Two young South African performers have been cast as Princess Aurora and Prince Perrault in the African premiere of Sleeping Beauty The Musical, which opens at Peoples Theatre in Braamfontein on 3 November and runs through the year end school holidays until 24 December.
Director Jill Girard has cast Gabrielle De Gama, who played the young title character in the Emmy nominated crime drama Reyka, as Aurora, and Tumelo Mogashoa as the prince. “Sometimes, very rarely, someone walks into an audition room and magic happens and they are just perfect for the role,” Girard said.
De Gama, who records for Virgin Music as Jaydn Elle, has appeared at Peoples Theatre in Annie Jnr and Seussical the Musical. Mogashoa began acting in the United States, finished school at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg and recently graduated from the Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy in Cape Town, and makes his Peoples Theatre debut in the role.
The adult cast includes Donae Brazer as Queen Catherine, Naledi Award winner Gamelihle “Game” Bovana as King Henry, Luciano Zuppa as the villain Hellisent and Priyanka Bandu as Fairy Tulip. The book and lyrics are by Manchester born writer Ian Curran, with music by Simon Hanson and Peter Vint. In this version Aurora is cursed as a child and raised in hiding until a chance meeting with the prince sets off a chase across the Kingdom of Australis. “To see families come together and experience the warmth and magic of this show is always so special, and now to have this incredible cast bring my words to life so beautifully on the stage in a brand new production in South Africa, is a true gift,” Curran said.
Public performances are limited to weekends and school holidays, however, as weekday shows during term are reserved for school groups, whose bookings the theatre said were filling up quickly. School performances run from Tuesday to Friday at 09:00 and 11:00.
Public shows are at 10:30 and 14:30. Tickets cost R180, or R145 for members of the Peoples Theatre Kids Club and R155 for adults accompanying them, and can be booked on Webtickets, through Joburg Theatre or by calling 011 877 6841.
“This time, two dazzling young talented actors arrived within 15 minutes of each other and I knew we had found our Princess Aurora and her handsome Prince,” Girard said.
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