Beloved classic to entertain audiences

The lead actor and a dancer in a pantomime set to take the stage in July said he would rather sing, dance, tell slapstick jokes, and interact with a live audience than appear on a screen.

- FOUZIA VAN DER FORT

William Young, 23, who lives in Leeuwen in Cape Town central, stars as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Baxter Theatre Centre on Friday, July 4. He lives close to dancer Milli Mangate, 24, formerly from Kimberly.

She now lives in Cape Town, and they met at the Waterfront Theatre School in 2021.

The KickstArt Theatre’s award-winning panto brings the classic English fairy tale about a young boy named Jack, who trades the family cow for magic beans, to life in a fun-filled, family theatre experience.

It is packed with toe-tapping songs; side-splitting laughs; fabulous costumes and sets, for a magical story to unfold before an audience of all ages.

"There is something so special about theatre and not being behind a screen, because everyone suffers from it, like I find myself scrolling. I'm constantly on my phone, and it's terrible.

“So to have a chance to go (to theatre) and experience something (a performance), also with a whole lot of people (the audience),” he said.

William doubts whether anything else could be as special and beautiful.

The young thespian fell in love with theatre when he was just four years old and his grandmother took him to see Cinderella in Durban.

He would have even played the slipper.

“When I left, I wanted to be on that stage. I did not care which character I played,” he said.