(Above: The full cast. Photo supplied)
Welcome back again, Northcliff, with a top-notch
production filled with young talent - all highly competent in handling the
comedy, dance and drama demands of Me and My Girl.
This is the 23rd production from this Johannesburg high school to tour to
the Playhouse and it’s a joyous show full of laughs.
The school needs high commendation for its support of live performance. It believes that if the sports team can go on tour, then so can the drama team.
Me and My Girl has a company of 30 actors; 10 musicians and 8 backstage crew. So, this entire group of 48 plus the large set pieces, backdrops, props and costumes has to travel from Johannesburg to Durban and provided with accommodation. It is a massive operation.
Director and producer Nick Jordan comments: “Was it foolhardy to contemplate a revival with now limited resources, costumes from our own little wardrobe and a new generation of teenagers completely unfamiliar with the genre? – Most definitely! But, fools rush in where angels fear to tread. The road has been long with vocal coaching, learning harmonies and tap lessons and from what for a long time seemed to be a long dark tunnel with no light at the end has emerged a fine production illustrating that the young performers at Northcliff have it in them to pull off the impossible and triumph with aplomb.”
The story is of
an unexpected heir to a title and large estate. He was born out of a
clandestine alliance between the lord of the manor and a young woman “not of
aristocracy”. Upon his demise however, Lord Hareford’s will determines that the
heir should be found and groomed to a level of sophistication befitting his
new-found status in order to inherit and this leads to no end of comic
situation as he is found to be a somewhat uncouth Cockney yahoo. The fun and
laughs never end.
Heading the cast are Lyndan Meyers as the heir Bill Snibson and Aaqilah Basson as his girlfriend Sally Smith (both in Grade 12) who put in excellent performances in roles that require changes in accent (Cockney to highly well-spoken) and a good control of comedy and dance.
Other performers who impressed me were Angelica Rennie; Scott Maynard, Gabriele Flaum, Owen Pace and Thabang Ramanala. Collecting many laughs was Tristan Marques as the snooty butler.
One often needs to keep reminding oneself that these are not professional and experienced actors! I couldn’t fault the cast’s discipline and all performers deserve applause. At its recent run in Johannesburg, the show was received with raves, encores and tumultuous ovation. Last night’s Durban audience was just as highly receptive.
Conductor Matthew Vlok commands a good orchestra and older members of the audience will delight to numbers such as Doing the Lambeth Walk; The Sun Has Got His Hat On; Leaning on a Lampost and the title number, Me and My Girl.
Performances take place in the Playhouse Drama Theatre from June 28 to July 1 at 19h30, on July 1 at 14h00 and a final performance on July 2 at 15h00. Tickets are R100 (R80 for seniors) available at Webtickets – Caroline Smart
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