“It was fate, I was at the right place at the right time,” says Portland comedienne and MC, Mel Jones, who has landed the lead character in the new international cirque production, Enchanted.
Mel, 44, will be playing the role of the Enchantress, and will host the show with Piky Pokus from Argentina.
The production opens this Friday September 8 and will run until mid-October, in the P3 parking area in Green Point from a 450-seater spiegeltent shipped from Belgium.
Mel described the production as “magical and elegant” and said she was honoured to be part of it.
“It all started with a show I did at the Comedy Club in May. I was standing in for someone that night. That same night members of the Enchanted production were there to see the show. I then greeted and spoke to them after the show and it all was good.
“A few weeks later, I got the call from them and they said they loved my performance and that they want me to be part of it. They got my number from a mutual friend. Believe me, I cried all the way home.
“I was emotional because sometimes, especially coming from our community, you are just not good enough so you constantly have to prove yourself,” she said.
Mel said at that point, she knew nothing about the show, but decided to take the opportunity. She then met the team and did an audition.
“I told them that I am not used to using a script, but that I will give it my best shot,” she said.
Mel soon got the news that the lead role was hers to play.
Before coming to South Africa, the creators of Enchanted put out an international casting call looking for someone unique and, most importantly, belly-achingly funny.
“After hundreds of auditions from artists all around the globe, their Enchantress was right here in Cape Town.
“Now, after meeting the team, the amazing artists and performers, I am grateful being part of the production,” Mel said.
This will be the first time the show will take place in South Africa and will include mesmerising acts including a crossbow contortionist and silk artist Orissa Kelly, cloud swing and hoop artist Tom McKinnon, laser and bubble magic man Thomas Favaro, a disco-inspired roller skating pair, and a heart-stopping knife throwing duo.
The show has a narrative running throughout in the style of nouveau-cirque productions.
Mel’s long list of credits and achievements includes the Phat Joe show, the King Size Comedy Tour, the Blacks Only Comedy Show, Mind The Gap, The Heavyweight Comedy Jam, Kings and Queens of Comedy, the Vodacom Funny Festival where she was their very first female host, Comedy Central and the Jo’burg International Comedy Festival.
The show will be at the P3 parking in Green Point in front of the Cape Town Stadium (opposite McDonald’s).
Performances are Wednesdays to Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm and Sundays at 5pm.
Tickets cost from R250 for access to the cirque theatre show and the fabulously fun after party.
For more information about tickets, group offers, corporate packages and branding and product placement opportunities, you can call 074 422 2888 or you can visit the website
www.EnchantedCirque.com
