Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Warren Leight’s Side Man is a deeply moving and fiercely energetic memory play that chronicles the fading heartbeat of a golden era in American music. The story is guided by Clifford, who acts as the narrator of his own turbulent upbringing, shifting effortlessly between the vibrant past and the fractured present. He invites the audience into his rich recollections of his parents: his father, Gene, a masterful but oblivious jazz trumpeter whose sole devotion is to his horn, and his mother, Terry, whose dreams are slowly dismantled by the erratic, gig-to-gig lifestyle of a working musician.
 
Described by critics as both “powerfully unsettling” and "enormously moving,” this unexpectedly comic family drama captures a time "when jazzmen were heroic like ballplayers and there was no shortage of Saturday-night gigs." Yet, as the dawn of rock 'n' roll begins to sweep the nation and the big bands are forced to pack up their instruments, the men who mastered their musical obsession find themselves left behind.

Elevated by spectacular double casting and featuring live jazz vocalists in a special collaboration with St Augustine's, this production captures the authentic atmosphere of mid-century jazz clubs. Side Man is a masterful tribute to the forgotten musicians of a bygone era and a profound exploration of the family members who lived in the silence between their notes. Side Man is directed by Jaco van Wyk with musical direction by Monde Msutswana. The cast includes the talent of both the St Alban’s College Drama and Music Departments and features guest artists Inge Crafford-Lazarus and Cara Meiring. Set and lighting design by Wilhelm Disbergen, with costumes from designer Gwendi Botha Gourley