The 12-year collaboration between the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) and Cape Town Opera (CTO) continues, with their latest show being the world premiere of Tiger Bay the Musical. The production combines local talent with an outstanding international creative team. South African Judy Ditchfield, well-known theatre, television and film actor who is part of the cast, talks about the show:
WS: Can you give us an idea what Tiger Bay the Musical is about?
JD: It is the story of Bute Town in Tiger Bay where Coal was King. It is very basically the story of an incredibly diverse group of people living in Tiger Bay, where the workers made the rich richer, where shop girls dreamed of a better future, and lives became intertwined in love, hardship and hope for a better tomorrow.
WS: And what is your role in the production?
JD: I have several in this production. Primarily I am Leonora Piper, a psychic, who actually is based on the real lady, Leonora Piper. She was one of the world’s leading psychics in the early 1900s, and as a result was labelled a fake by many but also researched extensively to try to catch her out. She was never proven to be a fake. In Tiger Bay she is called in by the Marquis of Bute to try to connect him to his wife Mary who has passed on and reveal the whereabouts of his long lost son.
Then I play the Boson, a fiercely cruel “man” aboard the Havannah Raggedy, a ship where the children of the docks are sent to be educated!
I also appear in several ensemble roles – I have lots of costume changes!
WS: This is very much an international production – you are working with an acclaimed British and Welsh team which includes the director, the choreographer and the designer. How has it been?
JD: It has been incredible. Melly Still and Max Barton, our directors, have been wonderful. The process has been one of discovery, improvisation and ultimately about finding authenticity and truth in the characters. It’s been an incredibly creative process, and has been amazing to be a part of creating , discovering and defining the characters in a NEW musical. I always love the process of working with new people, but really exciting has been to have the creative team in the rehearsal room. How lucky am I?
WS: And the production moves to the UK after its South African opening?
JD: Yes, the show will be going on to Cardiff. Most definitely John Owen-Jones (The Marquis of Bute) will be starring there as here. The international cast is still to be announced. I know the producers are hoping that from there, it will move on to even greater things!
WS: How would you describe the musical – and how do you think it will go down in the UK?
JD: It’s a kinda Les Mis-feel show. I think it will go down fantastically. The music by Daf James is incredible, the book by Michael Williams is beautiful.
WS: You have had a very successful career across three mediums – stage, TV and film. After a much-lauded recurring role in Isidingo, how does it feel to be in the cast of a live (international) musical – very different?
JD: I am at home and in my home on stage. This is truly my happy place. I feel immense joy being on stage, it’s where my career started and where I will always feel the safest, and most fulfilled. People always say when I am doing a play that everything about me changes, that I look younger, and full of energy. It’s where I am meant to be. Whether it’s a local show or an international one, it will always be exciting and at the same time pretty scary. Theatre needs you to go to a vulnerable place to find authenticity and truth.
WS: How do you choose what “projects” of productions you would like to participate in – what are the criteria?
JD: I believe so strongly in following my intuition. I have learned to trust it as I have got older. As an actress where work isn’t always consistent, I spent many years taking work to make ends meet. I try not to ever do that anymore. I trust my intuition. And it also has to fit in around my other work commitments. I am a co-director of a training and business role play company called Performance Role Play Training. I love the work I do there and the work it provides for others, so I do take that into consideration. As well as my family, they are always a priority.
As a mom and wife, I can’t go on endless tours. This one was perfect and it was two months away from home, and I get to be in Cape Town. I must say if a dream role came along, I would reconsider! I also have learned to let go of outcomes. As a young actress, I was always desperate to get the parts I auditioned for and would feel like a failure if I didn’t get them. Now, I just know it’s not meant to be if I don’t get a role.
WS: You come from an era when South African used to have regional arts councils, with regional theatre, dance and music companies. (eg NAPAC, CAPAB). Flawed as it was, during the apartheid years – do you think the country should consider the idea of subsidised, regional companies again?
JD: Yes absolutely. It was flawed during the apartheid years, but I was lucky enough to be a member of NAPAC, one of the first multiracial theatre companies in SA, and it was the best training ground. I learned more in the three years with NAPAC than I learned in three years at university. It is the best training ground for actors and I say yes, let’s bring them back. Our industry would be better for it.
WS: Your husband, Paul Ditchfield, is also in the arts and entertainment world. How do you both balance things?
JD: By firstly being regular people, who have always put our family first. It is everything to Paul and I. And we also have always understood what is required. Paul is often on tour with his band The Bats, and I get it. The trust is there, and I am always happy for him that he is working. Likewise for Paul. He couldn’t be prouder of me, and supports me a 100%. The best part is in this show, I am working with my son Keaton for the first time, on stage. That is a real treat, and Keaton’s beautiful girlfriend Carmen Pretorius is also in the show! So I am a happy person right now.
WS: What was the last live show you saw, and how did you find it?
JD: The last show was Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and it was a great night at the theatre.
WS: What do you like to do to relax?
JD: We haven’t had much time to relax yet as we are working 10 to 6, six days a week , and on a Sunday it’s learning words, but I have loved just quietly sitting on my balcony in my rented flat in Oranjezicht with a cup of tea, and staring at the incredibly beautiful city you have here. If I have a view and my tea, I try to relax, but I am a workaholic and find it very hard to switch off.
WS: Can you please tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know/wouldn’t suspect?
JD: I suppose there is not much people don’t know about me as I am an open book, and love social media, and don’t feel the need to hide stuff. But I suppose the fact that I am really shy, and I find social situations tough. Opening nights are REALLY tough for me! I have lived in the same home in Johannesburg for 30 years, and my son Thomas was born at home, by choice. My real hair colour is mousy brown, and the white streak in my hair is real!
What: Tiger Bay the Musical
When: 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 May
Where: Artscape Opera House, Cape Town, South Africa
Book: www.computicket.co.za, 0861 915 8000, Artscape Dial-a-Seat 021 421 7695
CTO: http://www.capetownopera.co.za/
WS
