The musical, Calling Us Home , debuted on Sunday night (14.10.18) at the Artscape to a standing ovation.
The star of the show, lead actress, Lynelle Kenned gave audiences all the feels with her spine-chillingly beautiful soprano vocals. No stranger to the spotlight, you may recognise the UCT Opera graduate as a former contestant on My Top Billing Dream Presenter Search in 2012. She has also gone on to be a presenter on Pasella and starred in the hit musical West Side Story.
A post shared by Calling Us Home (@callingushomemusical) on Oct 15, 2018 at 5:25am PDT
We were lucky enough to sit down with the rising star to talk about her role, the entertainment industry, and what she loves to do when she’s off duty.
GLAMOUR: For people who haven’t seen the production, can you tell us a little bit about your role
LYNELLE KENNED: I play the character of Grace in Calling Us Home. Grace is a wonderfully round character because you meet her at the beginning of the show, where war has just broken out, and she’s leaving her family. As her story progresses she gets [the audience] to experience her inner strength and the transformative effect she has on the people around her. She goes through loss, and [the audience] also gets to see her in a new environment where she is trying to find her feet and find love.
G: What do you do off duty?
LK: If I have breaks during rehearsals, my spiritual practices are a very important part of staying full, in order to continue to create. I do a lot of yoga, meditation, and running. If I have a few weeks or a month between work, I go travelling. I go to another side of the world and reconnect with myself and discover a new culture. Over Christmas and New Year last year, I did India for a few weeks. After I wrap shooting on my new show on VIA (DSTV Channel 147), I’ll head off to Thailand for a few weeks.
G: You have such gorgeous curls. What is your daily hair routine
LK: Most days I put my hair in a top knot because I have a huge afro. I swear by Aunt Jackies – the hair oil and the leave in cream. I take the afro out for effect when I am at events.
A post shared by Calling Us Home (@callingushomemusical) on Sep 28, 2018 at 8:50am PDT
G: Have you always been a natural girl?
LK: I was 2o before I realised that I had curly hair. Because of relaxer, blow drying and flat ironing, I didn’t even know that my hair was curly. When I had left home to university, and my mom wasn’t around to blow dry my hair, I started to notice that my hair was growing out kinky. So I just left it that way. It’s so much easier now because I can exercise and do anything without stressing about my hair all the time. [Going natural] has given me freedom!
G: Who is your Man Crush?
LK: Any man that is an active feminist.
G: How do you feel about being a woman in entertainment?
LK: I think it’s very exciting. I’m very vocal about issues, I write about many things that I think about on social media, such as gender equality, spirituality, and sexuality.
G: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
LK: I want to do a lot more performance art pieces by using the Classical voice. I want to do a lot more travelling, and also I want to be signed with a label as a recording artist.
Calling Us Home is currently showing at the Artscape in Cape Town until October 28 2018, before it moves on to other Mzansi cities. Book your ticket here.
Want to see what else we’re listening to and watching? Click here!
