| What: Something Rotten!– Tony Award nominated comedy-musical When: July 10-18, 2026 Where: Artscape Arena, Cape Town Featuring: Students of The Waterfront Theatre School, Cape Town Bookings: Webtickets Director: Paul Griffiths Choreography: Ursula Lubbe Musical Director: Thinus Viljoen Cast: Includes: John Marshall (Nick Bottom), James Ford (Nigel Bottom), Lilitha Zibonda (Shakespeare), Andrew Woods (Nostradamus), Kia Kinana (Portia), Caitlin Holmes (Bea Bottom), Keenan Munnik (Shylock), Kate Lagan (Lady Clapham), Qurin Janse van Rensburg (Brother Jeremiah) and isabella Schnetler (Master of Justice) |
Something Rotten! The Musical is at Artscape in the Arena July 10-18, 2026, presented by The Waterfront Theatre School. It is one of the most captivating musicals that I have seen – ingenious plot line and concept, witty and uproariously funny. It is a homage and celebration of Shakespeare, musical theatre and theatre – with delicious satire and heaps of social critique. Sexy and sensual, dripping in innuendo, Something Rotten! is my new favourite musical. Brilliant music, lyrics and book. The company is a DREAM. Voice, dance (including outrageously amazing tap) and knockout acting. Superlative performances by the young and extremely talented students. Paul Griffiths in the director’s seat has masterminded the pace, comedy and drama in this story. He balances the mirth and fun, framed against Hamlet’s milieu and ours, with the self-obsessed human race, chasing ambitions, wars and careers. Exceptional production – five star plus. It is fun and entertaining. Bravo to team WTS. LOVED! Loved. Loved.
Gorgeous Elizabethan costumes have been sourced from Artscape wardrobe. Props and set components have been repurposed from previous WTS productions. Griffiths also conceptualised the set. The set centre-piece is a set of stairs on wheels which is configured with screens to conjure up spaces and locations. It is black box theatre evoking epic musical theatre vistas: Broadway and West End. One expects the spotlights to light up, Broadway style at any moment. For more about the design approach, keep reading until the end, for side-note and/or see https://thecaperobyn.co.za/interview-something-rotten-wts-celebrating-the-art-form-of-musical-theatre/
Lots of meaty roles for men. Multitalented John Marshall plays Nick Bottom. We saw him last year in the WTS production, Everybody’s Talking about Jamie, in which he wowed us as Jamie –vulnerable, quirky and brave – and showman – the male equivalent of diva – is what I am looking for. In Something Rotten! Marshall plays a totally different character – the passionate and desperate Nick Bottom. Marshall is in his 4th year at WTS. Magnificent performance, using his body as he did in Jamie to create non-verbal performance. For instance his hair– his own – not a wig – has been blow dried to perfection for this production. He grew it out after playing Jamie. More on his hair – follows – keep reading.
Playing Nigel Bottom is James Ford and he is in his 1st year. He has a beautiful and lyrical voice and charismatic stage presence. Lilitha Zibonda struts around like a celebrity Shakespeare – pinging off the musical JC Superstar. He shapes shifts as he goes undercover as Sir Toby Belch (yeah, Twelfth Night). I won’t plot spoil. Sir Toby speaks with a diction perfect Sheffield accent – referencing the WTS production of Jamie. Stunning performance.
Andrew Woods’ Nostradamus is a masterclass in musical theatre comedy. We saw him as a drag queen in Jamie and he brings enormous depth to the soothsayer – who almost prophesies Hamlet but oopsie for Omelette.
Keenan Munnik conjures up Shylock (from Merchant of Venice, obvs but with a twist in Rotten) as a theatre producer with a thick Eastern European accent. He is a theatre enthusiast and a fan of the Bottom Brothers. He is Jewish and this is an issue because in Shakespeare’s time, Jews were largely prevented from working in the free market. Besides being allowed to be money lenders, most professions were barred and this is an important thread which runs through this musical. There is a darkly sardonic Nazi leitmotif. The protagonists are living in times before Hitler and don’t know exactly what Nazis are. It’s like a running gag through the musical – which Griffiths as director uses as a dark foil against the hilarity – but not too much. We are here to have a good time – prompted by the upbeat Shylock who just wants everyone to be happy and entertained at the theatre. Amen to that.
The principals are mind blowing – way above what one would expect from students. Remember their names. And the ensemble. When they are famous – you can say that you saw them first in Something Rotten! What I love about this cohort is that they are not cookie cutter copies of each other. They represent a full range of body types. They look like “normal/real” people. Yes, they dive deep into their characters but at the same time, they bring their own individual personalities into their interpretations– showing a maturity beyond their ages as young thespians.
About the musical: This paragraph contains plot spoilers. The title comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 4), when the place guard, Marcellus says “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. He is warning about the unravelling and decay of the moral and political. In Something Rotten, we see the Bottom Brothers – Nick and Nigel. They are about to become disruptors, admits the moral and political decay of their times – by innovating in theatre. Their backstory: They were once part of the troupe of actors which included Shakespeare. A lousy actor, Shakespeare left and became a mega successful playwright. Nick Bottom co-opts his young brother, a poet, into working with him, to write a piece of theatre which will gazump Shakespeare. Nick implores the nephew of Nostradamus to predict what will be the next big thing in theatre. He predicts that the Musical will be hot and happening. The concept is revolutionary for the times –singing, dancing and acting in one production. Nostradamus predicts that Omelette – the Musical – will be the winning musical. He is a bit off – as Hamlet was what Shakespeare was working on. There is romance, family and daddy issues on the side
Characters riff off protagonists from the Bard’s plays – such as Portia (Merchant of Venice). She is the love interest of Nigel who revolts against her dad, to find true love. Portia is played by Kia Kinana (3rd year) glorious voice and simmering chemistry with James Ford (Nigel Bottom). Qurin Janse van Rensburg plays her puritanical dad, Brother Jeremiah – also with gorgeous blow dried hair – and embodying the strictures of his position – through terrific physical comedy. Superb performances from Caitlin Holmes as Bea Bottom, Kate Lagan as Lady Clapham and Isabella Schnetler as Master of Justice.
Something Rotten! is packed with reference to musical theatre – stage and screen– which is woven into the spoken word and into songs – Chicago., Cabaret, Le Mis, Cats, Shrek, A chorus Line (watch for that scene – magic), Hair and countless other references. It is a lot of fun as one goes “ping – got that”. Thinus Viljoen, as musical director, weaves all the music, the motifs -with lightning fast shifts – arranging the score so that it doesn’t overwhelm the spoken word.
Circling back to references musical theatre: The gorgeous locks of John Marshall’s Nick Bottom, with blow dried floppy hair almost becomes a character. It reverberates for me, off Hair, the war protest film. Chunks from Hamlet are used in its lyrics. Marshall flicks his hair. It is hair as costume, vanity, a shield, as armour in the swirl of the moral and political deterioration. But it is all presented as fun and entertainment, transcending the cerebral.
Stunning choreography by Ursula Lubbe. They are impressive dancers and versatile dancers. Dance styles and genres in the musical, includes tap, jazz/Bob Fosse, Chorus Line/Synchronised with Kick Line, Rock Star Strut, line dancing/country. The WTS students doit all – and sing and act. See the awesome tap dance in A Musical (Act 1) and the tap battle/duel between Nick Bottom (John Marshall) and Shakespeare (Lilitha Zibonda).They are both sensational dancers. Watch out for the scene of the eggs (as in omelette) slinking across the stage – hilarious.
The actors segue between comedy – taking the Mickey out of the Bard and also layering gravitas and poignancy to the serious bits with knock-out poetic/bawdy Shakespearean Old English argot. Impressive.
Something Rotten! has made me want to dip into Shakespeare – particularly Hamlet and watch all the musicals it references. It is an extraordinary feat for a performing arts tertiary institution. It is vocally, choreographically and theatrically complex musical and the WTS has triumphed. Do not miss.
Side note: Interesting to chat at the opening to Dr Marlene le Roux, CEO of Artscape who is thrilled with Artscape’s seven year partnership with the WTS – in sharing costumes, props and whatnot. Paul Griffiths told me that the set evolved organically. He went into the college storeroom and thought – “that – that- let’s use that and paint that”. In an interview with TheCapeRobyn he says: “We have not adapted the musical. We are presenting the licensed script and score as written by the creators. What I have enjoyed is finding ways to stage the work that respond to the intimacy of the Artscape Arena and the strengths of our student company.” The minimalist set is a frame for the opulent costumes (thanks to Artscape) and foregrounds the performances. “Rather than approaching the production with a traditional set design, I was interested in creating a world through theatrical suggestion rather than literal realism. We have repurposed and reimagined scenic elements from previous Waterfront Theatre School productions, allowing the production to embrace the playful inventiveness that sits at the heart of both Shakespeare’s theatre and Something Rotten! Much of the story unfolds in streets, public spaces and outside the Globe Theatre, so I wanted the environment to feel fluid and flexible rather than fixed. The Artscape Arena lends itself beautifully to that approach, with scenery, furniture and lighting working together to suggest locations while encouraging the audience’s imagination to complete the picture.”
✳ Related coverage on TheCapeRobyn: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/interview-something-rotten-wts-celebrating-the-art-form-of-musical-theatre/
✳ Featured image: Lilitha Zibonda (Shakespeare) and Company in Something Rotten! July 10-18, 2026, Artscape Arena, Cape Town, directed by Paul Griffiths, starring Waterfront Theatre School students. Photo: Nicholson Media
