Fiona Gordon: An all-South African cast and creative team bring the music of ABBA to life on the Artscape stage.
Donna Sheridan’s knees weaken at the sight of men from her past, on the island she calls home, on the eve of her daughter’s wedding. Little does she know that her daughter Sophie has orchestrated the entire thing, in the hopes of finding out who her father is. Using the music of the well-known and loved songs of the 70s-sensation pop group, this feel-good rom-com about friendships spanning decades and many types of love, recreates the purple haze of the love generation, as characters gather on the island, brought together by this ‘small matter of a wedding’.
Simple set design sees waves reflected in the backdrop, surround, and lighting; and makes for a neutral canvas against which to showcase the colourful palette of ‘fabbaulous’ costumes, as ‘Donna and the Dynamos’ (Ilse Klink, Kate Normington) teeter in their platform boots reliving the glory days of their youth, in this story about ‘growing up and growing back down again’.
Much of the success of this ‘smash hit musical’ lies in the inherent singability of the music of ABBA, which has fans across generations, and many a foot tapping. Gina Shmukler is Donna Sheridan, and Carmen Pretorius is the ‘girl with golden hair’ – her daughter Sophie, both justifying their casting in the confident competence with which they managing that extremely difficult task of recreating music that many know and love. Sophie’s love, Sky (Stephen Jubber), is well-cast as a match for her; as are the long-lost love interests of her mother.
Amongst subtle commentary on the significance of dreams, that institution that is marriage, and the special bond that exists between a mother and daughter, some of the most memorable scenes are the respective ‘last nights of freedom’ of the young couple, with significant contribution to their successes due to creativity in costuming.
Movies doing what they do in terms of creating a fantasy world, and the movie version of the musical having shown in cinemas relatively recently, it’s difficult not to have expectations of the stage version which cannot possibly be met, but the immediacy of the stage plays a different, and no less significant, role in the creation of the magic.
The finale sends off with a burst of energy that has the audience firmly on its feet, and the words of ‘Mamma Mia!’ planted firmly in my head!
‘Mamma Mia!’ plays at the Artscape Opera House until 19 September 2010, and thereafter at the Teatro at Montecasino. Tickets cost from R180, and bookings can be made through the respective theatres, or Computicket.
Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za
Browse Timeline
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
