Pantomime | antakalipa

Pinocchio

At Joburg Theatre for the opening of Janice Honeyman’s Pinocchio. So much excitement – we got goodie bags filled with sweets and snacks! Pinocchio is one of my favorite fairytale’s of all time. I love the character of Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s conscience. We all need a moral campass to help us get through life.

The show doesn’t disappoint, colorful costumes and vibrant sets. Energetic, South African, interactive and beaming with life. Laduma! Madame Pussy Galore (The Fat Cat) and Madame Ill Fortunato (The Fox) are so humorous. They might have stolen the show, so effective as a comedic duo. A lot of comedic moments, I loved the puns and dramatic irony, breaking the fouth wall at times. Pest control was needed for Jiminy Cricket, he was doomed!

Pinocchio is the journey of a wooden puppet who magically comes to life and dreams of becoming a real boy. Katlego Nche plays Pinocchio, he is wonderful and he transforms into a real boy. Bongi Archi is a relatable father figure for Pinocchio. He can speak African languages, in fact, every character drifted off to their home languages once in a while, to convey a point or deliver comedic punchline. The show is filled with a lot of those, this is not just a kiddies show. There was also pop culture references and jokes for grown-ups. Singalong’s are a given and the audience participated and danced along. Laduma! CR7! SUII! Lesedi Rich is boundless energy as Lampwick Rich!

The sets colorful, larger than life, neon lights, full of imagination! Two acts with an interval, the whole journey is so much fun!

The actors
Katlego Nche – Pinocchio
Gina Shmukler – Bella Bouboulina
Sandi Dlangalala – Jiminy Cricket
Bongi Archi – Geppetto Spoletto
Lesedi Rich – Lampwick Spaghetti
Tiaan Rautenbach – Dame Arletti Spaghetti
Brenda Radloff – Madame Ill’ Fortunato (Fox)
Camilla Waldman – Madame Pussy Galore (Cat)
Mark Richardson – Senor Napolio Strombolio
Luciano Zuppa – Luciano Panzarotti
Noluthando Mathebula – Dainty Dolly

Costume Designer: Mariska Meyer

Set Designer and Builder: Enos Ramoroko

Lighting Designer: Johan Ferreira

Congratulations Janice Honeyman and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📸: SamSays

Beauty and the Beast

Perfect show, a great theatrical experience. I loved everything about the show. It’s bursting with with imagination. It is grand, magical, energic, interactive, vibrant and refreshing. It is a show that has a lot of enthusiasm, from the diverse cast, the multiple sets that keep on changing, the costumes that transport you to that world, outstanding lighting, the amazing sound and sound effects, the singing, dancing and cheography, the rich story world and mesmerizing performers on the stage. It is so humorous and entertaining, I was hooked from the first moment to the last. The songs had the audience singing along. We even sang Shosholoza. The timeless story of “Beauty and the Beast” is revamped and given more color, it has a South African context, it has personality, it is memorable. Gavascon is my favorite character, he is brash, vain, narcissistic and has that Jonny Bravo “I am pretty” aura. The “macho, macho man”, it’s hard to be humble when you are perfect. But of course, he does give everyone indigestion, heartburn and stomach complications. Last infamous words of his first appearance, “They eating the dogs, they eating the cats”, I thought that was funny. The sound effect when the beast was talking, it was raucous and deep, he growled, he was thundering, he was menacing. The witch is really a witch. She flys on her broom, casts spells and has the most wicked laugh. She is diabolical, she shot the audience with her snort gun and turned the prince into a beast. I can’t believe her assistant ate her snort, proclaiming it’s protein. That was nasty. She really doesn’t give a damn about a bad reputation. Beauty is just refreshing and so beautiful. I loved the donkey, the movements, very donkeylike, comedic and talked a lot, reminded me Shrek. Mama (Fairy god mother) and Bonnyface are charming and relatable, very South African too, uses words in the South African lexicon, like kleva, Soweto and mfanawami. Mama is eccentric, she keeps watch over the story and makes sure everyone sticks to the script of the story. I Loved when Mama, Bonnyface, Beauty and the Dad performed the “friends” theme song. That was nostalgic. The 3 sisters are funny, whinny and an echo. It was great to see the beauty of the ballerina and the character with the bread on his head and torso was very peculiar. Not sure what he was. So I went to Sam and she clarified, Monsieur Brioche, a sweet French bread. Thank you so much Sam. SamSays on the credits. I loved everything about the show. The costumes, lighting and sets are truly epic. I can’t wait for Pinocchio next year, a real favorite of mine. Congratulations Janice Honeyman and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.