Savour the wacky taste of Lollipop Lane

DUE to public demand, Clinton Marius’s record-breaking radio comedy, ‘Lollipop Lane’, which delighted thousands of fans for four years, has morphed into a serialised stage show – bringing back to life the whacky gallery of folk from the block of flats where the lift doesn’t quite go to the top floor.

Following on from the show’s pilot staged production, ‘Lollipop Lane – The Big Biscuit Bake-Off’, which was seen at the Catalina last October, funding has been secured from the National Arts Council (NAC) and the exciting venture continues with three more productions drawn from the popular radio show.

Scripted by Marius and directed by Caroline Smart, these will be recorded before live audiences, and subsequently broadcast on Tape Aids for the Blind DSTV channel. Next up in the series is ‘Lollipop Lane – The Beauty Spot’.
This can be seen at the Catalina Theatre on Friday and Saturday, 24 and 25 July at 8pm, with a 2.30pm matinee on Sunday, 26 July.

“Since Lollipop Lane’s run on air ended in 2012, I have fielded ongoing calls from fans for the show to be revived in one way or another. So we are pleased to continue offering this new platform for them to reunite with all their ‘old friends’ from the series,” said creator, Clinton Marius.

Casting includes Mayuri Naidu, who heads the roster in her key role as the ditsy, fashion-obsessed Cassandra.
Other well-known names in the ensemble cast include Maeshni Naicker, Caroline Smart, Shona Johnson, Clinton Marius, Kim Ferguson, and Musa Ntuli.

“The idea to retain the radio element of ‘Lollipop Lane’ came from a notion I had of revisiting the presentations of the hugely popular Springbok Radio comedy productions that came from Durban – Tom Meehan’s ‘Men from the Ministry’, ‘Father, Dear Father’ and ‘The Navy Lark’,” explains Caroline Smart.

Elza-Lynne Kruger, National Director of Tape Aids for the Blind said, “I am absolutely thrilled that the NAC has recognised the value of this project, and given us the capacity to take it forward. It will be of huge benefit to our blind members, who were excited to hear the first installment of the staged series of ‘Lollipop Lane’, and will warmly welcome its sequels.”

Tickets for ‘Lollipop Lane – The Beauty Spot’ at R120 per person (R100 for pensioners and students) are available through Computicket.