AFTER a hit performance in the successful run of Country Roads, popular Durban entertainer Marion Loudon (pictured) can next be seen in the spectacular production of Glitter Girls.
Having established herself as one of Durban’s top perfor-mers, the crowd really does love her and it’s no surprise why.
Having attended numerous productions in which Loudon has starred, it’s apparent that she is highly talented and has the star quality that is needed for life on the stage. During our one-on-one I learnt that last year and this have been a great run for the actor/ singer. She has appeared in Janine Bennewiths’ hit production Burlesque and Charon Williams Ross’ How to Catch a Cougar and, by the end of last year she had been honoured with the title of Durban’s Theatre Personality.
Explaining her first theatre experience, Loudon aid it went back to her pre-school days. She laughed: “I played Mary in a school play.
“Then the next year I did more plays like Pinocchio. All baby stuff, but yeah I was always into those kind of experiences. Then when I got to high school my love for drama continued. I realised that I loved putting on make-up and going out in front of a crowd. I applied to study Drama and I got in.”
Music means a lot to Loudon: “It’s just inside you. Singing is my favourite thing to do. It’s the soundtrack of my life. I always have the CD player on.
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The only regret I have is that I don’t know how to play an instrument. But singing is my life. I actually get nervous about the acting bit on stage. I go into a frenzy trying to remember my lines,” she said.
It’s interesting that today, music of yesteryear continues to be so popular. I asked Loudon why she thought this was.
“It feels like today, people have run out of ideas.
“So everyone just takes samples of the old stuff. With the new age stuff, you can see that some lines are stolen from the 1970s and that’s the catch, because they couldn’t think of it themselves.
“Music is very forgettable now. Artists come and go, and there’s some crappy music. So that’s the challenge and we all just turn to popular music from the past.”
With regards to Glitter Girls, which also stars Liesl Coppin and Lisa Bobbert, Loudon said working with both of them was the best part about the show: “We’re very close. You rather work with people you trust and are close to because then the production does well and it shows. But getting everyone together is the tough part, with our schedules.”
And with Country Roads, she said there were very talented musicians that she shared the stage with: “There’s a lot of passion and there’s an absence of egos.
“No one in that show is trying to be the star, there’s none of that. And it’s just such an honour to be on stage with them. They don’t know how talented they are. So sharing a stage with people like that for the right reasons is awesome.”
• Catch Loudon in Glitter Girls at the Rhumbelow Theatre from Sunday to November 3. From December 9 to 14 she will appear in The Dolphins by Starlight show at uShaka Marine World.