Meet Sinder-Fella’s fairy Godfather

SINDER-FELLA, the festive adult panto, heralds the silly season. Filled with clever quips to keep you on the edge of your seat as well as one or two below-the-belt jokes audiences won’t want to miss the opportunity to catch the hilarious Thomie Holtzhausen back on stage.

With at least half a dozen of Durban’s famous adult panto’s behind him, the Morningside actor returns as Sinder-Fella’s Fairy Godfather. Born in Bloemfontein, Thomie joined Durban’s theatre scene nearly a decade ago. He has also dabbled in TV and some film, his last film, I wish I was in Jail was about five years ago, and he was last seen on the small screen as Oom Piet in Snake Park, a series on SABC which ended last month.

Glad to once again be part of the, “Christmas box production”, which he said was “fun for any actor to be part of, Thomie said the best thing about the pantomime was the enjoyable exchange between actor and audience. “There is always great energy and a mixed audience. This year especially, the writers and producers have pulled out all the stops for a neat, quite decent but naughty show with lots of clever humour making it a local is lekker production,” he said.

Thomie believes the audience would love Sinder-Fella because it was “true to the recipe of adult panto with the best script, set and costumes yet.” He loves his role as Nathaniel van Hardon, the Fairy Godfather, which has much audience interaction as he narrates the story. “He is an over-the-top, self-obsessed camp old queen. So with panto, its a genre and style that requires a lot of discipline to make it look so fun on stage.”

When not performing on the Durban stage, Thomie writes, directs and acts in a lot of educational shows dealing with issues affecting communities and schools like bullying, HIV Aids, and prejudice. He is also involved in training and life skills development and events planning. “In order to follow your passion, you have to do a few other things,” he joked, “I’m very excited about Durban theatre and telling South African stories through theatre.”

He said his passion for live theatre is fuelled by the audience energy exchange. “It’s exhilarating and rewarding. I always say live in the moment and enjoy every moment in life.”

Catch Thomie Holtzhausen as the Fairy Godfather at this year’s adult panto Sinder-Fella at Suncoast Casino until the end of the year.