Wêla Kapela Productions has returned home a winner from the 19th annual Naledi Theatre Awards held in Johannesburg.
Nominated in six categories, celebrated show Vincent — His Quest to Love and Be Loved won Best Cabaret/Revue/Small-Scale Musical Production award, and actor Daniel Anderson, 24, won Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Lead Actor in a Musical Theatre Production.
The musical will return to its debut stage, the Guild Theatre, for two runs on July 12 and 13.
“I have been dancing on air since Monday night; I am proud, elated and grateful for this immense honour,” company director Amanda Bothma said.
“These Naledis are a nod to all Eastern Cape artists.
“It is a testament to the quality of work we, as an arts sector, produce in this tiny corner of the country and it fulfils my vision to create a platform for local artists on a national and international stage.”
Musical director Germaine Gamiet said: “For a young production company from the Eastern Cape to be nominated and to win is quite something.
“It is also not lost on me that as a coloured musical director, the significance of being nominated is beyond my own achievement.
“Being present and recognised in these spaces supports the work of people of colour labouring towards equitable opportunity in the theatre scene.
“Working with Daniel Anderson, Amanda Bothma and Jacques du Plessis on this is also fundamental to the success of the show.
“There is a shared commitment to excellence and stories.”
Anderson, who flew straight to Durban after the awards on Monday night into a seven-hour rehearsal for the SA premiere of The Emperor's New Clothes musical, where he plays Emperor Marcus, said later: “It’s surreal.
To have a body of awards that recognises that you have a good story to tell … it’s a celebration of the exceptional productions from the past year
“Somebody said at the awards that as actors, recognition is important because that’s the essence of what we do, to tell good stories.
“To have a body of awards that recognises that you have a good story to tell … it’s a celebration of the exceptional productions from the past year.”
The Naledi Awards are one of the country’s top accolades in the performing arts sector.
Anderson performed at both the 2023 ceremony and, on Monday, sang Vincent (Starry Starry Night) during the in memoriam section of the evening.
“It was very profound and a great honour.”
He was shocked to hear his name called out.
“It really does take your breath away.
“It’s a moment that signifies the culmination of so much.
“A lot of the people I was up against are people I’ve seen in performances and I love them so much.
“All I thought was ‘wow, what a great thing for my name just to be listed with these greats’,” Anderson said.
“When we won for Best Cabaret, Amanda screamed into the mic ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen to us!’
“We are a small production company from a very talented but very small town.
“We are not big players and that was the challenge, to try to get booked into spaces and get people to trust us.
“Only after Vincent was recognised with a Fleur de Cap nomination last year did people start phoning us.
“Our industry can be hard as it’s a gamble. No matter who you are, you need to be able to bring in some kind of audience.”
Vincent debuted in 2022 at the Umtiza Arts Festival, which opens today and runs until June 8.
It won a bronze Standard Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival in 2022 and was nominated for numerous accolades at theatre festivals when touring across the country.
The show was also taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the UK where it received rave reviews from critics.
“We’ve been so lucky, and blessed with the most wonderful audiences that all started at our home at the Guild,” Anderson said.
“Now we are going back to the stage where it all began.”
After the run at the Guild, the show will once more travel across the country.
“East London is such a talented place,” he said.
“We all wanted to dedicate the awards to the artists and creators of the Eastern Cape because often artists are not given the same platforms like others in the big city centres, but they are worthy of recognition and are brilliant.”
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