28 April 2023
Maritzburg College is gearing up for My Fair Lady, which will run in the Olivier Cultural Centre from 3-9 May, with performances starting at 19:00 every evening.
Tickets are available at R80. Make your booking at bookings@mcollege.co.za, or use the QR code on the poster.
The story
Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady is the story of Eliza Doolittle, who takes speech lessons from Professor Henry Higgins, so that she may be viewed as a lady.
In 1956, the Broadway production of My Fair Lady won six Tony Awards. Eight years later, in 1964, the film version of the musical won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Maritzburg College Director of Performing Arts and Music, Simon Stickells, co-directs the production alongside Jonathan Orton. Musical direction is by Bernard Kisbey-Green, and choreography is by Caitlyn Saville.
While at Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High, Saville was part of College’s stage productions each year of her high school career. Now, in her first year at Varsity College, she has chosen to continue as a part of the stage family.
Maritzburg College Music and Performing Arts on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@musicandperformingartsmari5181
Choreographer: Stage shows a different side to College boys
https://www.pinnacle-schools.com/2023/03/23/college/
Musicians
Maritzburg College boys play the majority of the instruments involved in the production, and team up with invited performers from other schools and a few staff members, while the female acting roles are filled by girls from a wide selection of schools. They even include a home-schooled member of the cast.
It turns out that being part of a College production is a hot ticket; girls turned up to audition for the parts uninvited, Simon Stickells told Pinnacle Schools. The result, though, is another high-quality stage production with an eclectic collection of performers.
Fun
Producing a show with both boys and girls in the cast is fun, he said. Some might think that the boys see it simply as an opportunity to interact with the girls, but that’s not the case, he explained.
“They do it for more than just that. I think it used to be like that in the past, but I think there’s more to it than that for the guys now. They really enjoy what they’re doing. And they really want to get up on stage and perform.”
Stickells said being a part of a big production creates a family-like atmosphere and, much like families, the bonds that are built are, sometimes, for life.
“I suppose that is the beauty of a production,” he mused. “It’s a real family, because you’re tired, you’re irritated, you are working every night. These kids will spend every night here. They work hard, and they get on with it.”
He continued: “I think that’s what we teach; you’re getting up there to put yourself on the line. You don’t have to be the best. You don’t have to be wonderful. But you still have to get up there and do it.
“And I think that’s what people miss a lot about theatre, because the person standing behind you, acting like a tree on stage, is just as important as the person right next to you who’s carrying all the lines. It makes no difference.”
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