Peter Court takes Fatima drama to next level

A FLEUR Du Cap Theatre Awards’ winner and master of his art, Peter Court, has set Our Lady of Fatima School’s stage on fire since he started teaching drama at the school three years ago.

Actor, dancer, director, writer and puppet master, Peter joined the Fatima crew in 2011 as the junior school’s drama teacher.

Peter lived in Nigeria, where his parents worked for the Queen’s Trust, till he was five. While there, his parents bought a couple of puppets from a person who was moving away.

His parents then moved to the UK till he was 11 and returned to South Africa, where they lived in Sasolburg.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me. The town was designed before a single road was laid, so it was designed for pedestrians and cyclists. It was any child’s dream,” he said.

It was Jannie Lindeque, the town’s theatre manager, that opened up the world of theatre for Peter.

“I saw a big theatre in town and went inside, where I met Jannie. He asked me what I was doing there and I told him I wanted to play, so, he let me play,” he added.

For Peter it was the ultimate playground. Armed with his first cast, the puppets bought in Nigeria, Peter spent hours creating his world of fantasy and magic.

Conveniently, Jannie also ran a children’s circus and before Peter could say ‘camera, lights, action’, he was roped into the act as the ringmaster. He soon started clowning, became a trapeze artists and also did tight roping.

“Because I was a trapeze artist at the time, I was very supple and started doing horse-vaulting as well,” he said.

But Peter’s dreams of matriculating in South Africa were shattered when it was found that he was severely dyslexic.

“I then went back to the UK where I did some O and A levels, which is equivalent to matric and first year varsity here, when I was 16.”

It was West Glamorgan Youth Dance Company that changed Peter’s life. This was also where he met his long-time friend, and as he puts it, claim to fame, Catherine Zeta Jones. The two were dance partners for two years,

“We’ve been friends since. I was even invited to their wedding, but couldn’t go due to other commitments.”

After moving between the UK and South Africa a couple of times (where he was a stage manager, professional director and dance teacher) he visited his parents in South Africa again for three weeks.

“I literally came to visit my parents for three weeks when they told me my father was being transferred to Durban. I decided to stay and help them move and within two weeks in South Africa I was offered a contract to direct, write and act in a puppet show at The Playhouse,” he said.

Peter then did some freelance work and wrote every adult pantomime in Durban till three years ago when Darren King took over from him.

It was his adopted daughters that got him back into teaching. “I taught at their school, Gordon Road Girls’ School, to help pay school fees,” he said.

And in the blink of an eye, Peter found himself junior drama teacher at Our Lady of Fatima School.

Peter’s recent stints included roles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (the evil queen), Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood (the robber) and he was also the world’s ugliest witch at uShaka Halloween and was also in Pieter Toerien’s Cabaret last year.