Highly acclaimed and respected former circus
performer, puppeteer, technical director and scenic designer Keith Anderson
passed away on Thursday morning (May 3, 2013). His contribution to the
performing arts industry in South Africa is considerable.
He studied art at the University of Cape
Town’s Michaelis School of Art, and joined John Wright's Marionettes while
still in his teens, going on to create his own marionette theatre company. His
links with puppet theatre continued and he also founded the Circus Osler Circus
School in Cape Town.
He designed productions from ballets to
musicals and operas for all the former national arts councils and major
independent theatre companies. Durban audiences will remember his set for the
Playhouse Company’s Cinderella in 2011.
Friend and
colleague Alvon Collison remembers: “.... a genius, an artist, the end so
lonely and sad. So sad. My dear friend Keith gone to paint the clouds and the
stars in heaven ... so sad. He was a giant … made magic out of every stage and
theatre he designed. A God-given talent. He designed the Minstrel Scandals for Louis Burke ... also Follies Fantastique, Mame, Hello Dolly ... every musical show in South
Africa. A genius. Also on Broadway for Joan and Louis (Meet Me In St. Louis). So sad. The heavens will be filled with magic. He really was a
creator.”
Ralph Lawson, who directed Cinderella for the Playhouse Company
pays this tribute: “Keith will be remembered for the magic he brought into
people's lives. Always young at heart, despite illness and physical
disabilities, he remained enthralled by the particular brands of theatrical
magic that he loved and which he so generously shared - puppetry, circus, set
design for ballet, opera and theatre and much more. Always humble, he had a
truly giving nature and he changed the lives of many, young and old, through
his enormous talent.”
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