Relive the seventies with Abba

Songs from the Swedish supergroup are known and loved by everyone, meaning The Abba Show is bound to be a fun, singalong affair.
PUT on your bell-bottom suits, head-bands and cute boots because it’s time for The Abba Show, playing at the Joburg Theatre for a strictly limited season.

The Abba ShowExpect good music and dramaPresented by Showtime Australia, the extravaganza celebrates the magic, talent and history of the popular Swedish pop phenomenon of the 1970s, recreating the authentic look of the group in its costumes, bell-bottoms, boots and disco balls.

The show starts on 18 January and will run until 5 February on the Mandela Stage. Showtime Australia has presented The Abba Show in over 23 countries. The musical is produced by Australian John Van Grinsven.

Van Grinsven says the Abba Show has been touring the world for almost 30 years. “This new show we are producing is more dramatic because the cast arrives on stage in a helicopter,” he says.

He promises a great time at the theatre, with the audience expected to sing along to popular Abba classics such as Mamma Mia, Ring Ring, Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Fernando, and I Do I Do I Do. “The show consist of all the greatest songs from Abba, also all the songs from the musical movie Mama Mia.”

According to Van Grinsven, the show recreates the concert experience, with flawless musicianship and breathtaking theatricality.

For the show, the theatre’s foyer will be turned into a 1970s disco. “So when you arrive upstairs you will be getting into the whole 1970s experience. We just want to change the experience of coming into the Joburg Theatre, change it a little bit from the normal.

“This is a really feel-good show and, as a producer, the most important thing is getting the crowed involved. The vocals are so strong and beautiful and the costumes set in the 1970s. All those things make it a fun show.”

Van Grinsven says working with Joburg Theatre is a privilege, describing it as one of the best-run performance venues in South Africa, if not the world. “What you can do with the staff in this theatre is just amazing. When I produce a new show I like to start here because I get the help and for me that’s the important thing.”

The cast includes a South African woman with a golden voice, Giselle Bouwer. “She has been touring around the world and this will be her first show in South Africa,” says Van Grinsven. “She is really excited to perform at home on the Mandela Stage.”

Bouwer agrees, saying she is thrilled to finally perform at home where her fellow South Africans as well as family and friends will be watching her: “This is going to be a lovely time because the Abba songs are popular as they are being played on radios, so there will be a lot of singing along.”

Abba is one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop music, topping the charts worldwide for over a decade. The foursome is one of best-selling music groups in history, with over 370 million records sold worldwide.

As a Swedish export, Abba also has the distinction of being the first pop group from a non-English-speaking country to top the charts in English-speaking countries.

Ticket prices for The Abba Show start at R140 each and are available on the Joburg Theatre website or via the theatre’s direct ticketing line on 086 167 0670.