Singing and dancing with Shrek

The theatre stage is her favourite place, dancing is her life, singing her passion and now she is going green in the lime light.

Ballito based dancer, singer and actress, Simone Mann, will be playing the ugly duckling in the South African premier production about everyone’s favourite ogre, Shrek, in Shrek The Musical at Durban’s Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, this coming weekend.

“I auditioned in January for one of the fairy tale creatures and after a nerve wracking weekend of waiting, I got the good news,” she said over a cup of coffee in Ballito this week.

“We started rehearsing on April 25 and have been going flat out every day, but it has been such fun and the musical is going to be amazing.”

This role is particularly exciting, as Mann gets to dance and sing, which is something she has really enjoyed over the past two years.

“I only have a few more years of dancing left, so I am really trying to establish myself as a singer too, in the theatre industry,” said the 27-year-old.

Mann had her first singing appearance by default, a few years ago while on tour in Paris with the African Footprint company. One of the singers fell sick and she was asked to fill in for her.

“It was so scary, as little me had to fill in for a big, strong African voice. But it was such fun at the same time and I kept the role for three nights, which made me want to sing more.”

After touring through China, France, New York and Edinburgh for about seven years, she has come home and has performed locally in musicals such as West Side Story and Aladdin.

“Performing at home is so nice, because my family get to watch me on stage, which they could never do while I was overseas, so I am happy to be here,” she said.

Her family are a tough audience, as her mom, Michelle and two of her sisters, Dominique and Danielle are dancers and gymnasts, with Dominique currently holding the Aerobic Gymnastics African Champ title.

“Growing up, we were in tutus and ballet shoes from the word go and my sister Danielle has always been my role model, so whatever she did and wherever she danced, I wanted to do the same,” she said.

One of her most memorable moments was her first audition, after she completed her musical theatre studies in Cape Town.

“They told us that they were only taking two girls out of the 100 who were auditioning, so chances were slim, but after a whole day of dancing, just one other girl and I were left, which was an incredible feeling.”

When she is not on the stage, Mann is in France with her boyfriend, Craig Burden, who has been playing rugby for Toulon for the past two years.

To see the ugly duckling and the other exciting and hilarious Shrek The Musical characters, the show is at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from May 23 to June 28.