When Dylan Janse van Rensburg steps onto the stage as Joseph, the first notes of Any Dream Will Do never feel routine. The theatre falls into darkness, a drumbeat begins and the lights rise slowly. In that silence, he feels the audience holding its breath. Then, as he takes his first line, “I close my eyes”, he hears them exhale, sharing the moment. “It’s like we’re breathing together before the story even begins,” he says.
For Janse van Rensburg, the role is steeped in history. He first wore the technicolor dreamcoat at 16 in a school production, thinking that would be his farewell to the part. His mother has previously performed in the musical too, playing Benjamin. “It’s always been close to my heart,” he reflects. Now, at 22, he’s stepped into a dream that once felt impossibly distant, leading a new SA staging that pulses with energy, wit and youthful confidence.
From the very first rehearsals, director Anton Luitingh and co-director/choreographer Duane Alexander set the tone. No imported accents. This Joseph had to sound like South Africans telling their own story. That decision grounds the show in the familiar, giving it an immediate authenticity.
The visual language also leans proudly local. Designer Niall Griffin’s costumes take cues from Africa Burn, with bold patterns and textures that celebrate African style. A goat ambles cheekily through One More Angel in Heaven. Comic asides nod to Woolies bags and “Snakealot.” And most strikingly, an amapiano-inspired sequence ignites the stage, sending audiences into cheers. Janse van Rensburg says those moments are often the ones people talk about afterwards.
Even in his own performance, localisation seeps through. “When I dance, I don’t try to make it too contemporary,” he explains. “I bring in my distinctly African beat.”
The role comes with a rich history, both locally and internationally, and Janse van Rensburg is acutely aware of the names who have gone before him. But rather than imitate, he chose to focus on Joseph’s innocence and youthful wonder. “The biggest challenge was playing Joseph’s youth,” he says. “I had to strip away that youthful illusion of certainty, make him wide-eyed and questioning, not too full of himself.”
It’s a choice that has resonated. Janse van Rensburg admits he sees much of himself in Joseph; a young man discovering the world, still curious, still asking questions. “I can just be me,” he says. “I didn’t feel like I have to put on a character. I can go out there and be myself.”
Playing Joseph is no small feat. Janse van Rensburg is on stage for almost the entire show, often shirtless, carrying some of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most demanding melodies. It’s gruelling. But it’s taught him endurance. “Every night has to feel like opening night to someone seeing it for the first time,” he says. He relies on warm water, turmeric gargles and a Korean cough syrup that became his lifesaver during Johannesburg’s notoriously dry winter.
The real secret, though, is the company around him. The cast is young, diverse and tightly knit. Backstage rituals, shared humour and a sense of collective responsibility keep the energy consistent. “We’re like family,” Janse van Rensburg says. “That’s what keeps us going, even on triple-show days.”
The production’s Johannesburg run at Montecasino has built on an already celebrated Cape Town season earlier this year. Audiences across both cities have embraced the show’s mix of familiarity and freshness. For Janse van Rensburg, it feels like part of a wider moment. “It’s a feel-good musical that everyone can enjoy, no matter their age,” he says. “And it’s part of something bigger, SA theatre is booming right now.”
The directors echo that view. They speak of a new generation of theatre-makers confident enough to honour classics while unapologetically filtering them through local culture. Africa Burn costumes, amapiano beats, even playful TikTok-inspired choreography: these flourishes mark the work as unmistakably ours. It is this blend of respect for tradition and fearless innovation that is defining the current surge in SA theatre.
For Janse van Rensburg, Joseph marks his first professional lead, yet it already feels like a career-defining milestone. Later this year he begins rehearsals for Cats, while harbouring ambitions for television and film further down the line. Still, the technicolor dreamcoat will remain special. “This show has changed my life,” he says simply. “It’s the role where I feel most myself, most at home.”
As the audience joins him in song during the finale, many unable to resist singing along to Any Dream Will Do, the moment feels larger than one performer. Janse van Rensburg’s Joseph becomes a symbol of a generation stepping forward, claiming SA theatre’s future with truth, confidence and flair.
