The 2025 Chronicle

SCHLESINGER THEATRE

Written by Mr William le Cordeur

and Jamie Anderson as Annas. A full ensemble of apostles, followers and high priests – including Trent Buckley, Mikhael Geemoi, Darren Phala and Neo Selebi – rounded off the com pany of over 50 pupils. In May, Michaelhouse’s Movement Programme presented a compelling piece of physical theatre at the annual Funk dance festival at St Anne’s. Led by standout performer Max Murray, the ensemble delivered a passionate and thematically rele vant performance. Returning dancers Joel Reinhardt and Tha to Moumakwa contributed strength and fluidity, while new comers Powers Motsileng and Mikahael Geemooi showcased strong potential. The group was joined by guest performers Imogen Mae Kirby from St John’s DSG and community artist Nkosingiphile Mkhwanazi. Max Murray, Joel Reinhardt and Powers Motsileng performed at ExperiDance at Epworth in late July, creating a new piece of movement as well as a collaborative piece with girls from The Wickham Collegiate. The pieces were all choreographed by the boys, with guidance from Bonwa Mbontsi and Nadja Bartel. The team were also able to perform for the entire school at an assembly in October and at Grandparents Day. Maxmillian Murray performed in a professional show in Oc tober and leaves the Movement Programme having been its founding member. The programme has grown in sophistica tion, and continues to welcome boys interested in exploring physical theatre under the guidance of Mr William le Cordeur and BoNana dance. Professional plays that graced our stage this year included the highly controversial LGBTI+ production Born Naked , pre sented by ZikkaZimba Productions. Directed by Kirsten Harris and featuring performers Kopo Jake Nathane and Lethabo Bereng, the play follows two young drag queens navigating Johannesburg’s vibrant yet often hostile environments. With flamboyant humour, bold visual spectacle and emotional depth, Born Naked interweaves fictional storytelling with the real-life tragedy of Thapelo Makhutle, a young South African murdered in a 2012 hate crime. The production aims to shift public memory from the violence of Thapelo’s death to the meaning of his life and legacy. The creative team included set designers Kirsten Harris and Stephen Kotze, costume design ers Harris and Natasha Brown, and lighting designer Barry Strydom. It was produced by OM Ryan Dittmann. Music lovers also had much to appreciate. On 2 March the Schlesinger Theatre hosted a rare joint concert by legendary South African guitarists Guy Buttery and Dan Patlansky, which in turn led to a national tour of the two. Buttery, celebrated in ternationally for his genre-blending acoustic style, and Patlan sky, ranked among the world’s top blues guitarists, reunited onstage for the first time in years. Their collaboration was an intimate yet electrifying experience, complemented by the the atre’s world-class acoustics and technical support. Father-daughter vocal duo Adrian and Emma-Jean Galliard, who rose to global attention when their online performances went viral during 2020, wowed the boys during Cultural Week in June. Adrian, an experienced musical theatre performer, and 16-year old Emma-Jean, a rising classical and country-rock artist, con tinue to captivate audiences in South Africa and abroad. Also at

The 2025 Schlesinger Theatre programme produced some wonderful memories for the boys of Michaelhouse. It was a busy sched ule of internal plays (being rehearsed and produced), drama exams and movement, as well as incoming professional productions, guest speakers and music. The schedule was supported well by Mr Joe Mkhize, who joined the theatre in January as technician and has helped increase the scale and frequency of work being produced. From 8 to 11 May the theatre produced Noises Off , Michael Frayn’s celebrated farce, performed by a lively ensemble of five Michaelhouse boys and four St Anne’s girls. The produc tion delivered two hours of energetic chaos, slapstick humour and fast-paced physical comedy. Max Oliva anchored the show as Lloyd Dallas, the harried director of the play-within-the-play, blending authority and comedic exasperation. Leruo Sento, as leading man Garry Lejeune, impressed audiences with sharp timing and vocal projection, while Nicholas French’s portrayal of Frederick Fellowes – a timid actor prone to nosebleeds at the slightest hint of violence – became one of the production’s co medic highlights. Thake Nkala gave a memorable performance as Selsdon Mowbray, the half-deaf, veteran actor with a drink ing problem, and Michael Weitendorf played the exhausted stage manager Tim with understated humour. Behind the scenes, a committed technical crew of about 15 Michaelhouse boys executed the demanding set rotations re quired by the script. The set had to rotate 180 degrees after each of the first two acts, a task handled with precision. The team was led by head technician Trent Buckley, with stage man agers Leo Watson and Kobe Ng, and control board operators Nivan Royappen and Thato Moumakwa. Under the professional guidance of theatre technician Mr Mkhize, the backstage team ensured the farce unfolded seamlessly. The enthusiastic recep tion of Noises Off affirmed the boys’ flair for farcical theatre and set the stage for the next major production, Jesus Christ Superstar . Max Oliva won Best Novice Actor for his role and Leruo Sento won Best Actor. Jesus Christ Superstar ran from 13 to 17 August to much ac claim. The Michaelhouse production of this rock opera, long admired for its dynamic score and controversial retelling of the final days of Jesus, featured an 11-piece live rock orchestra of professional musicians led by the school’s musical director, Mr Gareth Dry. Stage direction was by Mr William le Cordeur, whose Schlesinger Theatre credits include District Six, Phan tom of the Opera, My Fair Lady, Chess and Little Shop of Hor rors . Choreography was by the dynamic duo Bonwa Mbontsi and Nadja Bartel Mbontsi of BoNana Dance. The production stayed faithful to the original script and mu sic, following Judas’s perspective in a fully sung narrative. The cast included: the brilliant Luneziwe Mshengu as Jesus; Corban Chellan and Thato Moumakwa sharing the demanding role of Judas; Leila Fleming and Monj de Klerk as Mary; Mark Conway as Pilate; Reese Hill as Herod; Roelof Rossouw as Caiaphas; Ashton McCormick as Simon; Max Oliver as Peter;

110