From South African TV star to beloved theatre legend

Janice Honeyman is today revered in South Africa as the “panto queen”, directing the annual Pantomime theatre production that delights audiences of all ages. 

The 38th pantomime, Pinocchio, has already begun its annual performances at the Joburg Theatre. 

The theatre director’s fame extends well beyond her annual pantomimes. She first became a household name in the 1970s for her role as a presenter on one of the first children’s television shows in South Africa, Bangalory Time. 

Honeyman was born in 1949 and grew up in Cape Town. As a child, Honeyman told the Sunday Times that she wanted to be a vet.

She couldn’t pursue this dream, however, as she was “lucky enough to fail maths” in what is now grade 10. 

While attending Milnerton Primary School, in an interview with Sarafina Magazine, Honeyman said the school did not offer any speech or drama classes at the time. 

“And then suddenly, when I was in about standard one, this woman with blonde hair in a big bun arrived at the school, and she was going to be the speech teacher,” explained Honeyman. 

Honeyman did not appreciate these classes at the time, tearing out pages from the back of the speech textbook for doodles. The teacher came around and noticed this. She grabbed the book, and all of its pages fell apart. 

She scolded Honeyman, telling her that “if she respected the arts as a person, she wouldn’t have done this.” The teacher was the famous Afrikaans actress, Babs Laker, who became an inspiration to Honeyman. 

Attending San Souci Girls’ High School, because of her lack of mathematical ability, Honeyman was forced to do specialised literature as a subject instead. 

“That’s the best thing that could have happened to me,” she explained. The literature classes and teachers inspired her career path in theatre and television. 

‘I’ve played my life away’

Honeyman did not grow up going to the theatre a lot, and had no interest in studying drama at school. This was until a school friend of hers told her that “You just play around in drama, it’s lovely.”

“And you do,” Honeyman reflected. “You just mess around. And I’ve done it ever since. I love the fact that I have been able to play my life away.”

She went on to study Drama at the University of Cape Town. Here, Honeyman won a contract with the Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal. 

However, shortly after winning the contract, Honeyman broke her leg while ice skating. The head of the council, Mannie Manim, said to her: “Listen, you’re on a three-year contract and you’re not going to sit around for however long this takes to get better.”

“You’d better direct. Here’s a library programme and here’s a children’s play. Do it.” Honeyman calls this incident her “lucky break.”

Honeyman became a founding member of the Market Theatre Company and was on the Market Theatre Board, as well as a resident director for many years. 

The people who went on to pitch the children’s TV show, Bangalory Time, to the SABC were in attendance on the opening night of Story Theatre at the Alexander Theatre. 

Honeyman performed in this play on only one occasion, as she reinjured her leg while acting.

The TV show creators were spellbound by the red-haired woman on stage, and asked her to audition for the show. 

Honeyman and creators Esme Solnick and Angela Sills, who wrote 80% of the stories on Bungalory Time, had lengthy discussions about how best to present children’s stories, this being the very beginnings of South African television. 

“It started on a Tuesday. It was all ceremonies and flags, minister so and so and minister so and so…and then Wednesday at 6 o’clock was Janice Honeyman in Bangalory Time.” 

From Bangalory Time to Pantomimes

“From the first moment, people loved it,” she said. The other two creators had a background in teaching and knew what would interest children. 

The TV show, which aired in 1976, featured a monkey and an armadillo who flew in a spaceship. As it went along, more characters were introduced alongside Honeyman and her stories. 

Since the show stopped airing in 1977, Honeyman has continued to tell stories through her well-known yearly pantomime. 

Honeyman first began writing and directing her famous pantomimes 38 years ago, prompted by a colleague, Lynette Marais. 

At the time, she had never seen a pantomime. “I knew nothing,” Honeyman admitted to the Huffington Post. 

Honeyman said she thinks of her next pantomime all year long, checking the news, reading kids’ and teenage magazines, watching what is trending on social media, to come up with new and topical material. 

“Great lines for the script are handed to me on a plate by some of the current world leaders,” Honeyman said. 

“I listen to popular music on the radio while driving, or the background supermarket song choice while shopping,” she said. 

“And I try to sense what is hot with youngsters, nostalgic for grown-ups, and what will aid and abet the classical story I’m busy embellishing at the time.”

The pantomime tradition predates democratic South Africa. Honeyman said that before apartheid was officially lifted, she always tried to have an absolutely mixed cast. 

She said in an interview with News24 that the point of pantomimes is to reflect on the society that one lives in/ 

While renowned for these shows, Honeyman is a leading internationally appreciated director, having directed everything from Shakespeare for the Royal Shakespeare Company to Athol Fugard plays.

She has recently directed the acclaimed The Colour Purple in 2018 and the 2024 production of Mamma Mia at the Teatro in Monte Casino.

At 76 years old, Honeyman shows no signs of slowing down. “I couldn’t have had a better time in the theatre. And I can’t see myself retiring, giving up the joys of theatre. I’ve quite a few more goodies to create up my sleeve,” she said.

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Photos from Janice Honeyman pantomimes: