last two productions, Annie and Our Stories, Our Africa. Hornsby began his acting career in 2010 in the feature film, Spud, reprising his role in Spud: The Madness Continues and Spud: Learning to Fly.

For the duration of the play, there will be a collection point in the Peoples Theatre foyer for non-perishable foodstuff, toiletries for teenage girls and toys for children. These are to donate to The House Group, a shelter for abused, abandoned and destitute girls under the age of 19 in Hillbrow, Johannesburg.

For more information visit House Group for Girls

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