The stars of theatre-making have aligned for a hilarious end-of-year offering at the iconic Market Theatre stage.
This comes as the country’s leading John Kani Stage of the theatre is set to play host to its end-of-year offering, A Marry Little Christmas.
Commissioned by the theatre, A Marry Little Christmas is made up of nine ensemble cast and is written by the recently unveiled Market Theatre artistic director, Greg Homann, who took over at the beginning of the year.
This comedic play starring the likes of Kim Cleote, Antony Coleman, Zolane Shangase, James Borthwick and many others will take to the John Kani Stage from November 29 to December 24.
It is described as a hilarious new South African play set on an unnamed golf estate somewhere on the north-west edge of Johannesburg.
Centred on family, love, life and other things in-between, the play promises to be a heart-warming holiday comedy geared towards family drama that comes with each end-of-year gathering filled with misunderstandings, and the topsy-turvy nature of following cultural practices will lift spirits and leave you smiling.
Arnold Hartmann is 45 and three-quarters and has big plans to propose to Natalie Cloete before hosting the perfect “traditional” Christmas lunch to unify his and her family.
But a nightmare has caused him to oversleep, and before he can build up the courage to pop the question, the two families have started to arrive.
Homann recently spoke to The Star about how some of his real-life situations and experiences influenced some parts of the production’s script and direction.
“This play has been a few years in the making, with the initial idea for it dating back to an animated festive lunch with my own family. Although not based directly on my family, the roots of it are deeply connected to my own family's dynamics and antics. This play was commissioned out of the Writer’s Collective during the 2020 pandemic shutdown.
“This was before I took over as the artistic director of the Market Theatre. So yes, it feels like the stars have aligned perfectly, even though at the time there was no theatre in mind,“ Homann added.
This premiere production of the laugh-a-minute play will be directed by multiple award-winning Charmaine Weir-Smith.
After taking over from James Ngcobo, Homann described his first year as artistic director as being slow but also exciting as the year progressed.
He said now that things were progressing well, this particular production would add a bit of spark to the theatre’s repertoire, which has been known for its political and hard-hitting offerings for over five decades.
“This end-of--year offering is set to be a highlight of Johannesburg’s festive season. Although not based directly on my family, the roots of it are deeply connected to my own family's dynamics and antics.
”Early in the year, we will have two productions focused on democracy, and this ties in nicely with the election season. We will also have two productions focused on schools to kick off the year,” he said.
The Star