Michael Williams
opera director, novelist, librettist and creator of indigenous operas, is currently General Manager of Cape Town Opera. He has directed operas in all the major theatres in South Africa and has worked for New Sadlers Wells Opera in the UK. He has written the libretti for Enoch, Prophet of God, Sacred Bones, and Buchuland - three symphonic operas composed by Roelof Temmingh. As an award winning novelist he has published nine novels both locally and abroad, and an anthology of African Operas for young people. He was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Opera in 1995 and remains committed to creating South African music theatre.

Allan Stephenson
graduated from the Royal Manchester College of Music in 1972. The next year he came to South Africa where he took up the position as sub-principal cellist with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. 1975 saw the performance of his first symphony, which was followed in 1980 by his piano concerto. He produced the first South African Classical CD with his Clarinet Concerto and has over seventy compositions, including two symphonies, three ballets, three operas, seven city overtures and concertos for most orchestral instruments. Allan Stephenson has conducted all the major orchestras in South Africa and has made many radio recordings and CDs.

Willem van der Walt
has taught English and Drama at high school level for many years and has extensive experience in youth theatre. He has been involved with the Theatre for Africa company and performed on the professional stage. He has written and directed three original musicals - Animals, Cockroaches, and A Kaapse Blues - all performed by his students. Many of his short stories and radio plays have been broadcast by SABC and he has published a novel, Lost Boys, (Oxford University Press) for young people.

Bheki Mkhwane
is one of South Africa’s most accomplished young performers. He was inspired by the legendary Gibson Kente to pursue a career in the performing arts. In 1986 he joined The Loft Theatre Company with whom he worked for 4 years and 16 productions, including IZIGI ASONDELA, KWAMANZI, ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA, SUPERBIKE, RICHARD III, MUJAJI and MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS, for which he won a Vita Award as Best Supporting Actor in the role of Willie in 1989. Bheki was a founder member of Theatre for Africa and performed in HORN OF SORROW and EAGLE, both of which toured the United Kingdom and won Scotsman’s Fringe First Awards at the Edinburgh Festival. He appeared in the film THE ANGEL, THE BICYCLE AND THE CHINAMAN’S FINGER directed by Katinka Heyns, and has played leading roles in several TV series, including KHULULEKA and MOTSAMI, and has appeared on STRIKE IT LUCKY and ZAMA-ZAMA.
Bheki has appeared in numerous commercials and industrial theatre, and has devised and directed many pieces for the stage, both commercial and industrial. As a free lance actor, he works a great deal with Ellis Pearson, with whom he has recently toured the USA. His one man show, SOLOMON’S PRIDE, directed by multi Vita award winning Greig Coetzee, has played to great critical acclaim in Durban, Copenhagen, Oslo, San Diego and Antwerp.

David Kramer
Songwriter, singer, and director he started his musical career performing his songs in folk clubs and university campus concerts around South Africa. His first album was released in 1980 and most of his recordings were initially banned by the SABC. By the mid 1980's however, he had been awarded 10 gold and one platinum album for his record sales.
In 1985 he worked under the direction of the late Barney Simon, creative director of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. This watershed experience resulted in him starting to use other actors/singers to interpret his songs. This set the foundation for his writing his first musical, which he soon did, together with Taliep Petersen.
They have written 5 musicals together, three of which have toured internationally, with Kat and the Kings being performed on the West End and Broadway and winning the 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in London.
His most recent success has been a project called Karoo Kitaar Blues, which has toured major centres in South Africa very successfully. David travelled all over the Karoo and Northern Cape to find unusual guitar players that sing and play the 'ou liedjies' and presented them on stages around the country. A documentary exploring their lives and documenting the process, is currently in post-production.

Taliep Petersen
Born in District Six, he has been involved with music since a very young age. His first experience of musical theatre was as a performer in the touring production of Hair in Maseru.This was followed by parts in Godspell and Pippin. He wrote a review based on his memories of New Year in Cape Town, called Carnival a la District Six and toured South Africa with that during the 1970's. In the early 1980's he formed a band called Sapphyre which played in hotels around the country. During this time he produced an album called Rosa which re-interpreted traditional Cape Malay songs in a modern style.
In 1986 he first collaborated with David Kramer to write the musical District Six. This was followed by the musicals Fairyland, Poison, Crooners and Kat and the Kings.
In 2001 Taliep worked on a television series on the history of District Six, called O'se Distrik Ses, which was aired by KykNet. He is currently involved in a television sitcom ,Alie Barber, for which he wrote all the music.