Young talents selected to take their musicals to the professional stag

The Centre for Creative Arts, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in collaboration with the Mandela Bay Theatre Complex, are proud to announce the winners of the inaugural Cabaret And Beyond festival. Multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger Ntlantla Swana from Gqeberha and singer, pianist and musical theatre performer Leah Mari from Durban are the selected talents that will get mentorship to take their musicals to the professional stage.

Twenty-one composers have finished a fourth-month new musical theatre writing initiative culminating in a live showcase staged at the Seabrooke Theatre in Durban. Patrons scrambled for tickets, with the second week run of the show being completely sold out after adding a performance date.

“What a pleasure to see this new writing project come to fruition with such overwhelming success. New musical theatre is a ‘hard sell’ for local audiences who are unfamiliar with this aspect of the genre, but they fell hook, line and sinker.” says Roland Perold, curator and project manager of the Cabaret and Beyond Festival.

A panel of distinguished jury members assembled in Durban to select the winning composers of this showcase came to a unanimous decision. The adjudicating panel, consisting of artistic director Xabiso Zweni from Gqeberha, international Opera singer Nozuko Teto from Durban, theatre director Lesedi Job from Johannesburg, ‘Fleur de Cap’ recipient for new writing development Paul Griffiths from Cape Town and musical director and event specialist Evan Roberts from Durban was led in discussion by Perold after attending Showcase Gala Event on 16 October.

The winning composers will each receive financial assistance and dramaturgical support to finish their one-act musicals. These will then receive a professional staging with a Durban based cast and creative team who start rehearsal in February 2022. The productions will premiere at the Mandela Bay Theatre Complex in March and then return to Durban for a short season. A national tour is also being considered.

“We congratulate Ntlantla Swana and Leah Mari as the winners identified to receive grants for further development. As partners with the Nelson Mandela Bay Theatre complex, we believe that we have an ideal product that will grow the capacity of new composers and attract audiences to return to live theatre after 18 months of a national lockdown. We are also confident that the curation and artistic direction led by Roland Perold is vital for the future growth of South African musical theatre”, says Ismail Mahomed. Director of the Centre for Creative Arts.