Desmond Dube stepped into the role of Pop this month more than half a century after the character was first brought to life on a Wits University stage in the hit 'King Kong The Musical'.
Dube joins the cast directly from the success of an international tour and Johannesburg run of "The Suitcase" and will replace the talented Sne Dladla who left the production due to other commitments.
Having last been on the Fugard Theatre stage in the production of "I See You", Dube said he jumped at the opportunity to get back into a role that allowed him to express his comedic prowess.
“The last time I was here I was doing a dramatic role and it was a bit of a dark story. A lot of people were like 'but he’s a comedian why is he doing that?'
“Having played a dramatic role, 'Kanala' was on at that time here (the Fugard Theatre) and I remember saying I want to do that on this stage. I want to play in a musical,” said Dube.
"King Kong" tells the true story of the rise and fall of heavyweight boxing champ Ezekiel “King Kong” Dlamini. Sophiatown sets the scene for this 1950s musical. The character Pop narrates the story. Dube said the role afforded him the opportunity to “have fun”, but that there were no shared characteristics between him and his character. “No similarities! I’m a terrible storyteller. My daughter always says you cut things out and you just think we’re going to catch it and so I have to follow a journey and make sure the audience follows too.
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“The basis of this role is for him to tell the story with authenticity and humour and with some sort of believability. He (Pop) lived through a rough time. King Kong was his friend and others who possibly died through political conflict or through crime. Sophiatown was rife with gangsters at the time.”
Relying on his family members' experiences of living in Sophiatown Dube said this helped him in preparation for the role and the original production paved the way for future authentic South African stories.
“King Kong pioneered the black musicals and it gave us a lot of stars. Redoing this now as an actor is an honour. I read that Nelson Mandela went to the opening. I don’t think it was political as such but I think it is because it was something new to a black community.
“It’s more important that we tell what 'King Kong' as a musical did for South Africa. It’s like children of the 1990s talking about 'Sarafina'. It was groundbreaking. There is a generation of people from Sophiatown that have the same feeling,” he said.
Booking for KING KONG has been EXTENDED for the FINAL TIME to 4 MARCH 2018!
Get your tickets NOW for KING KONG's final run in South Africa!
It MUST CLOSE 4 MARCH.
Webtickets | 021 461 4554 #KingKongSA pic.twitter.com/0I9fpN7ygl
— The Fugard Theatre (@TheFugard) January 15, 2018
* King Kong The Musical runs at the Fugard Theatre until March 4. Tickets are available on Webtickets.