‘Follow your own star’

The Roodepoort Little Theatre (RTL) welcomed 71-year-old Mary Newlands Devine into their circle after she was asked to audition for a play that RLT was putting on, this was prompted after she made an impromptu non-speaking appearance in a production of Toad of Toad Hall presented by the Good Companions of Florida.

“At the last minute I chickened out as I thought I might struggle to learn the words,” Mary explained, “The play was cancelled and instead I joined a variety show they were putting on.”

She goes on to say that some of the good memories were not done on stage but rather over the Internet during the Covid-19 lockdown. “There were games, quizzes and, quite a favourite of mine, was when we read our poetry which we had written and explained the motivation behind it,” Mary added.

Her favourite part of theatre is the audience interaction, especially when appearing in pantomime. “I once played the part of a char lady who was mistaken for the lady of the manor – I can’t remember the name of the play thought,” elaborated Mary.

One of the things Mary hopes to accomplish is to write a play she’s been daydreaming about. “I have for years had a play taking shape in my mind but have not started writing it down,” she explained. She adds that this play would perhaps be her dream production if she could finally get it out of her mind and onto the stage.

“I have enjoyed my time with RLT and I hope that their members increase in numbers and audiences return in even greater numbers,” said Mary.
Her advice to someone starting out in acting would be to: “Follow your own star and see where it leads you!”