(Pic: Pranesh Maharaj, Shika Budhoo, Afzal Khan and Rory Booth)Hit stage show written by Hamish Kyd returns for a two-week season from July 24.
Presented by the Playhouse Company, the hit stage show Jimbo makes a welcome return to the Durban stage for a two-week season in the Playhouse Drama Theatre from July 24
Scripted by local playwright and actor Hamish Kyd, Jimbo depicts Durban’s coloured community during the 1960s and ’70s. It is set to original music by Siva Devar, with lyrics by Kyd and Themi Venturas, who directed the musical play’s hugely successful premiere production at the Playhouse in 1993, as well as its revival three years ago.
Jimbo was the first stage musical to be written about coloured people in Durban. Charged with vitality and graphic humour along with its own brand of pathos, its evocative story of back-street life is played by a sharply-drawn cast of characters, headed by two hobos who tell of life lived between heaven and hell.
The play evokes distinctive landmarks such as Durban’s Indian Market and Warwick Triangle as they were 40 years ago. It remains a moving and highly entertaining tribute to the people who lived, loved, laboured and died in the area. The forthcoming revival carries a special note of nostalgia in the light of the Indian Market (one of Durban’s most famous historic landmarks) being about to be relocated due to the enlarging of the N3 entrance into the city centre.
Themi Venturas is back in the director’s chair. R & B star singer Percy Smith returns to reprise his successful portrayal of the title role, appearing opposite Kyd, the only member of the original cast, who returns to the play’s other principle role of Vishnu.
Other principal casting includes Jailoshini Naidoo, set to reprise her 2006 stage triumph as Natasha. Others in the cast include Sam Marais, Marcia Mzindle, Nomonde Matiwane, Grant Jacobs, Teboho “T-Bone” Hlahane, S’lindile Nodangala, Gareth Purchase, Mario Ogle, Thomie Holtzhausen, Thabo Mnguni, Rory Booth, Afzal Khan and Vivian Moodley, among others.
Jimbo runs from July 24 to August 9. Tickets range from R60 to R80 and early booking is advised through Computicket on 082 915 8000 or the Playhouse Dial-A-Seat on 031 369 9596 or 031 369 9540 Tickets at the door will cost between R90 and R110.
Posts
