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THE OTHER WOMAN13L

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THREE DAYS TO KILL13V

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THAT AWKWARD MOMENT16LS

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THE OTHER WOMAN13L

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FRI 30 MAY- THU 5 JUNE

IN HIS relatively short time asone of South Africas mostversatile, hard-working, likeable,acclaimed and successful stars of

the stage, Jonathan Roxmouth haschalked up roles in 14 variedmusicals.

Now he is visiting Durban withStage By Stage, a solo productionwhich, reflecting on his love of song,nods to all these musicals and more.

The show focuses on Roxmouthsstar turns and his dream roles andsuccesses, which began when he wasa pupil at Northcliff High School inJoburg and performed at DurbansPlayhouse Drama in the annualtouring school musical.

I have always loved the musicaltheatre songbook and people often askme to sing certain numbers fromother shows when there is an encore,he says, explaining how the newproduction came about.

Stage by Stage is a compilation ofsongs from the musicals I have sung,am singing and would love to sing oneday, he adds.

Already seen in Margate, Pretoriaand Boksburg, the production ispresented with minimal fuss as aconcert performance.

It will be staged from next week atUmbilos Rhumbelow Theatre, in theshellhole of the same name at the endof Cunningham Avenue, off BartleRoad.

Performances are scheduled for7.30pm next Wednesday andThursday, 8pm next Friday, 2pm and8pm next Saturday, and 2pm and6.30pm next Sunday. Performanceshave also been scheduled for the sametimes the following week.

The show will mark the fourth forRoxmouth at this cosy theatre. He haslong enjoyed trying out new solo workhere.

The new show is not about propsor costumes. I have had my fill oftouring with crates of stuff . Thesongs I have chosen are beautifullywritten and all one needs, heexplains, adding that he will beaccompanied by pianist HelenVermaak.

Roxmouths earlier productions atthe Rhumbelow Theatre were InBlack and White, Topsy Turvy and hisfine Liberace tribute, Call Me Lee,which he recently developed into a

larger, more elaborate production.Call Me Lee succeeded beyond my

wildest dreams. After I performed itat the Rhumbelow I knew there wassomething special about Liberace fora contemporary audience but Ineeded to go bigger, says Roxmouth.

Ian von Memerty and I teamed upto write a show that shows the growthof Liberace as an entertainer.Everything grows. From the pianos tothe candelabras to the costumes, yousee how that pianist from small-timeMilwaukee went on to fill Radio CityMusic Hall, with 350 000 tickets sold.

The production also gained newcast members: Samuel Hyde andWeslee Swain Lauder. Between thetwo of them, they play the variouspeople in Lees life from his family,to his lover, Scott Thorson.

Cape Town and Joburg wentbananas over the show and I was veryproud that I was able to make myproducing debut in the big cities witha tribute to my favourite pianist.

Roxmouth is hoping to bring thenew-look show to Durban, but, aswith all things in the theatre, its amatter of time.

He also recently starred in theexcellent South African touringproduction of the musical SunsetBoulevard, for which he received aNaledi Award nomination.

Sunset Boulevard was hard, hardwork. Because it is a full-scalemusical in a small-scale venue youare very exposed as an actor.

When dealing with such darksubject matter, it is daunting to havethe audience right on top of you and Iwas terrified by the project.

That said, it is the only musical Ihave done that has received aunanimous five stars from all thecritics.

To follow his Naledi Award-winning title role in Phantom of theOpera with any other musical was adifficult task, he adds.

To follow it with a stylised, laid-back character like Joe Gillis is evenmore arduous, as he is a very simple,straightforward man with a verywordy title song to sing.

Roxmouth went into Call Me Leeafter only a fortnights break afterSunset Boulevard ended its run.

Having first trodden the boards asa very tall munchkin in his nurseryschool production of The Wizard ofOz , his passion for theatre continuedat Northcliff High School.

There he gleaned the bulk of histheatrical experience by participatingin such musicals as Guys and Dolls(as Nicely-Nicely Johnson),Oklahoma! (as Ali Hakim), TheMikado (as a superb Pooh-Bah), Me

and My Girl (as Bill Snibson) and ThePirates of Penzance (as The PirateKing).

All these school productions werepresented at Durbans PlayhouseDrama, and it was during those tours,in his teenage years, that Roxmouthdiscovered he had a soft spot in hisheart for Durban.

He has strong praise for theRhumbelow Theatre, its audiencesand the theatres hard-workingentertainment co-ordinator, RolandStansell.

I love the Rhumbelow for itsabsence of undue judgement and theencouragement of new work. WhatRoland and his team have done forthat venue is astounding and thesmall-town charm of Durban hasalways been close to me.

His love for musical theatrestarted when he was very young,recalls Roxmouth.

I grew up watching MGM Filmswith my grandparents and Id saythey are to blame more than anyoneelse, he says.

By the time I got to NorthcliffHigh, I just wanted to get on stage andsing a song.

And that is what I am doing allthese years later: I just want to get onstage and sing a song.

Award winner

Roxmouth scrapped a potentialcareer in criminal law and made hisprofessional theatrical debut in 2006in the Barnyards production ofGrease, in the dual role of VinceFontaine and Teen Angel.

Successes since have included therole of macho Gaston in Disneyslavish Beauty and the Beast, a role heremembers most fondly.

Playing Gaston was great becausethe whole process was a baptism offire for me. First big show, first bigrole and first time on a big stage. Healso had the best one-liners.

Roxmouths most challenging roleto date was as the masked phantom inPhantom of the Opera.

Vocally it is a difficult sing, butmanageable with vocal technique andadequate rest. Emotionally, however,it takes its toll on you, and you go tovery dark places to achieve thatintensity of heart. When all is saidand done though, I miss that role mostof all.

Discussion of the many awards hehas won since being nominated forbest performance in a breakthroughrole, in 2008, in A Handful of Keys,makes Roxmouth restless.

I would rather not go into that asawards turn colleagues into

competitors and I dont stand for it,he says.

Returning to Stage By Stage,Roxmouth, also widely acclaimed forhis talent at the keyboards, labels it aholiday for my fingers and a showcasefor my vocal cords.

He adds: That said, there may beone or two numbers that I accompanymyself on its one of those that youhave to see as you go.

In recent weeks, Roxmouth has been playing a lot of piano,alternating with Roelof Colyn to star opposite Ian von Memerty in the 20th anniversary production ofA Handful of Keys.

We performed in George,Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth andEast London. Busy, but fun.

Next up for Roxmouth?He prefers to not reveal too much

but says he will be performing in ashow that will mark his first farce,and that it will be directed by afamiliar face.

After some pondering, Roxmouthnames his three dream roles on stage.Jean Valjean in Les Miserables topsthe list.

It remains one of the mostthrilling roles of that block of megamusicals from CameronMackintosh, he says, adding thatHenry Higgins in My Fair Lady alsoholds great appeal.

Higgins is the perfect musicalrole for me when I am getting on oneday, he says.

Also a big wanna-do is the role ofDon Lockwood in Singing in the Rain,because who wouldnt want to dothat song and tap routine?

Asked about his three all-timefavourite songs from musical theatre,Roxmouth says: Unusual Way fromNine is simply the most exquisitesong of pain and love, and This is theMoment from Jekyll and Hyde has oneof the best builds for a singer toapproach because of the drama of it.

Then theres Music of the Nightfrom Phantom of the Opera, ofcourse, because it changed my careercompletely. Also, I always get a kickout of the pause between the wordsoar and the phrase and youll liveas youve never lived before.

And finally, what has been thehighlight of his career?

Discovering the power of anhonest character, be it the Phantom orGaston. If you are honest with yourperformance, you connect withpeople on a very deep, tangible level.Realising that has been the biggestepiphany for me.

Tickets for Stage By Stagecost R120 (R100 for senior citizens).Phone Roland at 082 499 8636 to book.

Jonathan Roxmouth gives 14 performances of Stage By Stage in Durban from next week.

Roxmouth and a serving of songs from stage musicalsBilly Suter

REVIEW

THERES more than enough material in Eric Lomaxs best-sellingautobiography to provide a profoundmeditation on the trauma of war, butAussie writer-director JonathanTeplitzkys honourable, but clumsyattempt falls short of the mark.

Lomax was part of the Britishgarrison in Singapore thatsurrendered to the Japanese in 1942.

An engineer, he subsequentlyworked on the infamous Thai-BurmaRailway, was horribly tortured and,although he survived the war, wastormented by his experiences foryears afterwards.

The film begins with Lomax (ColinFirth) meeting his future wife Patti(Nicole Kidman) on board a train inEngland in 1980.

A great train-lover, Lomaxscharm, warmth and dry wit win Pattiover.

It soon becomes apparent, however,that beneath this amiable exterior,Lomax is severely traumatised by hiswartime experiences, but he refuses toconfide in her.

Desperate, Patti engages with herhusbands best friend Finlay (StellanSkarsgard), a fellow POW on therailway and a member of the MOTHclub to which they belong, to try toassist him.

It transpires that one of Lomaxstorturers, who worked for theJapanese Kempeitei (the roughequivalent of the German Gestapo),surfaces as a guide at a BurmaRailway museum in Thailand, andLomax, still burning for revenge,travels to Thailand for a showdown.

The film is let down, not by itsmaterial or its intentions, but its poorcohesion, clumsy editing and oftencontrived situations.

Poor Kidman does her best asLomaxs loving wife, but is givenlittle assistance by the script, whileFirth (much too young for the role)seems stilted.

By far the most successful elementis the extended flashback to the warinvolving the young Lomax (Jeremy

Irvine), who rigs up a secret radio inthe POW camp so the men can findout, via the BBC, how the worldconflict is progressing.

One of the films major themes ishow to survive trauma without lettingit poison the rest of your life.

The film makes the point, rightly,that the Japanese behavedbarbarically to Allied POWs and localpopulations in the war; the warriorsof bushido behaved appallingly tothose who surrendered, believingthem little better than animalsundeserving of humane treatment.

The scene of contrition andforgiveness in this film does not ringtrue, besides leaving a nasty taste inthe mouth since modern Japan particularly their political,educational and corporate leaders even now still refuse to properlyacknowledge responsibility for theirdreadful treatment of prisoners andcivilians (particularly Chinese)during the war.

PATRICK COMPTON

Colin Firth in The Railway Man, alsofeaturing Nicole Kidman.

Disappointing dramaabout burning revengeTHE RAILWAY MAN (6/10)CINEMA NOUVEAU AT GATEWAY

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