Taliep Petersen

Taliep Petersen (1950 - 16 December, 2006) was a South African singer, composer and director of a number of popular musicals. He worked most notably with David Kramer, with whom he won an Olivier Award.

Career

One of "South Africa's best known theatre personalities", cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/.stm|title=SA celebrity murdered in robbery|publisher=BBC News|date=December 17, 2006] Petersen was born in the multi-cultural neighbourhood of Cape Town, District Six. He first sang publicly aged six, at the Coon Carnival.cite news|url=http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=342&fArticleId= |title=Living Legend - Petersen is nowhere near done|publisher=The Cape Argus|date=January 07, 2005] His first theatre performance was a part in a 1974 production of "Hair", followed by "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" . After a period studying classical guitar at the Fitznell School of Music in England, he wrote his first revue, called "Carnival a la District Six", based on the New Year celebrations in Cape Town. cite web|url=http://www.english-theatre.org/et_new/html/main.php?nav=46&url=3Kat.html|title=Kat and the Kings|publisher=The English Theatre|accessdate=]

In the 1980s, Petersen formed a band, called Sapphyre, that played interpretations of traditional Cape Malay songs. In 1986 he and David Kramer collaborated on the first of a number of musicals together, ', exploring the culture and history of the Coloured community in Cape Town.cite web|url=http://www.musicals.co.za/district_six.html|title=District Six - The Musical|publisher=Musicmakers|accessdate=] This was followed by "Poison", "Fairyland", "Crooners", "Kat and the Kings", "Klop Klop" and '.cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,,00.html|title=Spice Drum Beat: Ghoema|date=December 13, 2006|publisher=Times Online] A number of these toured internationally; "Kat and the Kings" had runs in Las Vegas, New York's Broadway and in London's West End. Ghoema had opened in London's Tricycle Theatre shortly before Petersen's death. cite news|url=http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/|title=Taliep Petersen shot dead in robbery|publisher=Mail&Guardian online|date=December 17, 2006] In 1999 he and Kramer won the Best New Musical Olivier Award for "Kat and the Kings", with the cast sharing the Best Actor in a Musical award. cite web|url=http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/awards/winners/display?contentId=72654|title=The Nominees and Winners of The Laurence Olivier Awards for 1999|publisher=London Theatre Guide|accessdate=]

In 2001 he presented a television series about District Six called "O'se Distrik Ses" and has featured on South Africa reality talent shows, "Idols" and "Joltyd". in 2002, he created a sitcom called "Alie Barber". In 2005, a second season of "Alie Barber" was shown and Petersen released songs from the series on the 2006 album "Deur Dik en Dun", his first in Afrikaans.

Death

Petersen, a practising Muslim, was twice married and fathered six children. He was shot dead at his home on 16 December, 2006. In tribute Ebrahim Rasool, premier of the Western Cape, praised Petersen's ability to "capture our entire history, express our deepest pain, articulate our joy, and demonstrate our humanity through music and drama."

On 18 June, 2007 Najwa Petersen, the wife of Taliep Petersen, was arrested at the family home in connection with the murder. Together with three men she was charged with his "planned and/or premeditated" murder. cite news|url=http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2134110,00.html|title=Wife charged in Petersen murder|publisher=News24.com|date=June 19, 2007] Their trial is due to be heard in Cape Town in 2008. cite news|url=http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20080304054709754C248541|title=Najwa's new defence not happy|publisher=iol.co.za|date=March 3, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.musicals.co.za/district_six.html District Six: The Musical]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,,00.html Obituary: Taliep Petersen] , "The Guardian", January 8, 2007.
* [http://www.satimes.co.uk/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1015&Itemid=73 Taliep Petersen - His music lives on ] , "SA Times", January 11, 2007.