Subscribe & Follow
#CannesLions
- The new standardCarl Willoughby
- All the South African winnersDanette Breitenbach
- Final Grande Prix and LionsDanette Breitenbach
Trending
- #Cannes2024: All the South African winnersDanette Breitenbach
- Executive pay: The virus Elon Musk is exporting back to SAAnn Crotty for Just Share
#MusicExchange: David Kramer
Originally written in the early 1990s, Poison was very well received in South Africa, Malaysia and England. It had a return season, directed by Bobby Heaney, at the Baxter Theatre in 2004 as part of the Klipfontein Corridor Project.
![#MusicExchange: David Kramer](https://biz-file.com/c/1910/520162-700x467.jpg)
With this reworked version of the powerful musical, Kramer has decided to tell the story from the point of view of Pamela – a social worker who is writing her thesis on drug abuse in the Cape Flats.
Kramer was also the Music Exchange keynote speaker, this year, and brought a wealth of knowledge to attendees; consider the fact that over two million people have seen his theatre productions.
I caught up with the master, last week.
When are you happiest?
I’m happiest when I’m in a creative space – using my imagination to find solutions to the problems I’ve set myself
What does music mean to you?
Music is a means of expressing and soliciting emotion.
What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?
Thinking about it, and collaborating with other creatives.
What drives you: ego or humility?
I think ego drives the creative process, but it needs to be tempered by humility.
Your heroes?
Many – from Charles Chaplin to Chuck Berry.
What is your most treasured possession?
A ukulele that was given to me by my oupa and ouma when I was six.
It’s your round, what are you drinking?
A dry white wine.
What makes you stand out?
An original vision. The pursuit of that which gives expression to how I interpret my situation.
![#MusicExchange: David Kramer](https://biz-file.com/c/1910/520163-700x467.jpg)
If you were not a musician, what would you do?
I don’t think of myself as a musician. I use music and words to help engage others emotionally. I would paint.
Pick five words to describe yourself?
Curious. Hasty. Self-absorbed. Funny. Serious.
Favourite fashion garment:
My porkpie hat.
Give us some real proper slang and what it means:
Wakkerslaap: To be alert to possibilities.
Top of your bucket list:
I don’t make lists or have a bucket.
Your greatest achievement:
Performing my work on The West End, Broadway and Carnegie Hall.
What do you complain about most often?
Short-sighted politics.
What is your fear?
That the greedy will not be stopped.
Happiness is:
Elusive, but manifests in my connections with others.
On stage, I tend to:
Become the persona that I keep hidden most of the time.
![Martin Myers](https://biz-file.com/b/1701/181135-140x176.jpg?1)
![](/res/img/s.gif)