Rapunzel for Kids

THE National Theatre of Namibia this week surprised local audiences and especially selected school children when they brought the Riverside Theatre’s three-man cast led by Leslie Ehrherdt with Byron Gemmell and Jenifer Myburgh from Cape Town to Windhoek to stage the children’s theatre production ‘Rapunzel.’

Ehrherdt, a twenty-five-year veteran theatre practitioner, told the mid-week Tjil that he loves taking plays all over South Africa and abroad after they prove successful as is the case with his self-penned ‘Rapunzel’. “We did ‘Rapunzel’ successfully in South Africa last year and have been doing it since it was first funded by the National Arts Council of South Africa some seven years ago.

Every time it grows and since then we have brought it to the stage where it is now at its pinnacle, I feel,” he said. The one-hour play features five characters all played by the three experienced actors in the cast. “Children’s theatre is different. It’s for kids and it’s lots of fun. We feed off their energy, and they feed of ours and we all walk away happy. For the cast it is a responsibility because they must be able to read the audience and interact to maintain that delicate balance. After this, we will go to Botswana and then back to shows in South Africa again.

For children’s theatre there is always a market,” he said explaining that the troupe is currently on a three-and-a-halfweek tour. ‘Rapunzel’ continues at the NTN this week and performances are open to the general public as scheduled for Friday 20h00 and Saturday morning at 10h00. Entrance is charged at N$20 for children and N$30 for adults for both shows.

click to enlarge KIDS THEATRE: Children from St George’s enjoy the theatre presentation Rapunzel at the NTN this week.