Only 84 days remain until the first performance of the award-winning writer-director David Kramer’s new musical, Langarm, which will open at The Fugard Theatre on 20 November. Produced by Eric Abraham,  Langarm tells a story of love and intrigue set in the world of Cape Town’s ballroom dance culture in the 1960s. With the threat of the new apartheid laws hanging over their heads, people will do almost anything to survive.

In 1965, when Dinah Levin is widowed, she invites her nephew, Jeff, whose fiancé has just dumped him to help her manage her late husband’s Canterbury Hotel. Here he meets a lovely young ballroom dancer named Angelina, who asks him to partner her in The Swaziland Ballroom Championships – the perfect opportunity for Jeff to humiliate his ex. Aware that he will risk arrest by flouting the law, he throws caution to the wind and agrees. When Jeff decides to rejuvenate the Canterbury by offering langarm dances and Eddie Jephta comes to play the hotel with his Moonlight Serenaders langarm band, Dinah has to confront the secrets of her past.

David Kramer says:

I have been wanting for many years to do a musical inspired by the langarm-ballroom bands from this time.  I grew up watching my parents dancing to the music of these bands, and Langarm pays homage to the likes of the Johnny Lyners Blue Moon Jazz Band and Willie’s Starlite Orchestra.

The stellar creative team who will work with Kramer to bring Langarm to life includes Charl-Johan Lingenfelder (musical arrangements), Saul Radomsky (set design), Widaad Albertus (costume design) and Grant van Ster (choreography).

Daniel Galloway, the executive director of the Fugard Theatre, comments:

We are proud to be collaborating on our fifth production with David Kramer following the success of District Six – Kanala, Orpheus in Africa, Blood Brothers and Kat and the Kings.

Langarm will be performed at the Fugard Theatre from 20 November from Tuesdays to Saturdays at 20:00 with a matinee performance on Saturdays at 15:00.  From Sunday 16 December, there will be an additional Sunday matinee at 15:00. There will be a Monday night performance at 20:00 on New Year’s Eve, 31 December 2018. Tickets ranging from R150 to R260 can be booked through the Fugard Theatre’s box office on 021 461 4554 or through the Fugard Theatre’s website. There is a 15% discount available for the Friends of The Fugard members.