Barefoot Arts Meander 2026 — Superfan (John Maytham)

James Milton Taylor made his fortune the old-fashioned way: service stations, hard graft, and an unshakeable belief in South Africa.

He wasn't always a rugby man (tennis was his game growing up), but somewhere between 1994 and the Rassie era, he became a convert. Now he's a Springbok superfan through and through.

With the 2027 Rugby World Cup on the horizon and talk of a Three-Peat in the air, James has a plan, and it's bigger than rugby. He's called in an advertising agency to help him pitch a vision that's part business, part legacy, and entirely his own. What follows is one man's pitch: funny, heartfelt, and unmistakably South African, about what it means to believe in a better country, and to actually try and build one.

A comedy-drama about family, reinvention, and the strange, unifying power of a game played by fifteen players a side.

Performed by John Maytham.

John Maytham is a talk show host on 567 CapeTalk. A trained actor, he made the switch to radio over twenty years ago when he joined the news team at Radio 604. He joined Primedia Broadcasting and helped establish CapeTalk, fulfilling the role of both News Editor and Breakfast Host; he was the first host to switch on the mic at the station. He is known for his in-depth interviews, as well as his book reviews, wine writing and one-man shows.

Playwright: Mike van Graan is the President of the African Cultural Policy Network and an award-winning playwright with 32 plays under his belt. He is currently an artist-in-residence at the University of Pretoria, where he was conferred with an honorary doctorate in 2018 in recognition of his cultural activism and creative work.