Lefra Productions Boasts Six Productions at 2014's Clover Aardklop Arts Festival

Lefra Productions is bringing six of its top productions of this year to the Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival. In a first for the festival, Lefra Productions will have the full use of the Totius Hall on the PUK campus. South African born French mime, John Jacobs, will appear in his internationally acclaimed production, MIME LA FRANCE, while Herman Charles Bosman's famous character, Oom Schalk Lourens appears for the first time in an Afrikaans production, with Paul Lückhoff, in OOM SCHALK LOURENS SE MAMPOERSTORIES. Lefra Productions' hit farce MY BOETIE SE SUSSIE SE OU comes to Aardklop, having already toured the country with people rolling in the aisles with laughter in its wake. Hannes Muller is back at Aardklop with GROET DIE GROTMAN and music lovers will have the opportunity to see Alwyn Oberholster take on the Neil Diamond song catalogue in BEAUTIFUL NOISE and Kobus Muller in his tribute show, KOBUS MULLER SING ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK. Frans Swart, CEO of Lefra Productions, says that he is very excited about the opportunity bring these shows to Aardklop.

In MIME LA FRANCE, John Jacobs offers a genuine experience of mime, the art of bringing pure emotion to the stage without words - something beyond the experience that many South Africans associate with the art form, the shopping mall mime. Jacobs was fortunate to study under French mime, Marcel Marceau, making Jacobs one of the few true masters of mime in the world. With comic pieces that will have you screaming with laughter and more emotional pieces that will let the tears roll, Jacobs brings the true art of mime to Aardklop in MIME LA FRANCE on 7 October at 9am; 8 October at 12.30pm; and 9 October at 2.30pm.

OOM SCHALK LOURENS SE MAMPOERSTORIES is translated and adapted by Frans Swart from Herman Charles Bosman's famous Oom Schalk Lourens stories. Paul Lückhoff (who currently plays Oom Wimpie in BINNELAND on television) will bring old favourites like "The Bekkersdal Marathon" and "Willem Prinsloo's Peach Brandy" as well as lesser-known stories such as "The Love Potion" to the stage on 7 October at 4pm; 9 October at 9am; and 11 October at 4pm.

MY BOETIE SE SUSSIE SE OU is a translation by Pierre van Pletzen - most well-known for his role as Oubaas on SEWENDE LAAN - of one of Ray Cooney's famous West End farces. Directed by Frans Swart, the production stars David Rees, Cindy Swanepoel, Ana van Achterbergh, Botha Enslin, Francois van Rensburg and Anel du Plessis. With Hennie Smit still in hospital, Swart himself will most likely join the cast in the role of Deda. The schedule for the show is as follows: 9 October at 8pm; 10 October at 9am, 2pm and 7pm; and 11 October at 9am.

GROET DIE GROTMAN, with Hannes Muller, has become a theatre phenomenon in South Africa and currently holds the record for the longest-running production in South Africa. When it was first presented at Aardklop, every single show sold out almost instantly and extra performances had to be scheduled. The following year, the show returned and once again the demand for tickets could not be satisfied, even with extra performances. Now, after nine years and more than 900 sold-out performances, the show is back at Aardklop on 7 October at 12.30pm; 8 October at 9am and 4pm; and 11 October at 1pm and 8pm.

Alwyn Oberholster stars in BEAUTIFUL NOISE, a tribute show based on the popular music of Neil Diamond. At the age of six, Oberholster discovered his passion for music and began his singing career. After winning several singing competitions, Oberholster decided to create his exceptional production, BEAUTIFUL NOISE, for the stage. There is only one performance of the show at Aadklop on 8 October at 8pm.

KOBUS MULLER SING ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK is another great music production that can be seen under the Lefra Productions banner at Totius Hall. Kobus Muller won fame when he won SUPERSTERRE in 2007. This singer has the kind of vocal range that has given him the opportunity sing the music of artists as diverse as Josh Groban and Mario Lanza - and the music of Engelbert Humperdinck is a perfect match for his voice. Come and experience famous songs like "Quando, Quando, Quando", "Spanish Eyes" and "Please Release Me" on 7 October at 8pm and 9 October at 12pm.

As well as coming to see the half dozen productions that Lefra will host there, Swart invites festivalgoers to come and see what else is happening at the Totius Hall during the Festival, which includes daily live broadways by East Rand Stereo 93.9FM.

Tickets for all shows are available through Computicket.

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