After his appearance on Showmax's Spinners, David Isaacs has made a comeback on the platform as a director of Mince Jou Hare.
The feelgood, small-town sitcom, which is now live on the streaming platform, follows the story of a person's pursuit of their dreams.
Speaking of the evolution of his career, David said becoming a director was not always in his plans.
“My role as an actor was clearly defined; that was all I wanted to do. I just wanted to explore different forms of acting. I did dramatic and comedy roles, and learned to be a versatile performer,” he said.
“I was coerced into directing when I met my wife [Ndoni Khanyile, aka Barbara Bhembe from Tali’s Joburg Diary] about 14 years ago. My wife noticed that my thinking has always been inclined to be on the creative side, and she encouraged me to explore this.”
David said he enjoys the collaborative effort it takes to create a body of work and enjoys being “in the trenches” with actors.
“I like the fact that as a director I can create the conditions for people to have fun. If people have fun while doing the work, and they’re not under stress or feeling bad about themselves, generally you’ll get a really great project at the end. Especially with comedy, you want actors to be comfortable, to feel as if it is a space where they can thrive and enjoy themselves, where they will be eager to come to work. This then creates an organic comedy, because you can’t write a lot of this, you have to find it in the moment.”
South African shows have grown to showcase more diversity over time. David believes the change is due to viewers' hunger to see a reflection of their reality more.
“I feel so lucky now that there is a whole library of different characters I can choose from in the coloured community. A whole field has opened up as to what roles are now available for coloured actors. And you can see that diversity in Mince Jou Hare and the way it represents coloured people, who are all different but just happen to live in the same small town.”
'Spinners' actor David Isaacs on how his wife, Ndoni Khanyile, inspired his directorial role
Image: Facebook
After his appearance on Showmax's Spinners, David Isaacs has made a comeback on the platform as a director of Mince Jou Hare.
The feelgood, small-town sitcom, which is now live on the streaming platform, follows the story of a person's pursuit of their dreams.
Speaking of the evolution of his career, David said becoming a director was not always in his plans.
“My role as an actor was clearly defined; that was all I wanted to do. I just wanted to explore different forms of acting. I did dramatic and comedy roles, and learned to be a versatile performer,” he said.
“I was coerced into directing when I met my wife [Ndoni Khanyile, aka Barbara Bhembe from Tali’s Joburg Diary] about 14 years ago. My wife noticed that my thinking has always been inclined to be on the creative side, and she encouraged me to explore this.”
David said he enjoys the collaborative effort it takes to create a body of work and enjoys being “in the trenches” with actors.
“I like the fact that as a director I can create the conditions for people to have fun. If people have fun while doing the work, and they’re not under stress or feeling bad about themselves, generally you’ll get a really great project at the end. Especially with comedy, you want actors to be comfortable, to feel as if it is a space where they can thrive and enjoy themselves, where they will be eager to come to work. This then creates an organic comedy, because you can’t write a lot of this, you have to find it in the moment.”
South African shows have grown to showcase more diversity over time. David believes the change is due to viewers' hunger to see a reflection of their reality more.
“I feel so lucky now that there is a whole library of different characters I can choose from in the coloured community. A whole field has opened up as to what roles are now available for coloured actors. And you can see that diversity in Mince Jou Hare and the way it represents coloured people, who are all different but just happen to live in the same small town.”
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