Following a nearly month-long residency at the South African State Theatre, JUIG: the Koortjies musical hopes to bring the production and spectacle on the road.

The production ran from April 10 to May 3 in the Arena Theatre, with the final showing taking place this past Sunday to a sold-out crowd.

Award-winning writer and director Josias ‘Dos’ Moleele says the musical is more than just a musical; it is a cultural movement that highlights representation, identity, and the power of storytelling through Koortjies gospel music.

The production is rooted in the musical heritage of koortjies, a distinctive choral tradition that has shaped the spiritual and cultural life of many coloured and Khoisan communities.

JUIG: The Koortjies Musical blends gospel-inspired music with compelling drama and heartfelt storytelling, exploring themes of faith, belonging, heritage and identity, demonstrating how sacred song becomes a powerful space for healing, dignity and communal pride.

“JUIG is a prayer, my personal prayer because it is a faith-based production. I want to minister to souls. One of the songs I composed is called Genoeg, which means you are enough. It was a song I wrote specifically for myself and my journey when I was going through trials in my personal life, and God was just saying, ‘You are enough, as you are’.

“I want people to find that way as well when they leave here. Especially in the coloured community, where identity is a problem, [with people saying things like] ‘you’re not black enough’ or ‘you’re not white enough’. I spoke to a lady who performed in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat back then, who told me she hasn’t seen so many coloured people attend a showing like this in all her years of acting. It goes to show that there is a gap to be reached,” Moleele said.

Moleele says during the two days of auditions, there were only a handful of coloured auditionees, signalling to them that there was a lack of self-belief in the community and that they need to try a different approach to bring coloured talent to a coloured story.

“Gayton McKenzie once said something powerful, that yes, coloured people are marginalised, but the sad part is when they marginalise themselves. Even if an opportunity comes, they don’t believe in themselves anymore.

“It happens when you’re caught in the crossfire. When you go to the black community, ‘you think you’re white’, and the white community, ‘no, you’re black’, so being on the fence is a difficult thing. Aspects like that made it difficult for people to have their voice, so we took auditions to the township, in Eersterust,” Moleele adds.

Moleele, growing up in Atteridgeville and being born-again in Eersterust, knows the social climate in and out, and says that as he draws his inspiration from the everyday ordinary stories of community members, it’s a beautiful niche market waiting to be catered to.

Set within a contemporary South African community, the story unfolds after the passing of Pastor Eli, whose death leaves both a church and a family searching for direction. In an unexpected turn, leadership is entrusted not to the devoted eldest son, Gershwin, but to the younger and once rebellious Jude.

Through this layered narrative, JUIG moves beyond religion to explore universal human experiences, including the burden of expectation, the pain of comparison, the search for identity, and belonging.

Musical director, Nehemiah Kwonglee, says that the selection of the music styles was a journey into how music was played back in the days the story is set in. From the climate he and others grew up in to more modern sounds with which he, fellow production and cast members resonate.

“The sounds we did here were a lot of sounds that I grew up with, and productions like these tell our stories. There are a lot of nuances and things that stories tell that are so beautiful.

“One of the elders in the musical says ‘Kyk na my wanneer ek met jou praat’ [look at me when I’m talking to you]. Those are things our aunties and elders used to say to us, you know, don’t have attitude, ‘jy en jou grootkop’ [you and your big head], and I’m glad that those nuances are brought to life in this,” Kwonglee says.

Singer and actress Lynnzay Baatjies, who plays Elder Ruth, says that a quote from her character that reads ‘tradition is not a cage but an anchor’ represents a core element of the production. Exploring new themes is welcomed, but they must not be abandoned in exchange for one’s roots.

“I would be at 06:00 and finish at 15:00. The sacrifice during the show and rehearsals gets so draining and taxing on the body, but it’s a feeling of fulfilment like no other. Especially being part of such a story. For me, it’s been amazing,” she says.

“Coloured people are not too prominent in theatre, and this is something that just broke that. Just to see our people coming through, and the stigma suggesting that we aren’t for the theatrical world, with me and others being coloured people acting and singing, it broke that, and it was heart-warming to see the community coming out in their numbers,” Baatjies says.

Actor Jermain Johnson, who played Jude, says this was the first project that really forced him to commit, and it has changed his perspective on what acting demands.

“I took for granted that I could do certain things like singing, but being part of the production made me question it. I think Jude struggles with similar things, questioning his ability to lead. I found myself mirroring some of those thoughts, the self-doubt, the hesitation, and I think that through the process, I’m still unpacking that,” he says.

“This musical takes me back to my childhood. My aunt was very Pentecostal, but my mom was a Seventh-day Adventist. When I visited my aunt back then, we did what we’re doing on stage now.

“We used to juig [celebrate] at my aunt’s church; my mom’s church not so much, it was very conservative and orderly, we had hymn books and everything. That back-and-forth regarding worship is also a factor in this production, and as coloured people, it goes beyond the spiritual and into nuances people can relate to,” Johnson said.

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