Jackie Cunniffe (Theatre Director)

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Jackie has been involved in theatre since 1986 when she joined the Natal Performing Arts Council as a member of their Sound Department; later becoming the youngest person and first female within the South African Arts Councils to be appointed as Head of Sound and Chief Sound Designer.  Whilst working at the Playhouse, she studied through UNISA and achieved a Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude) in Communication and Psychology, and later a Masters in Business Administration through the Cardiff Business School, for which she was top student.

She has designed the sound for major productions such as Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, Elton John- This is His Song, Night of 100 Stars, Suite Sting and A Night to Remember which was staged in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen, and has worked on a diverse range of freelance projects, from corporate launches and touring theatre productions to several Splashy Fen Festivals.

Wesley Maherry (Production Manager)

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Wesley holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours): Drama and Performance Studies cum laude from the former University of Natal. Since graduating in 2002, he has been actively involved in the performing arts industry in a variety of capacities both on and off stage.

In addition to his expertise and experience in the technical aspects of theatre production, Wesley has done flamenco dancing since the age of 6 and has performed as part of the Linda Vargas Flamenco Dance Company since 1998.  He has also guest performed with companies in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and was one of the founder members of Flatfoot’s professional contemporary dance company.

Wesley spent two years at Black Coffee Productions, first as a technician and then as operations manager, before deciding to continue as a freelance practitioner, working in a variety of capacities in venues all over Durban - primarily as a lighting designer but also as an educator.

Tina le Roux (Production Manager)

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Tina graduated Cum Laude with her BA honours degree in Drama and Performance Studies from the former University of Natal (Durban).  In her career so far, she has worn many hats, including Company Manager (Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre), Theatre Manager (The Courtyard Theatre) and Production Manager (The Playhouse Company); but it is her work as a Lighting Designer and Production Manager of which she is most proud.

Tina's career highlights so far include ‘Shrek’,  ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Venus in Fur’, ‘Peter Pan’, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, ‘Cabaret’, ‘Wit’, ‘Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Sweeney Todd’. Other credits include Think Theatre’s ‘Tree Boy’ and ‘Abnormal Loads’ by Neil Coppen, and ‘Little Foot’ for the Market Theatre. She received the 2008 Durban Theatre award for Outstanding Lighting Design for ‘The Wizard of Oz’; in 2009 for ‘Wit’, 2011 for ‘Cabaret’, 2012 for ‘Abnormal Loads’, 2013 for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and 2014 for  ‘Sweeney Todd’. She was also the recipient of the prestigious Naledi Award in 2012 for “Abnormal Loads”.

Sharmla Naidoo (Senior Admin Assistant)

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Sharmla has worked at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre since 1998, and is an invaluable member of the team.  She is essentially the only office-bound staff member who works regular hours, and is therefore relied on heavily to provide operational continuity and ensure good communication between all staff members.  Sharmla is generally the friendly voice on the other side of the phone and the warm, welcoming smile at the theatre’s reception, in addition to being PA to the Theatre Director.  She loves to spend her free time with her son Mason and is in fact only one of two current Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre staff members to have a human child (the rest of us have cats, bicycles, horses and Woolworths meals to keep us company).  Sharmla is also the only one to have achieved an attractive photo of herself for this website.

Mangaliso Bhengu (Front of House Manager)

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Mangaliso (Manga) has been involved with the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre since late 2011 - initially as a bartender and then as an usher too. His love for theatre was awoken during a spell at UKZN (Howard College), while he still had delusions of being an accountant. He also studied Law for a year at Unisa, but quickly realised this was not for him either.  Mangaliso; known to his friends as Manga, has had spells at ACSA as well as Transnet, prior to the best choice of committing his attention fully to the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, when the opportunity arose. Manga is a friendly and approachable person that can interact freely with people, and joins Sharmla as the only other staff member at the Sneddon to have a human child.