The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
WITH memories fresh from last year’s exhilarating pantomime “Snow White”, expectations were high for the next production – and the Reps team did not disappoint.
This festive season, theatre lovers are being treated to “Puss in Boots”, which premièred on Wednesday at the storied Reps Theatre in Harare.
Before we talk about how the cast of Martin Bolt, Carla Williams, Sam Mundawarara and Mei Gill, directed by Graham Crutchley, nailed it on the night, kudos to set designer Linda Hyde. It brought back good memories of the amazing job Angela Charitonos did for “Much Ado About Nothing” to celebrate 400 years of William Shakespeare. The stage managers brought it all together, with backdrops flawlessly switching with each change of scene.
The costumes are also worth mentioning; the detail was immaculate. Hats off to Hesbe Chivers and co’ for – in particular – what they did for Witch, King and Puss.
As for the acting, it was clear the cast really rehearsed and even the toddlers in the play were a marvel.
“We started rehearsals on October 8 and we were meeting for two hours four times a week,” said the “Witch” and Reps Theatre manager, Sue Bolt.
As is required of theatre, the music added flair – though not to the same levels we saw a few weeks ago when Reps staged “A Tale of the ‘80s”.
The voice projection was not always good and hopefully this will improve as the play runs daily till December 23.
Overall, all members of the cast – who ranged from six to 60-year-olds did justice to their characters, holding the audience throughout.
The stand out stars were Stephane and Marc Thomas, who played Puss and Puss’s mother respectively. (Marc is Stephane’s biological father.)
Stephane’s wit was infectious and his energy was complemented well by Marc, who came through more like a stand-up comedian and dazzled the crowd with his jokes. But will we see new scripts coming to stage any time soon or is Reps going to continue with old classics? Bolt responded: “Original scripts could be used for pantomime, they would just have to follow the pantomime formula.”
