| What: Off the Record Performer: Leah Mari When: December 7, 2025 Where: ย Kaapstad Toneelhuis (2nd Floor, 61 Loop St, Cape Town Time: 7.30pm Duration: About 100 minutes, including a 15 minute interval Bookings: Quicket Direct booking link: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/342691-leah-mari-off-the-record/#/ย |
Off the Record โ that is the title of her show โ written and performed by award winning musical theatre performer and vocalist Leah Mari, which is premiering in Cape Town, at the Kaapstad Toneelhuis on December 7, 2025. There is one performance only. The young and hugely talented theatre performer and vocalist, received a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award (2025) for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. That role was her debut as a professional performer, after graduating from the Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy (LAMTA) in Cape Town. While studying at LAMTA, she was nominated for a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for Most Promising Student. She recently wowed us as Go-To-Hell Kitty in CHICAGO the Musical. Now, Mari is doing it for herself in Off the Record. She is writing, directing and producing the show.
The genesis of Off the Record
The idea of the show she says came from watching videos of performances at 54 Below- Broadway’s Supper Club in New York City. โThey host live performances by Broadway and cabaret stars.โ54 Below has a mission to preserve and expand the art of cabaret. I suppose this is my humble take on that format that I adore and would love to take part in. The event aims to foster a vibrant community around culture, bringing together artists and audiences who share a passion for creativity, connection and meaningful storytelling. My hope is that this event can evolve into another one of Cape Town’s intimate spaces for storytelling through song. The Toneelhuis is the perfect venue for the first iteration of the concert. It is intimate and cosy but still sophisticated and hip, located on Loop Street in Cape Town’s vibrant city centre.โ
Music as a second language
Leah Mari made what seemed a meteoritic rise in musical theatre in Cape Town but she has been treading the musical boards, from an early age. She was born in and grew up in Durban in โa very musical household. Both her parents are โjazz musiciansย and music educatorsโ and she was active in โcultural activities, like the school plays, the KZN Youth Choir, and the KZN Young Performers Projectโ.ย
Growing up with music around her, music became a second language. โI expressed myself as a child by writing songs about my thoughts and emotions. It was my way of communicating and understanding my feelings. I think that’s exactly why my song writing led me to acting. Very early on, I learnt the power of storytelling through lyrics, so my curiosity led me to storytelling through text. I had such an emotional response to performing my music as a child that, as I got older, I began to explore the same curiosity, just instead of lyrics, I explored text.โ
Her interest in acting and song, led her into musical theatre. โI love the world that musicals can create because music is the unspoken and most universal language. Before any lyric speaks to you, the overture introduces you to the world of the musical. That is what drew me to musical theatre. The harmony between voice and instrument. โ
After finishing high school, Mari embarked on a Bachelor of Music and the University of Witwatersrand. In 2020, and she had to return home because of the pandemic and national lockdown. She continued her studies and finished the year online, however, she decided to follow her passion โ to โpivotโ and study musical theatre at LAMTA. It was a wonderful pivot, with loads of support from LAMTAโs Duane Alexander and Anton Luitingh: โThey were so incredibly important in my decision to change my path and were so helpful in making plans to support my dream. They helped me get to Cape Town and before I knew it, I was auditioning for my first professional musical, The Sound of Music.โ
