Get silly at Sinder-Fella

It’s the silly season, so why not let your hair down and get to Suncoast Casino to laugh your head off at Toti actor Clinton Small’s portrayal of one of the Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters in the adult pantomine ‘Sinder-Fella’.

Harking back to the original format of clever, rather than in your face, your favourite festive season entertainers have come up with a new plot. Gone is Cinderella – and Sinderella – as well as Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother. Enter Sinder-Fella, Princess Charming and the Fairy Godfather.

The team is back with some new additions: Anthony Stonier (whose legs are a World Heritage site) and Clinton Small (last year’s surfer dude) play the ugly stepsisters; Thomie Holtzhausen (seen in a great variety of roles in past pantos) is the Fairy Godfather; and the gorgeous Katy Moore (last year’s Juliet) as Pandora Hugetit, the sugar baroness of Ballito.

Joining them for the first time are Rowin Munsamy as the Princess’ loyal supporter, Button, and Mpilo ‘straw’ Nzimande as Sinder-Fella.This is Clinton’s second adult panto role and he was excited for opening night on Tuesday, 17 November, after he felt the audience really got behind this year’s show during the week of previews.

“It went really well,” he said. “The hardest part was not having a frame of reference as this is the first time I’m playing a woman. It was weird. I play Chlamydia Burns, one of the stepsisters, opposite Anthony Stonier.

It went very well in rehearsals. Darren King, the writer and directed, is very open to let us run with our characters. Every evening is different, as we feed off the audience, so you’ve got to be on your toes. Comedy should be fresh.

At first playing a woman was daunting, not knowing where I was going. I also have to do my own make-up and I do eight costume changes, from skimpy minis to ballgowns.”

Clinton grew up in Toti, matriculated at Kingsway High School and studied at the University of KZN. He now lives in Glenwood.

Next year will be the seventh year he plays Iago in Othello, which will run for six weeks at the Natal Playhouse and one-and-a-half weeks at Hilton, before taking to the road to visit the Battlefields, Richards Bay and finally to Johannesburg and Pretoria for a total run of three months.

He recently played a role in the full-length feature film ‘Game’, shot outside Camperdown. “That was amazing. We lived in the bush for one-and-a-half months. We got dirty, I did my own stunts, rode horses and had arrows shot at me. It was a serious undertaking.

We were in pre-production for six months and then filmed for two months. The film should be out in February.”

Clinton also featured in a Luke Mason short film entitled ‘Illana’, which was shot around Durban.

According to him, work has been a bit scarce in Durban. “There is excellent work in Johannesburg and I can always go there for a few months and get an agent. I lived in Cape Town for two years and still have an agent there. But Durban will always be home.

For now though, I will enjoy being on stage with the cast of ‘Sinder-Fella’. It’s an amazing cast and each one brings so much to it. The show is colourful, vibraint, loud and fun.”

Sinder-Fella runs until 30 December. For more information, contact Ailsa on 083-250-2690 or email ailswn@mweb.co.za.

Tickets can be purchased through Computicket or phone 086-191-58000.