.png)
PRESS: Belinda Davids follows in the footsteps of Whitney Houston with THE BODYGUARD The Musical
Jenni Fletcher
When fame, danger and desire collide, an unexpected romance unfolds! THE BODYGUARD The Musical makes its South African premiere at the Artscape Theatre in March 2027, proudly presented by Showtime Management.
Based on the iconic film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, this electrifying musical brings the unforgettable story of superstar Rachel Marron and her bodyguard, Frank Farmer, to the stage.
The stage musical features glamorous superstar energy, romance, edge-of-your-seat drama, and superb design as it showcases some of Whitney Houston’s biggest chart-topping hits, including “I Will Always Love You,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “Queen of the Night,” “I Have Nothing,” “Run to You” and “So Emotional”.
THE BODYGUARD is a spectacular theatrical experience for Whitney Houston fans and musical theatre audiences alike. It’s an unforgettable love story that sees a former Secret Service agent Frank Farmer, hired as a private bodyguard to protect global singing superstar Rachel Marron from a mystery stalker, struggling to balance his duty to protect her and her family with his growing feelings for his client. A review of the international production on TripAdvisor praises the high-energy staging and events, saying “Audiences consistently enjoy the dazzling stage sets, stunning costume changes, vibrant choreography, and thrilling theatrical highlights.” The Telegraph’s Tim Hatley called it “Spectacularly and ingeniously designed” and The Independent proclaimed, “You go in humming the tunes, you come out whooping them!”
At the time of its release in 1992, The Bodyguard was the tenth highest-grossing film in history, with the soundtrack, performed by Whitney Houston, broke all records, becoming the best-selling soundtrack album in history, selling more than 45 million copies worldwide. It also won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. “I Will Always Love You”, the lead single, was a mega-hit – the best-selling single by a female artist of all time. The Oscars were fans, too, with the songs “I Have Nothing” and “Run To You” both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Producers Showtime Management are proud to announce the casting of Gqeberha-born Belinda Davids, who has toured all over the world in the highly rated ‘The Greatest Love Of All’.
Hazel Feldman of Showtime Management is thrilled to have Belinda Davids on board as the show’s lead. “This is such a huge, challenging vocal role, and Belinda has built a reputation around the world as one of the best in the business when it comes to giving Whitney Houston’s songs the same incredible power as the originals,” she says. “And the rest of the cast is just as exciting – watch this space!”
Belinda Davids cannot wait to follow, once again, in her heroine’s footsteps. “I have loved Whitney Houston since I was a child, so to have this new opportunity – and fresh, exciting challenges! – is a wonderful blessing. I’m so grateful.”
Davids, whose four-octave vocal range mirrors Houston’s – an extraordinary gift – moves from being a soloist into her first role in musical theatre as superstar singer Rachel Marron.
Belinda Davids is supremely familiar with this music from her successful performance career to date, with no less than Simon Cowell being a huge fan of her talent. In 2020, she reached the finals of Series 14 of Britain’s Got Talent. Before her audition, on hearing that she would be covering Whitney Houston material, Cowell suggested that those would be “tough shoes to fill”. Davids then delivered a powerful rendition of “One Moment in Time”, inspiring a standing ovation from Cowell, who commented: “That was the audition we'd been waiting for all season.” She received similar acclaim in Spain in 2023, receiving a Golden Buzzer on the show Got Talent: All-Stars and advancing to the final in a moment aired on television all over Europe.
As she adds acting and dancing to her repertoire in THE BODYGUARD, Davids will be supported by an all-South African cast, crew and band – details soon to be announced.
This marks back-to-back shows based on blockbuster Hollywood films for Showtime Management, who recently brought PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL to South Africa for the first time and now a return season of MAMMA MIA! which is currently on stage and enjoying critical acclaim in Cape Town before moving to Montecasino’s Teatro from 16 October 2026. This further cements the reputation of this leading local promoter and producer for being synonymous with major musicals featuring an all-South African cast, crew and musicians. The phenomenal cast will be announced early in October 2026, with fans clamouring to see which stars will play which roles – particularly the iconic leads, Rachel Marron and Frank Farmer.
THE BODYGUARD The Musical opens at Artscape in Cape Town on 12 March 2027 before transferring to the Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg on 23 April 2027. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster, the exclusive ticketing agent.
Don’t miss Early Bird specials for both seasons: 20% discount for Wednesday 17 March 2027 and Thursday 18 March 2027 at Artscape, Cape Town and for Wednesday 28 April 2027 and Thursday 29 April 2027 at the Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg. Maximum six tickets per customer. Limited tickets available.
Terrific Tuesday discounts available. Ts and Cs apply. A 20% block booking discount is offered on groups of 20+ on selected shows for specific price categories.
Only valid tickets purchased through the exclusively appointed Ticketmaster will be honoured. Please note that this production has a PG rating 12+ owing to adult themes, language and content. Parental guidance is advised.