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BILLY SUTER talks to exciting East London talent, DANIEL ANDERSON, of the Wela Kapela theatre company, who recently wowed Durban with his widely acclaimed Mad About the Boys, a salute to Noel Coward, Ivor Novello and Cole Porter. Anderson is now a Fleur Du Cap Award nominee for his latest show, Vincent: His Quest to Love and Be Loved, which, previously seen in KwaZulu-Natal at the Hilton Arts Festival, is to be staged at Durban’s Rhumbelow Theatre, Umbilo, from April 14 to 16. Tickets cost R200 each and booking is now open at Computicket or by mailing roland.stansell@co.za

YOU RECENTLY WOWED DURBAN WITH “MAD ABOUT THE BOYS”, FIRST SHOWCASED LOCALLY AT THE HILTON ARTS FESTIVAL. WHAT COMMENT ON YOUR RECENT RHUMBELOW THEATRE PERFORMANCES OF THAT SHOW?

I can simply not explain the warmth we felt from the people of Durban. Whether it was the theatre staff, those who assisted with accommodation and, of course, the audience members: people were really so kind. There was an overwhelming sense of welcoming from everyone we met.

Mad About The Boys is really a fun show… there is simply no other word to describe it. So, in its usual fashion, the show was “fun, fun fun”, but perhaps even more so because of how fabulous and kind our Durban audience was!

YOU ARE ONLY 23 AND YET YOU FULLY NAILED THE NUANCES AND STYLES OF THE ’20S, ’30S AND ‘40S WITH THAT SHOW. HOW DID IT COME ABOUT … AND WERE YOU IN ANY WAY DAUNTED ABOUT PORTRAYING HEROES FROM AN ERA VERY DISTANT TO YOUR OWN?

Well, thank you very much for the compliment! I have been fortunate to grow up with East London writer-director Amanda Bothma’s influence and this work was nurtured under such an influence.

Amanda has a very sophisticated style and a very high standard which goes before you whenever you’re on stage. She gave me a sophisticated script and so I had to make a sophisticated show of that script.

Of course, I studied a lot about the period and felt immersed in that time and space. These are musical giants that have woven the entertainment tapestry as we know it – I understood it as a great undertaking, indeed.

Most importantly, however, it is important for me to remember the honour that it is to perform these chaps’ music.

I like to use that as a yardstick. I often like to think of it as “what sassy comment would Noël Coward have chirped in response to your performance tonight, Daniel?”.  Of course, I know the comment would be a little sassy and shocking regardless, but it is keeping the degree of that comment to an absolute minimal that helps me to keep my finger on the stylistic pulse.

WHEN AND WHERE DID “MAD ABOUT THE BOYS” DEBUT AND WHAT HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTS OF ITS TRAVELS?

During Covid-19, Wela Kapela introduced a concept called The Secret Gardens Series, where our cabaret shows were premiered to an audience of 20 to 30 people – outside, socially distanced in a beautiful garden setting somewhere secret in East London.

Mad About The Boys was first performed in the director’s garden. Amanda’s house is a snapshot of the show’s style period so it was simply de-lovely!

Perhaps the most special moment came from that very first show. It was in May of 2021 and the weather was a little chilly, but stars filled the sky and made for a rather elaborate and beautiful backdrop.

Then, as I began singing the show’s last song, Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye, perfectly on cue, a huge shooting star (almost of comet proportions) blazed slowly across the sky.

It was a perfect signifier of what that song means to me in that moment: a great lament at the parting of performer and audience; a cosmic-sized moment where sadness, until the next meeting with another audience, lingers like a lonely star blazing through a cold night.

IT WAS DURING THE  “MAD ABOUT THE BOYS” INITIAL RUN THAT YOU AND AMANDA BOTHMA DREAMED UP  “VINCENT” – A SHOW HOOKING VARIED MUSIC TO A TALE OF PAINTER VINCENT VAN GOGH. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?

We were having such a great time working on Mad About The Boys, but we knew the next show needed to be something completely different in order to allow us to stretch ourselves as a team and to present audiences with the variety they deserve.

I popped into Amanda’s house one day, probably to work on one of the other many projects that fill the busy Wela Kapela calendar, and I dropped it by Amanda that I think we should do a cabaret on the life of Vincent van Gogh.

Well, I am not sure what other work we were supposed to do that day, but I left a few hours later spinning with ideas that had been discussed for Vincent.

We were hooked on the subject from the word go. I have always loved Van Gogh’s work and it has always been most special to me as it was introduced to me by my late granny, “Flick”.

Granny was the first person who played Don McClean’s Vincent to me, with a simple quip that “you should put this on a stage someday, Daniel”. If you knew my grandmother in her powerful way, you’d understand why I had no choice but to oblige this request.

DESCRIBE “VINCENT’S” CONCEPT, THE SHOW ITSELF AND ANY SURPRISES AUDIENCES CAN EXPECT WHEN YOU BRING IT TO DURBAN IN APRIL

Vincent tracks the life story of the embattled artist through the lens of his various, rather intense, experiences of unrequited or unsuccessful love.

The story gives us a glimpse into who Vincent was as a man, but more importantly how the emotions that accompanied him on his quest to love and be loved closely informed his artistic practise: to understand Vincent’s yearning for love is to understand why he painted as he did.

Each portion of the story, of course, is brought to life by various pop, rock, jazz and musical theatre songs that truly take on a new meaning when placed in the context of Van Gogh’s life.

I think that is perhaps what usually surprises audiences most with this show: these are mostly songs that people have known and have loved for many years, but when hearing them against Van Gogh’s backdrop, they are a really novel experience; like you’re hearing that song for the first time ever.

WHERE AND WHEN DID “VINCENT” PREMIERE, WHERE HAS IT BEEN PERFORMED AND WHAT DO YOU MOST ENJOY ABOUT PERFORMING IT?

Vincent premiered in May 2022 at The Umtiza Arts Festival in East London. Since then, it has toured to Hogsback, Makhanda, Cape Town, Hilton, Johannesburg and Somerset West… and has enjoyed such incredible experiences with audiences.

That is what I love most about this show: the audience response is always so varied and quite extreme, but in a different way each time. I mean, we have gone from audiences where a pin could have been heard dropping between musical numbers, to audiences where people have broken down in such intense emotion – to the extent that they fell down the stairs on the way out of the theatre (true story!)

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH AMANDA BOTHMA’S WELA KAPELA – AND HOW DID THAT PARTNERSHIP COME ABOUT? 

I have worked with Amanda since I was 10! That is 13 years now. This was, for many years, in a community theatre capacity – starting when the Guild Theatre staged KickstArt’s Peter Pan musical in December 2010 (I played John Darling).

I have worked every year since then with Amanda as director, mentor and production partner. Now, she is a second mother to me.

At the end of 2018, Amanda turned the community theatre into a professional company after I played the title role of Aladdin in her December pantomime that year. This company has been my home since before Wela Kapela became Wela Kapela. It is a special place and a beautiful partnership that will remain throughout my professional career.

TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT WELA KAPELA AND ITS WORK.

Wela Kapela is an East London-based production company. It is a small company, with about 10 players working across seven cabaret productions currently on the circuit (and four more in development). Six of these cabarets are award-winning productions.

The company also stages one or two full-scale musicals/pantomimes every year. We tour our shows around the country and, as of 2023, we are onto international territory with one of our shows, NEXT!!!, having just run at the United Solo Festival on 42^nd street in New York.

Two other shows, Vincent and Kerry Hiles’s A Star Is Born: The Rise and Fall of Judy Garland, are going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.

With Wela Kapela as a company, I have worked in so many wonderful productions, including Aladdin, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Liewe Heksie, Mad About The Boys and Once on This Island.

WHAT COMMENTS ON YOUR FLEUR DU CAP NOMINATION FOR “VINCENT” – AND TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR INVITATION TO TAKE THE SHOW TO EDINBURGH.

We are just so honoured to be nominated amongst the very best in our country’s current theatre tapestry. Our South African creatives have shown the most incredible tenacity, and, out of two years of scary uncertainty and hardship, they have come back and presented the most beautiful works: to be counted among them is a feeling I cannot sufficiently put into words.

And then, yes! Edinburgh 2023 is something to which we are so looking forward. This is truly the mecca of Fringe and fringe-style theatre in the world, so we are super-excited.

I think both shows have such international appeal in their subject and quality and so we cannot wait to present them to an international audience. Each of our Wela shows that are going there will be performing in the Space Triplex Venue, on the Royal Mile and will be doing nine shows each from August 4 to 12.

ARE YOU WORKING ON ANYTHING ELSE AT THE MOMENT? 

Amanda and I are cooking up a new cabaret, which we will give details on in due course. It is amazing to be able to do new work and so much of it, every year.

Apart from this, we are also working on a film project, a first for Wela Kapela. I studied film, so I am excited to bring this medium into the Wela space.

The film is based on the story of Bessie, the Sunburnt Queen – a young Scottish girl who washed up on the Wild Coast from a shipwreck and went on to become the Pondo queen, as she was integrated into the people of the area (this is a true story), but the film is going to be a full-length fiction film.

This truly aligns with my mission to bring the arts onto the Wild Coast, so it is something for which I am most excited!

I am also pleased to say that I have accepted the role as Aladdin in KickstArt’s Aladdin December pantomime in Durban! So Durban will become my home for two months at the end of this year and, if my time there during Mad About The Boys is anything to go by, I simply cannot wait!

WHAT FUTURE SHOWS ARE YOU CONSIDERING?

I view any work that I do as that which builds skill and experience into what I am able to offer the next production. So, I do not know what shows the future will hold in terms of shows, but what I can say is that I will rise up to any challenge that is presented to me in this crazy business.

If it is a chance to grow and learn and connect with more people, I will jump at it! Having said that, I have some bucket list shows and these are Evita (I’d love to play Che in this musical), Sunset Boulevard (I have a dream to play Joe Gillis alongside Kerry Hiles – my closest friend and sister-from-another-mister – as Norma Desmond).

I’d also like to look into a two-hander show about a meeting between Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel. The late theatre legend John Hawkins, theatre manager at  Artscape some years back, put me up to this challenge after he saw Vincent (which includes some of Brel’s work) and I’d like to see this through, in his honour.

DO YOU ALWAYS PERFORM WITH GERMAINE GAMIET AS PIANO ACCOMPANIST? TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT HIS MUSICAL BACKGROUND AND ACHIEVEMENTS.

I am blessed to work with two of the country’s finest accompanists on both shows and I must just say I do not take this lightly because I feel the show is as much theirs as it is mine: the partnership we have created is like no other. When Germaine is not on keys, I am joined by the formidable Jacques du Plessis, who holds a masters in Piano Performance and is one of the funniest human beings I know.

I met Germaine when he was musical director on another show, also with Amanda – Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, in 2013. He has a background in classical piano and musical theatre work, but also works for the Swiss Arts Council as an arts administrator and manager. He knows his business; Germaine is just incredible.

Apart from being the most insanely sensitive accompanist, he is also my voice of reason and calm on the road: he is very wise and he is a dear friend. I learn every day from him.

Germaine studied a BMus at the University of Cape Town, specialising in classical piano. His technical virtuosity is one thing, but it is his ability to FEEL that makes him a true tour-de-force.

I often describe working with Germaine as boarding a cloud and being carried into the heavens during each performance. It is amazing to be able to sing any song with an accompanist in whom I can place my absolute trust. I know he has my back on stage and this is important because we are out there alone, every time, with no stopping to fix or sort anything out.

IS THE STAGE YOUR FIRST LOVE OR ARE THERE OTHER AREAS OF THE ARTS THAT YOU ALSO CHANNEL YOUR ENERGY, OR PLAN TO DO SO?

The stage is, and will always be, my first love, yes. I am, however, a firm believer in arts-fusion work.

Vincent, for all intents and purposes, is a fusion-work and it has yielded some really powerful results in terms of its emotional impact. I would like to explore more of this.

As I said, I studied film and so this is another medium close to my heart. Amanda and I are looking into the possibility of fusing theatre and film in the future as well.

WHERE AND WHEN WERE YOU BORN AND SCHOOLED?

I was born, bred and schooled in East London. I am a proud alumnus of Stirling High School.

WHAT FORMAL THEATRE, DANCE AND SONG LESSONS HAVE YOU HAD?

I have not had much formal musical theatre training, per se. I have been blessed to learn mostly “on the job” from a busy show calendar that has come my way each year.

I was trained vocally under Leoni Armour in East London, who is fabulous and a true warrior for quality production of vocal sound, with minimal effort. In terms of theatre and drama training, I completed an associates diploma in musical theatre with Trinity College, while I was still at school, and trained under the legendary Marc Williams.

Stirling High School offered some training in the performing arts, in general, as well. Their cultural programme was always very, very busy with full-scale plays/musicals every year and a million other things. I think we learn most when we are dropped into these spaces and asked to swim.

HOW, WHEN AND WHERE DID THE SHOWBIZ BUG FIRST BITE?

I have loved singing for my whole life, but it was that 2010 production of Peter Pan in East London that hooked me on this business. I mean, what little boy would not be hooked after the show allowed him, quite literally, to fly and to sing while doing it!

WHERE AND WHEN DID YOU STUDY (WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU STUDY)… AND WHAT MARKED YOUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE?

I studied a BA in Film and Television Production at CityVarsity, in Cape Town from 2019 to 2021. I have also completed a teacher’s post-graduate diploma, specialising in Drama.

There is much debate about what exactly marks one’s first professional performance. For me, I have taken it from the moment that I was paid to do what I do.

Before entering the world of theatre in 2010, my career actually began as a child Elvis Presley impersonator (bizarre, I know). I had the costumes, the flashy jewellery, box-dyed black hair and even stick-on sideburns.

I can’t quite pin how and when this turned into a professional thing, perhaps it had something to do with me winning a singing competition in the KTV Market Day which used to happen in East London every year. But, from the age of nine, I was hired to perform at various functions and events as “Little Elvis”.

WHAT HAVE BEEN THREE CAREER HIGHLIGHTS TO DATE?

Getting the call that I had been nominated for a Fleur Du Cap award, this year!

Meeting and compering at a corporate event with Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout.

Also, performing in the Royal Albert Hall in London, when I was 16.

ANY UNFULFILLED GOALS?

There are so many! Too many to mention. I think a really special one is that I’d love to sing the SA national anthem at an international sporting fixture (if anyone who can make this happen is reading this, please make contact J).

I would also like to bring the performing arts into the rural areas of the Wild Coast, which is the most special place in the world to me. I’d lik to use it to empower the people there. We have so much undiscovered talent in our country and I’d love to play a part in unearthing as much of that as I can.

WHAT VIEWS ON THE HORRORS OF COVID-19 AND ITS AFFECT ON THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD?

It was, of course, a terrible time for all of us. I can remember feeling so many different emotions, specifically pertaining to our beloved industry.

Perhaps the most overwhelming of these emotions, however, is that of pride and love for the arts in their tenacity against such devastating odds. The way in which we fought to keep our craft alive; the way in which we have now fought back to restore and revive it: that tells me I am in the right business because nothing but passion can fuel a fire that was so close to dying out completely.

WHAT WORDS BEST DESCRIBE YOU?

Integrity. Honesty. Respect.  Loves-a-good-wine-and-a-laugh. Talks-too-much.

WHAT ARE FIVE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF (HOWEVER TRIVIAL) THAT PEOPLE ARE UNLIKELY TO KNOW?

I keep a marine fish tank, stocked with the finest tropical fish that I have caught myself, along the East Coast of South Africa.

I have the same second name as Elvis Presley (who started my career), Aaron.

I have a beautiful girlfriend called Gia, who is four years younger.

Every morning, my day starts with two packets of caramel instant Jungle Oats and a big blob of peanut butter.

I exercise every day at the gym, for at least one hour, with a personal trainer.

YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT ON STAGE? AND YOUR MOST MEMORABLE PLEASING MOMENT ON STAGE?

There have been so many most embarrassing moments! Perhaps the most embarrassing was when I was performing with Kerry Hiles at a Cansa ‘survivor’s concert’. At the time, I was also working on a production of The Wizard of Oz, playing the scarecrow… So, at the concert, Kerry asked me to do a little demo of the scarecrow for the people.I did… but it had been raining and the event was partially outdoors. The stage was a little wet and my boots were the kind that have no grip underneath.

The scarecrow demonstration turned into a Laurel & Hardy skit where it appeared as if I had slipped on seven banana peels and completed the macarena backwards, in mid-air… only to land flat on my face on stage.

Well, the audience erupted into thunderous applause. Just like Cole Porter once said, “comedy is the greatest skill anybody could possess”.

Most memorable moment… ah, gosh… the stage is a memorable place for me always. Perhaps, what I can remember most vividly is the moment I looked up after singing the last note in Vincent, at the end of the very first show we did. The audience sat for what seemed like a lifetime, in utter silence and then stood up in applause.

This show has a place in my heart that will be there permanently, and this moment was one of the only times where I felt most satisfied with my work.

Of course, the show has evolved immensely from that moment and there is always more work to be done; always room to become better. But for that brief moment, I felt completely satisfied and that was memorable.

THE MOST FAMOUS PERSON YOU HAVE MET – AND WHO WOULD YOU GIVE GOLD TO MEET?

I have met many industry professionals along the way, and they are all equally famous in their own right. But I did meet Mbongeni Ngema and Percy Mtwa in 2019, by accident, backstage at the Baxter Theatre. I wept like baby just to stand in their presence: I think what they have done for our national theatre landscape makes them my favourite famous-folk to have met.

I’d love to have met Vincent van Gogh. Not only because I think he would be super interesting to talk to, but also to check how far off my Vincent accent (used in the show) really is. As far as alive people go, I’d like to meet Andrew Lloyd Webber. I love his work and would love to meet the man behind it.

HOBBIES, PASTIMES AND FAVOURITE THINGS?

As I mentioned before, I am absolutely mad over marine tropical fish-keeping and have been doing this since I was seven years old. I have an 800-litre tank at home and simply love stocking it with fish.

Every year, I visit the Wild Coast for 10 days during the tropical season and spend my days snorkelling and walking the rock pools looking for tropical treasures.

Other than that, I am an absolute home boy: my family is my everything (and we are a BIG family). I find no greater joy in spending time with them, especially my granny – who will be 90 this year!

WHAT THINGS WOULD YOU LIST UNDER ‘VASTLY OVERRATED’?

Starbucks Coffee. Television singing contests. Television, in general (rather come to the theatre!). Mainstream skincare (the greatest scam of our time).

Living the “big-city life”, as one dreams of doing after school: I am currently based in a small seaside village in the Eastern Cape and it is where I find such rest and recharge.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SURPRISING THING SOMEONE HAS SAID OF YOU?

A Trinity College examiner once called me a “seasoned dancer” and proceeded to ask what level of dance exams I am on (at this stage I had never been to a single dance lesson). Let’s just say that I wasn’t about to let the truth come between me and being branded a good dancer, even if it was just that once.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR YEAR SO FAR?

On a personal level, seeing in the New Year with my beautiful Gia at my side (our first festive season together) and, in terms of my career, certainly it was the news regarding our Fleur Du Cap nomination!

WHAT ARE YOUR FEARS AND PHOBIAS?

I have a great fear of disappointing people. I think it’s because I like to keep myself performing at a very high standard and level.

Sometimes it is important to remember that we can’t please everyone, but I do tend to push myself too hard at times to avoid any level of disappointment.

I also fear people whose integrity is not intact… they’re unpredictable and they unsettle me. I like to know where I stand with people and when I don’t, I feel a little scared.

WHAT ARE TWO OF YOUR MOST TREASURED MATERIAL POSSESSIONS?

A lapis lazuli pendant that sits on a silver chain around my neck. It was given to me by my adopted grandparents who first bought it in the ’70s, in the heart of Chile. I also treasure my  diary – to orientate one’s daily life

IF YOU COULD CHANGE THREE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

I would have done more dance lessons and worked on this artform from a younger age. I would have stopped giving a damn about what people say about me a lot sooner in life than I did.

I am trying to change into a person who listens more and speaks less.

WHAT IS THE WORST TROUBLE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN IN? PLEASE ELABORATE.

I was once caught out in a set of ginormous waves while free diving on a coral reef in Mozambique. I was engrossed in the colourful underworld when, suddenly, a relentless set of 5m waves came at me and would not stop coming.

What made matters worse was that the boat that had chartered us out to the reef was nowhere to be seen (perhaps the skip sped away from the waves). Anyway, it was only 15 minutes or so, but it was a lot of swimming and a lot of duck-diving down onto the coral beds to avoid being dunked.

Needless to say, the boat fetched us and took us to a safer patch of the reef. I jumped back in and continued enjoying the dive!

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED – AND WHO GAVE IT?

Amanda Bothma once told me, “You are responsible for yourself and only yourself when you work, and in life. Be willing to assist where you can and where assistance is needed, but ensure you remain completely responsible for yourself and what you do.”

WHAT FIVE THINGS WOULD YOU LIST UNDER ‘ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS’? AND WHAT FIVE THINGS WOULD YOU LIST UNDER ‘ABSOLUTE NO-NOS?

 Absolutely Fabulous: The music of Abba;  South Africa (I am the quintessential patriot); ’60s and’70s retro fashion; red wine (particularly that of the pinotage grape), romance and chivalry ;

Absolute No-nos: out-of-sync film sound; South Africans who leave South Africa then spend all their time putting her down; bbove medium-rare steak; and  Crocs shoes .

THE BEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER HAD? AND THE WORST?

Best compliment: “You’re the most consistent actor I’ve ever worked with” (being consistent in the way I work, behave and carry myself is so important to me).

Worst compliment: “You were so amazing in that choir piece – I could hear your voice way above all of the others” or, and there is one of these after every show, “It is so incredible that you remember all of those words”.

WHAT ALTERNATIVE CAREER PATHS MIGHT YOU HAVE CONSIDERED –AND WHY?

I am a firm believer in passion being the fuel that feeds any decision pertaining to a career path. In this light, I once considered becoming a lawyer that would eventually find his way into the specialisation of entertainment law (combining my love for the arts with my a-type no nonsense attitude).

 I would also, perhaps, have loved to work with the marine world as it is in the sea that I find my greatest intrigue and fascination in the world.

However, being a busy performer from a young age, it was most natural that I consider staying on stage: my safe place and greatest joy.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ENSCRIBED ON YOUR TOMBSTONE?

“To play a wrong note is insignificant, to play without passion is inexcusable” – Ludwig von Beethoven.