'Seussical Jr' at the National Children's Theatre: Director, Francois Theron

We all grew up reading Dr Seuss! Our children are reading Dr Seuss!

Dr Seuss and all his wonderful characters have become an intergral part of our lives and now the National Children’s Theatre is bringing ‘Seussical Jr’ back to its stage!

Come meet The Cat in the Hat, Horton the elephant, Jojo and all the other colourful characters that make up the wonderful world of Dr Seuss.

Seussical Jr runs until the 22 December 2012 and is a wonderful outing for the children during the school holidays!

If you don’t take my word for it, how about the Director, Francois Theron’s word?

Why did you decide to bring ‘Seussical’ back to the National Childrens Theatre?

F.T.:

“Usually we wait about 3 years to bring out a production again. Seussical is one of those productions, that when we ask people what they would like to see again at the Theatre, they always say Seussical. Seussical keeps popping up, so we decided because it is almost 4 years ago, we’ll re vamp it. It has given me the opportunity to direct it, because I didn’t direct the first one. I played Horton, the elephant in the previous production. This was an opportunity to do it my way and to make changes. I changed the stage around, added some scenery, new costumes and added songs that were cut in the previous production. So it was really an opportunity, as they say in the classics, ‘to give the people what they want’. It had been wonderful so far.”

Why do you think people love Dr Seuss so much?

F.T.:

“I think people have grown up reading the stories, young and old. We have had people with their partners, husbands, wives and sometimes they come back on their own. I think Dr Seuss’s stories resonate with young and old and we grew up reading these stories. Now here is an opportunity to see it come alive and to introduce the younger generation to it. It has a beautiful heart, beautiful message and there is something in it for everyone.”

There is a message behind every Dr Seuss story.

F.T.:

“There is a message, a theme and it isn’t just a fairy tales with a happy ending. There are characters we all know and situations we have all experienced and creations that we hope and wish that we could create. So I think the secret is, that there is something in it for everyone and there is such a magic unique world and he is such a clever writer. His play on words, his concise use of words and rhyme is so unique and that is what has made this show very popular and special to me.”

What else have you brought into this show, compared to the last show?

F.T.:

“The first thing is that I have changed the stage around. The area that was the stage last time, is now the auditorium. It is now a bigger platform area. We have added some scenery and we have added a song that was cut in the last production, because it is such a beautiful song. We have a fresh new cast, very young, very promising up and coming talent. And it is my chance to direct it in the way that I sort of wanted to. Last time I played Horton, so it is different this time for me to direct the person who plays Horton. He has been very accommodating. I am very proud of this production and the cast have all worked incredibly well. We have a wonderful team consisting of Rowan Bekker who is the music supervisor, Genna Galloway as the choreographer, Sarah Roberts, costume designer and Jane Gosnell as lighting designer. It is a great team”

What shows can we expect next year?

F.T.:

“We are working on our year programme for next year. We are doing a follow up to Goggas, we found a wonderful script and it is based on Anthony Ant, it is one of his adventures. We are looking at Peter Pan and Wizard of Oz as well. It is a very exciting year next year; watch this space.”