Harry Sideropoulos
After-Dinner, Motivation, Change Management, Entertainers, Masters Of Ceremony

Harry Sideropoulos has been producing and performing award-winning theatre in South Africa and abroad for the past 8 years.

Born in Johannesburg South Africa in May of 1974, of Greek descent, Harry was first thrown into the media spotlight in 1998 when by absolute chance he was asked to join the ranks of the morning team on Johannesburg's biggest breakfast show, The Rude Awakening on 94.7 Highveld Stereo. He had cemented himself as integral part of the show for 6 years before resigning in 2004 to pursue his theatrical career full time.

His theatrical shows have been sold-out triumphs, all with a unique Sideropoulos signature style of performance and have taken him to Athens, London, Toronto and Montreal.
His most celebrated show "No Sugar, Canderel Please" celebrated 6 sold-out seasons in Johannesburg and Durban before moving to Toronto in 2007 for a limited engagement.

He has garnered 5 Naledi theatre awards for his hit musical ‘Big Band Blast' and earlier this year was awarded his sixth Naledi for best male lead in a musical for his portrayal of Edna Turnblad in the Broadway musical ‘Hairspray'.

Harry is currently in pre-production for his new musical to be staged at The Nelson Mandela Theatre at The Johannesburg Civic Theatre, Mediterraneo, as well as the second season of his critically acclaimed one-man show, ‘Happy Shabalala, the artist formerly known as Harry Sideropoulos'.

Harry would now like to share with you and your team, his various entertainment offerings for the corporate industry.

"How to change your life and still make it to lunch"
Transformational talk

As a teenager, Harry always wanted to be in entertainment, not subscribe to corporate pigeon-hole structures, take leisurely lunches without the angst of having to get back to work, lose weight and become an award winning actor. So you're probably thinking, ‘Pick a number and stand in line Mr Sid.'

Well, through a 45-minute inspirational talk, Harry takes the audience on a thought-provoking and hysterically funny personal journey of Greek madness and over-catered Sunday lunches, leaving his comfort zone of the radio to follow his dream, finding his truth, winning a Naledi Theatre Award for ‘Hairspray', severing the perpetual umbilical cord, loosing 52 kilo's and finally accepting that he has all the right not to be, who he isn't!

"How to change your life and still make it to lunch"
Sees Harry talking about his own ‘Rude Awakening'. It's honest, sincere, theatrical and very, very funny, succeeding to inspire even the biggest of sceptics.

"I thought it was going to be another one of those Dr Phil-like talks, but Harry blew me away!"
Annette Botha - Teacher
Bedfordview

"He speaks from his heart. Very moving"
Chantal Stevenson -Personal trainer
Craighall Park

"He's hysterical and so entertaining"
Jonathan Bottler - Student at Wits
Kensington

"I wanted more when it was over."
Eloise Righter - IT Call Centre
Rivonia

Seen by over 3,000 South Africans, make "How to change your life and still make it to lunch" an integral part of your corporate event.

A PERFECT CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER
Arja Salafranca, theatre reviewer for the Sunday

Independent, calls it a "tour-de force" - A new one man hit comedy, Happy Shabalala, starring multi-award winning performer and producer Harry Sideropoulos - having just completed its inaugural run at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre complex, to rave reviews:

"Harry acts out common South African behaviour and turns it into hysterical theatre. His satirical eye is razor sharp, his humour biting and incisive. And his dancing will spark new trends."
David O'Sullivan, Radio 702

"Harry is a natural comedian, at ease with his surroundings and able to spin a yarn with its many nuances in a wonderfully witty fashion... This is the sort of show we all need right now."
Peter Feldman, Atrslink

The show covers many aspects of South African life, from the incongruities between warm and fuzzy marketing messaging to poor service that is actually experienced, and many others - but in a way that is warm, engaging, elicits laughter, provides answers and elicits hope.

As Christina Kennedy of Showbuzz puts it, "what elevates this show beyond the usual send-ups of crime, white paranoia and the like, is the fact that Sideropoulos - with co-writers Strato Copteros and Charmaine Weir-Smith - adopts a more thought-provoking and offbeat approach. He doesn't state the obvious or trot out the usual stale jokes, but rather gently coaxes us to look beyond the surface in such an engaging way that you don't even notice that he's doing it."

Peter Feldman, legendary SA theatre reviewer, said, "During this slick, intimate performance Harry tackles a variety of subjects that are close to our hearts and, through his writing team, manages to extract some of the funnier elements to create some highly amusing lines.."

Combining stand-up comedy, skit-satire and song and dance, Happy Shabalala is intelligently irreverent, hilariously insightful and ideal as a corporate communications and entertainment event tool - particular with its witty and insightful analysis and extremely upbeat dance finale that is hysterically funny and totally uplifting!

The show currently runs at just over an hour in length, but its modular construction of various skits, songs, direct speech and dance, allow it to be very easily seamlessly trimmed to the perfect length.

The potential also exists to create an original tailored skit to suit any particular event, in combination with the play's existing material.

Unusual, thought-provoking, very funny and ultimately positive, Happy Shabalala is taking comedy to new levels and the theatre world by storm.

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See Harry's other web site HARRY