Heels, humour and hotness, the boys from Rocky Horror Show
MAGALIESSIG- They're good looking, fit, can sing, they're smart, they can dance, and above all, wear high-heeled shoes.
Based on this short list Emile Doubell, Zolani Shangase, Tarquinn Whitebooi and Shaun Smit’s theatre credits should be beefed up to bonafide stage stars.
The four boys are the soul of Rocky Horror Show because, as guys they make a complete transformation while singing, dancing and rejoicing in full-on drag.
Smit, who stars as the titular Rocky might don a teeny gold sjoebroekie for most of his time on stage, but by sharing a changing area with Doubell, Shangase and Whitebooi, the young actor said one of the best parts of being in the show has been “to be one of the boys”.
Doubell, Shangese and Whitebooi are all phantoms in the production, as well as understudies for some of the main roles. But being a phantom, according to them is a delight.
“We interact with the audience before the show in heels and dresses, finally when we appear on stage looking more like men you always see a few shocked reactions. It also creates a sense of familiarity, that helps the audience get sucked into the show,” Whitebooi said.
They’ve all enjoyed the calf work-out of wearing heels as well. Shaun is the lucky one, in that he doesn’t need to wear as much make-up and have to drag up as much as the other guys, but he none the less sits with them during their pre-show make-up time.
All of them were given short tutorials of what their make-up should look like, and now they paint away like professionals.
As leading man, Brendan van Rhyn pops by and drops off a huge bag of sweets, it is clear they are also beloved members of the cast.
They all chime their thank you’s before completing their make-up, ready for the stage lights as a new batch of up-and-coming stage stars.
