Revision as of 17:19, 1 December 2015

The name "Gigi" can refer (1) to a person or (2) to a play or character in a play

South African people named "Gigi"

In South Africa there are two theatre-related people by this name:

GiGi Fourie is the widely known nickname of theatre manager Johan J. Fourie.

Gigi is also the stage name of the South African actress and exotic dancer Perlé van Schalkwyk.

Name of a play or character in a play

Gigi is the name of a popular 1951 Broadway play by American screenwriter, playwright and author Anita Loos (1889-1981) [1].

The original text

Loos's play is based on the 1944 novella by French novelist Colette (Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, 1873–1954) [2], and a number of stage, stage musical and film adaptations have been based on it[3].

Performance history in South Africa

1953: First produced in South Africa when the Johannesburg Reps celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary. The production starred Tessa Laubscher.

1966: Staged by CAPAB, opening 14 December in the Hofmeyr Theatre, directed by visiting American director Stanley Waren [4], with Charlene Faktor (Gigi), Joyce Bradley (Mme. Alvarez), Paddy Canavan (Andree), Norman Coombes (Gaston Lachaille), Michael Mellinger (Victor), Yvonne Bryceland (Alicia) and Gillian Garlick (Sidonie). Set and costumes by Michael Clarke.

1967: Staged by JODS in the Zion Hall in Johannesburg, directed by Taubie Kushlick, with Mary-Ann (Gigi), Joyce Bradley (Mme. Alvarez), Mary Harrison (Andree), Ivan Berold (Gaston Lachaille), George Jackson (Victor), Sybil Barnett (Alicia) and Sylvia Goldberg (Sidonie). Decor by Nina Campbell-Quine and costumes by Edele Chaskalson.