SNEAK PEEK: Janice Honeyman's Adventures in Pantoland
Are you ready, folks!? Because Joburg Theatre’s panto of ALL pantos is just around the corner…
enroC photo & video
The annual pantomime is a time-honoured tradition for Joburgers, letting us know that a fun-filled festive season is just about ready to get under way. And while each year’s pantomime has something special to offer, this year’s production will mark the final instalment of the Joburg Theatre’s 60th Anniversary celebrations (which means it’s bound to be a goodie).
Writer/director Janice Honeyman has been producing the pantomime each year for the past three decades – starting with Sinbad’s African Adventures, which she produced at the then Johannesburg Civic Theatre in 1992. Now, thirty years later – and as the 27th annual Janice Honeyman pantomime on the Nelson Mandela Theatre stage of Joburg Theatre – Honeyman is putting on what she terms ‘the panto of all pantos’.
“This year’s show will be a mash-up-mega-mix of pantomimes, where ever-popular characters such as Princess Aurora, Aladdin, Snow White and Jack the Joller meet on stage with the Wicked Queen Evilina, the Abominable Uncle Abanazar, Madame Kakkeloura Khakibos and the Crooked Captain Hideosa Hook in a Quest Adventure to retain the Golden Goblet of Goodness. Adventures in Pantoland is an epic journey of traditional good versus evil. Obviously, good wins in the end!” says Honeyman.
This will be executive producer Bernard Jay’s 21st consecutive pantomime collaboration with Honeyman, and he reckons that the show will definitely live up to Joburg audiences’ expectations.
“With all the breath-taking spectacle, magical storytelling, over-the-top comedy and outrageous topical references that Joburg Theatre audiences have grown to expect from the annual pantomime, this year’s panto will once again be the ideal all-the-family outing to the theatre,” he says.
The panto’s all-star cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Michelle Botha, Dylan du Plessis, David Arnold Johnson, Didintle Khunou, Ilse Klink, Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala, Carmen Pretorius, Brenda Radloff, Justin Swartz, Grant Towers and Ben Voss.
Production designer Andrew Timm – Naledi Theatre Award winner for his acclaimed designs of the pantomime Cinderella in 2021 – will be returning to transform Joburg Theatre’s state-of-the-art technology into a magical wonderland of globally-travelled adventures, along with panto veteran costume designer Bronwen Lovegrove.
More info:
Adventures in Pantoland will be on The Mandela stage at Joburg Theatre from 6 November to 24 December Tickets are on sale from R260, and are available now via www.joburgtheatre.com or by calling 0861 670 670. Terrific discount prices are available for groups of ten or more.
Follow the pantomime on social media: @JoburgTheatre #PantolandSA and stay tuned to The Great Equalizer’s socials to get our take on the show after opening night.