Colleen The Musical — a toe-tapping, quick-witted expansion of the Marc Lottering universe

At the heart of every Marc Lottering performance you can expect belly-aching laughs and sharp-witted commentary on South African cultures. But another quality he faithfully delivers is the ability to turn any show into a proper jol, and his latest musical extravaganza is no exception.

Colleen The Musical gives the beloved Colleen the Cashier – a frequent character in Lottering’s stand-up over the past 20 years or so – a life beyond the till. Written and composed by Lottering, with Anwar McKay as producer, the musical sees Colleen get caught up in an unexpected supermarket romance when she falls for the shelf packer, Randall. But as their love story unfolds, will Colleen learn that she should never have betrayed her life motto: “If you don’t give your heart away, it will never be broken”?

It turns out that when Colleen isn’t complaining to her best friend about the shop supervisor or scolding her customers, she’s a ball of awkward yet feisty charm, making her character effortless to root for and sympathise with during her low moments.

In Colleen The Musical, Lottering’s skill for physical comedy shines through. Just as Aunty Merle – another one of Lottering’s cherished characters who received a trilogy of musicals from 2017 to 2022 – has her signature facial expression and characteristic tapping of her stilettoed heels, Colleen’s gestural quirk lies in the reflexive kicking of a twisted leg that is, no matter the occasion, never without a colour-coordinated pair of bedazzled Crocs.

Throughout Lottering’s time playing the role of Colleen, she has been a one-person act in which her best friend and neighbouring cashier, Bronwynn, has always been an imaginary presence on the stage. Now, we finally get a proper introduction to this character who, up until this musical, had been merely the silent recipient of Colleen’s endless “Yirre, Bronwynns!”

Bronwynn is played by the award-winning Jill Levenberg, who’s widely known for her portrayal of Mymoena Samsodien in kykNET’s Suidooster.

As Bronwynn, Levenberg’s groundedness and comedic confidence make her a perfect match to the high-drama energy of Colleen. The pair share a natural chemistry that makes their dialogue feel like unscripted banter – the kind that is uniquely found between people whose colleagues' jobs seem to only involve working on each other’s nerves.

Under the direction of Lara Foot, Colleen The Musical is a show that grants each performer’s talents a dedicated moment in the spotlight. This is not a production that expects its ensemble to act as an indistinguishable unit. Instead, Colleen The Musical is as much about the classically trained dancers – Sasha Nkonyana, Damian Jacobs, Amy Rosslind – and powerhouse vocalists – David Chevers and Sasha Duffy – as it is about Lottering’s leading role.

That being said, however, some scenes seem written for the sake of serving individual actors as opposed to contributing to the narrative itself. The side plot about store supervisor Tracey Boonzaaier (Kate Normington) and her crush on store manager Mr Tommy (David Chevers) can be discomforting to watch. Boonzaaier is characterised by behaviour that can only be described as a case of workplace harassment charges waiting to happen, making the expectation to be amused by those interactions leave a sour taste in the mouth.

Although Boonzaaier plays a fundamental role in the musical’s core conflict, it might have made for an intriguing approach to shape her presence in the production around being a disembodied voice over the intercom, presiding over the store like an ominous godlike figure.

On the technical side, Colleen The Musical is continuously surprising. The set, designed by Patrick Curtis, seamlessly shifts between locations through 180-degree swoops of the grocery store’s shelves, which transform into graffiti-covered walls of the loading bay as well as the staff canteen where Colleen and Bronwynn spend their (prolonged) tea times.

The use of animated graphics on the backdrop and colourful lighting across the stage, designed by Kieran McGregor and Franky Stein, casts Colleen and her coworkers into the aesthetic of an engaging, live-action comic strip. One scene even uses videos projected onto two screens suspended above the stage to bring the audience into a phone call between Bronwynn and Colleen, giving fans the chance to hear Colleen’s iconic: “Am I in? Am I in?”

Where the production wavers is in the sound, which – when experienced from the first few rows of the stalls at least – produces dizzyingly loud music that washes out the lyrics being sung. Regardless, the music itself, directed by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, is infectious in its frequent Kaapse-style beats while never losing sight of the songs’ purpose to reinforce the story’s themes and externalise characters’ emotions.

As with any production that has Marc Lottering and Anwar McKay’s names on it, the audience can expect humour that draws on minute observations of South African eccentricities, including quips about Zam-Buk, the deli counter and the general state of being “gatvol”, which, naturally, has an entire number inspired by the word.

Long-time followers of Lottering’s work can rest assured that Colleen The Musical serves up its fresh material alongside the many inside jokes from “permanent casual” Colleen and the Marc Lottering universe as a whole, including a visit from a certain special customer at the supermarket where Colleen works.

Although there are unneeded storylines that drag out the running time, Colleen The Musical never falters in being a nonstop riot of entertainment. With a high-energy cast and hilarious self-referential script, Colleen The Musical is a show that brings much more to the table than its rom-com plot may lead you to believe. DM

Colleen The Musical is playing at The Baxter’s Pam Golding Theatre in Cape Town until 7 February 2026.