Director's Note
I first began to think about writing a musical in the early 1980’s when the late Barney Simon, artistic director of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg made me aware that my songs were mostly short stories. That they were descriptive and usually about people and places. Working with Barney in 1985 he showed me how we could take a song, which I would usually sing, and give it to an acotr who would become the character, singing and acting the song in the first person. This was an exciting discovery for me and I was suddenly aware of the possibility of writing for voices other than my own.

I live in a world of imagination. A world where people and places are conjured up like rabbits out of an empty top hat. For me, the joy of the musical is that I am able to imagine characters and their worlds and see them brought to life by the efforts of actors and co-creators. I was not born in District Six, I did not live there, walk through its streets or sing on its stages. But it is very real for me. It is a place inside my head. A place that I have reconstructed in my imagination having met and spoken to many wonderful people who once lived there. Through their stories, and reminiscing, their style of speaking, body language, dress code and attitude, the place and people have become vividly alive for me. To those District Sixers, some who have already passed on, I owe almost everything. The woritten word and photographs complete the picture.

It is said that ‘acting is behaving truthfully under imagined circumstances’. I believe this and that it also applies to writing and directing. The creative process relies on observation, imagination and the skill to create an illusion which affects the audience emotionally. People might say: “oh but what does he know about District Six. He never lived there”. This is true, but it misses the point. In order to draw a portrait of someone, it is not necessary to be that person, but to be able to “see” the person and then to make marks on a page that create an illusion of the subject in th eye of the beholder. As a writer and a director that is my purpose: to create an illusion that will ‘suspend your disbelief’, that be real for you. That hopfeully you will be transported in your minds eye to a time, a place and a people that once was called District Six.

David Kramer

General
This musical has an extensive list of important characters but essentially three main principals - Nines, Mary and Cassiem - who drive the story. The show requires a strong supporting cast of between 20-40 young people. The music is a mix of pop, jazz and blues from the 50's and 60's era. The work is scored for piano, electric bass, guitar and drums. Running time: 2hrs 15 minutes

Cast List
Damaka - blind herbalist
Cassiem - aspirant singer
Mary Africa - aspirant songwriter
Nines - gang leader of the Sexy Boys
Henry Africa - hawker
Hester Africa - his wife
Pang - tailor
Sophia - crossdressing club owner,
Sandy - British photographic student, granddaughter of Mr Goldman
Mr Goldman - record producer
Vosloo - Group Areas Inspector
Galiema - Hester Africa's friend
Archie - barber - very camp
MC Star Bioscope
Broertjie - child newspaper seller
Company/Chorus

Musical Package

• 1 x text
• 1 x vocal score
• "The House in Tyne Street - Childhood Memories of District Six" by Linda Fortune
• 1 x Backing track now available