Three dads and a wedding: Mamma Mia! brings Greek-island chaos and ABBA to Artscape

Weddings can be stressful, but Sophie Sheridan has a plan. Like any bride-to-be, she wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. There is just one small problem: she has invited three men who could all be her father.

And, naturally, she has not told her mother. That is the recipe for the delightful family muddle at the heart of MAMMA MIA!, which opened at Artscape Theatre on Thursday, September 3, and runs until October 11.

Set on a Greek island, the musical follows 20-year-old Sophie and the jolly chaos that unfolds as she prepares to marry her sweetheart while trying to solve one small family mystery: which of three men from her mother Donna’s past is her biological father?

Things get complicated

Naturally, things get complicated. Fortunately, Sophie has her best friends Ali and Lisa in her corner, while Donna has the equally loyal – and rather more experienced – Dynamos, Tanya and Rosie.

Directed by Janice Honeyman, the South African production brings together a strong local cast, with Amra-Faye Wright as Donna, Samantha Peo as Tanya, Lindy Abromowitz Sachs as Rosie and Leah Mari as Sophie. Jordan Rogers and Michelle Juncker play Ali and Lisa.

Honeyman, who also directed the 2024 production, first saw the show in London and admits she needed little persuasion when producer Hazel Feldman asked her to return.

“ABBA are genius,” she says, praising their music and lyrics.

For Honeyman, though, beneath the Greek sunshine and familiar songs lies something more meaningful.

She hopes audiences recognise “what real life is like” beneath the fantasy – particularly the importance of heart, love and kindness.

“That, I think, is something that people will get from the show and then walk out jolling with all the music,” she said.

All the drama, all the magic, all the hits

Her favourite ABBA song is perhaps an unexpected choice: Slipping Through My Fingers, which captures a mother watching her daughter grow up and prepare to leave home.

There will, of course, be plenty of Dancing Queen, I Have a Dream and The Winner Takes It All along the way.

So, expect romance, friendship, family secrets – and enough ABBA to make leaving the theatre without humming something virtually impossible.

The show runs till Sunday, October 11. 

Tickets are available at Showtime.co.za or Ticketmaster.co.za