Kat and The Kings return for the summer

Arts writer

DAVID Kramer and the late Taliep Petersen’s award-winning musical Kat & the Kings is set to return to the Fugard Theatre on November 24.

The Fugard’s revival of Kat & the Kings opened in May this year, playing to capacity houses for four months and receiving rave reviews. The consistently high demand for tickets led to three extensions and left local audiences wanting more.

The show is set in Cape Town’s District Six in the late 1950s and explores the journey of teenager Kat Diamond and the a cappella group he forms, The Cavalla Kings. Veteran actor Danny Butler, who recently celebrated his 1 000th performance in the production since he took the role as Old Kat Diamond in 1995, reprises his role as the Old Kat. Dean Balie is the Young Kat Diamond, Grant Peres plays Bingo, Zak Toerien is Magoo, Carlo Daniels is Ballie and Amy Trout plays the part of Lucy.

After touring SA in 1996, the original production of Kat & the Kings played at the Tricycle Theatre in London in 1998 and thereafter transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End.

In 1999, the production won two Olivier Awards – the Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the entire cast won the award for Best Actor in a Musical – a first for a South African production.

The musical then transferred to Broadway where it was nominated for a Tony, a Drama League and three Drama Desk Awards.

“We are so proud of our production of this South African classic,” says Theatre general manager Daniel Galloway. “Seeing it grow from strength to strength has brought us such joy – what better way to spend the summer holidays than in the company of Kat Diamond and The Cavalla Kings?”

Kat & the Kings is produced by Eric Abraham and the Fugard Theatre and is directed by David Kramer.

l The show will open on November 24 and run throughout the holiday season. Tickets are R90 to R160. To book, call Computicket at 0861 915 8000, or the theatre box office at 021 461 4554.