Johannesburg – Janice Honeyman has for decades been entertaining South Africans with her beloved and acclaimed pantomimes.
Her theatrical entertainment usually based on fairy tales and nursery stories, filled with music and slapstick comedy and is usually produced around Christmas, has become a staple in the local theatre scene.
And this year to commemorate Joburg Theatre’s 60th anniversary, Honeyman has written and directed a brand new panto.
The show’s producer, Bernard Jay, explained that the production, titled ‘Adventures in Pantoland,’ combines the good versus evil stories of Jack and The Beanstalk, Snow White, Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty.
“But, of course, in true tradition – good triumphs in the end,” he told The Saturday Star this week.
“The show is full of surprises, but I hope our audiences will especially enjoy that there are so many goodies and baddies all trying to outdo each other on stage.”
Meanwhile, Honeyman is thrilled about creating a brand new pantomime for the theatre’s 60th anniversary.
“I instantly became excited and buzzed with ideas in accepting the challenge.”
She explained that this year’s show will be a mash-up-mega-mix of pantomimes, where ever-popular characters such as Princess Aurora, Aladdin, Snow White and Jack the Joller meet on stage with the Wicked Queen Evilina, the Abominable Uncle Abanazar, Madame Kakkeloura Khakibos and the Crooked Captain Hideosa Hook in a Quest Adventure to retain the Golden Goblet of Goodness.
“With all the breath-taking spectacle, magical storytelling, over-the-top comedy and outrageous topical references that Joburg Theatre audiences have grown to expect from the annual pantomime, this year’s panto will once again be the ideal all-the-family outing to the theatre,” said Jay.
‘Adventures in Pantoland’ will also feature an impressive cast including the likes of Michelle Botha, Dylan du Plessis, David Arnold Johnson, Didintle Khunou and Ilse Klink.
They will be joined by the likes of Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala, Carmen Pretorius, Brenda Radloff, Justin Swartz, Grant Towers and Ben Voss.
Meanwhile, production designer Andrew Timm – Naledi Theatre Award winner for his acclaimed designs of the pantomime ‘Cinderella’ in 2021 – will also be returning to transform Joburg Theatre’s state-of-the-art technology into a magical wonderland of globally-travelled adventures, along with panto veteran costume designer Bronwen Lovegrove.
Jay said that their forced hiatus, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been a challenge but they are counting down the days until they can once again return to the stage in a packed arena.
“It has been a very tough two years or more for everyone in the entertainment industry and there is a feeling now that we must come back bigger and better than ever before.”
“It’s thrilling to not only be on stage with the panto, but also to be able to play to full houses of 1000 patrons,” Jay said.
And preparations for next month’s show are already underway.
“Preparations for the show are going excellently so far and we just started rehearsals on Monday and our cast fell about with laughter at the first read-through so, that’s a good sign.”
Jay believes that Honeyman’s pantomimes have been a hit in South Africa for decades because of the legendary writer and director’s genius as well as her understanding of the genre.
“Whilst she honours the old British traditions of pantomime, she cleverly adds South African spices into the mix to give the shows a local flavour and topicality.”
He also believes that pantomimes have gotten bigger and more spectacular over the years with a larger cast, more scenery and special effects.
“I think our audiences each year anticipate the over-the-top spectacle.”
‘Adventures in Pantoland’ will be on The Mandela stage at Joburg Theatre from November 6th to December 24th.
Tickets from R260 are available now by visiting www.joburgtheatre.com or by calling 0861 670 670. Terrific discount prices are available for groups of ten or more.