Cape Town - The popularity of Afrikaans telenovela Arendsvlei has astounded producers, who are humbled by the flood of comments on the show's social media fan pages.
“People are constantly talking about the show. And often they mention the smallest details that one would ever notice, that's the crazy part. That's how invested the fans are,” said Tarryn Josephs, Penguin Films PR manager.
Initially, the plan was to only produce one season. But such has been the appetite for the series, they're on season four. Episode 545 is on the air tomorrow night.
The show is set in the fictitious suburb of Arendsvlei in Cape Town; parts of it are filmed at Atlantic Studios in Montague Gardens.
The storyline centres around the goings on at a local high school and the surrounding community. Arendsvlei High is actually Axios School of Skills in Eerste River. Producers film their scenes in one half of the school, while real-life learning continues in the other. Interestingly, pupils at the school are cast as extras. The show has touched on different issues, including human trafficking, gambling, teenage drug use, gangsterism and teenage pregnancy.
Josephs said the main message was “educating people on the coloured community, and we try to stay true to what is really happening on the Cape Flats”.
Recently, Arendsvlei broke new ground with characters Wesley Rossouw and Lee-Roy Foster tying the knot in the first on-screen gay wedding featured in a local telenovela.
And in the past few weeks, actors have been going the rounds in preparation for a story line built around the boxing world.
Arendsvlei creators and producers are a pedantic bunch. Everything's got to be believable. And for the boxing bit, they pulled no punches.
A specialist boxing trainer, Josh Cloete, was roped in to teach the cast the sport.
One of the main characters, Beatrice Abrahams (Jolene Martin), who trained for eight months for her scenes, said: “A few months ahead of boxing training, I enrolled myself into Muay Thai training. I wanted to condition my body for actual contact.”
Clayton Evertson, who plays Jo Johnson, the boxing trainer, but is actually an undercover cop, said it was his first time doing “proper boxing”.
“What surprised me most about boxing was the mental challenge. Especially, when you're in the ring and you're trying to manipulate your opponent into a punch, if you get hit in the face, how do you come back from that? I found that the toughest, especially when you felt fatigued towards the end of the session, but you keep pushing yourself.”
Evertson said he was able to use the skills he's learned. “Our trainer Josh is one of the best boxers this country has ever had. I still skip, I still run.”
Rehane Abrahams, who wears the wig of villainess Ingrid van Schalkwyk, was another who said she really enjoyed getting into boxing.
“I was surprised to find aggression as an energy in my body – a focus thing. Boxing is so technical. Sometimes the maths of it blows my mind a bit.”
Boxing club owner Lennie “Lightweight” Engelbrecht, played by Dann-Jacques Mouton, says he was put through his paces for his scenes. In the soapie, Mouton was involved in the underground boxing scene before walking the straight and narrow.
This week he triumphed in the show's most anticipated bout against Bennie “Die Breker" Bekker from Bothasig, a bruising battle that had been in the making for many years.
Mouton talks like a boxer, walks like a boxer, but it took a lot of hard work, before he was able to throw a punch like one.
He said he didn't know a thing about the sport.
“I was never interested in boxing in the first place. But I was curious. We did about eight weeks of training twice a week prior to shooting the actual boxing scenes. What surprised me about it was the level of fitness and stamina you had to have. The training was tough in the beginning, then it became easier, and then it was fun.”
Mouton said he watched a lot of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting and boxing matches in his research for the role of Lennie.
“You watch a lot of clips, listen to different kinds of music to get your mindset ready and what kind of attitude to have when you step into the ring. You read a lot, and the internet is there for you to explore. But you have to put in the time.”
Mouton added: “Boxing is something I would like to embark on in the future as a lifestyle choice to keep fit.”
The boxing scenes are but one element of a story that has captured viewers imagination. Arendsvlei has been raking in awards since season one. They scooped six Royalty Soapie Awards last year, and eight nominations this year.
Speaking about the success of the show, co-producer and head writer Theltom Masimila said: “Never in a million years would we have thought we'd still be on TV four years later. I cannot thank our loyal viewers enough. We promised our viewers we will always stay true to the coloured community and its stories. And I hope we are doing it justice.”