Key Change – My Favourite Pianists | Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino, Johannesburg | 15 April – 10 May 2026 | Tickets: R150 – R350
I’ll admit something upfront: I’ve seen Jonathan Roxmouth perform an earlier version of this show before. So walking into Key Change this time, I wasn’t the wide-eyed newcomer. I thought I knew what to expect.
I was wrong. Not about the format – that remains largely the same – but about how much I’d enjoy it the second time around. If anything, I appreciated it more. And if you ask me, that’s the more impressive achievement.
1. What is Key Change?
Key Change is Jonathan Roxmouth’s solo concert show, currently running at the Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino in Johannesburg. In it, he celebrates the pianists, composers, and entertainers who have shaped his musical tastes across different phases of his life.
The range is deliberately wide. You get classical composers, JVKE, John Legend, Elton John, a John Williams medley that covers ET, Jaws, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park, and an Alan Menken Disney segment that’ll have you tapping along. A talented five-piece band accompanies him throughout, and they’re a real highlight of the show.
What’s new this season is a top-down camera that projects a live feed of his hands as he plays. For anyone who’s wanted to understand the scale of what they’re watching technically, this detail makes it visible, and what you see is remarkable.
2. The Show vs. The Person
Here’s something I’ve noticed watching Jonathan Roxmouth over the years. He’s so warm and personable on stage that it can feel like you’re watching someone being completely themselves. And in many ways, you are – but it’s also a performance.
The personal stories are curated. The moments that look spontaneous with the band are rehearsed. The sense of familiarity he builds with an audience of strangers is a deliberate craft.
I say this as a genuine compliment. What he’s really exceptional at is making you forget that any of that is true. He creates the sensation of intimacy with hundreds of people at once – and that is a much more impressive skill than simply being talented. For those two hours, he owns that theatre completely. The warmth feels real because the delivery of it is so masterful.
3. A Lineage Worth Appreciating
I’ve followed his career long enough to notice things that a first-time audience member probably wouldn’t pick up on.
The costumes, for example, are not a random choice. This season they lean into the colour palette of a grand piano itself. It’s a deliberate design concept, and it ties the whole visual identity of the show together neatly.
When he performed Call Me Lee in 2014 (his tribute to Liberace) something clicked into place for me. That’s where the aesthetic language in Key Change comes from. The showmanship, the bold outfits, the large ring on his finger. Liberace famously said he wanted his shows to feel like a one-man Disneyland. You can see that philosophy running through Key Change quite clearly.
Jonathan Roxmouth has studied what it means to be a great entertainer. He’s thought deeply about it, and then he’s committed to becoming one. That, more than his considerable natural talent, is what makes Key Change feel different from a standard concert.
4. What Makes It Special
The opening medley is exactly what it should be – crowd favourites that get the audience fully on board before the show shifts into more personal territory. By the time the quieter numbers arrive, you’re already invested.
The John Williams medley is a technical high point of the evening. Watching him move between ET, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and others with that kind of speed and precision is genuinely humbling. He performs everything from memory. Not a sheet of music in sight. At some point during that medley, I stopped listening and just watched his hands.
The interactions with the band are another highlight. He’ll stop mid-performance and challenge a band member to match what he just played (a musical face) off that looks spontaneous and isn’t. The chemistry between them feels completely authentic, and it adds a lightness that stops the show from ever feeling like a one-man showcase.
Something I also noticed was how he interacted with the audience. He’s witty and intentionally corny in the right doses – it all adds to the human quality of the show. What could easily feel like watching a virtuoso perform from a distance, instead feels like a shared evening.
5. Is It Worth Going?
Yes, without question.
At R150 – R350 a ticket, Key Change is genuinely exceptional value. This is world-class talent on a Johannesburg stage and the price point makes that an unusually good deal. I’ve reviewed several shows at Montecasino over the years, and I’d put this among the best I’ve seen there. If you enjoy live concert experiences at this venue, you might also like my reviews of Swingin’ Las Vegas and the 2025 return season – a different format, but a similar spirit of live musicianship done exceptionally well.
Millennial audiences will find the modern song selection particularly enjoyable, but the Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Joel numbers make sure older audiences aren’t left out either. It works for a date night, a family evening, or even a solo trip. Montecasino has plenty of restaurant options, so make an evening of it.
6. Where to Sit
This matters more than you might think, because of where the piano faces.
Sit on the left-hand side of the theatre. This is where you’ll get the best view of him at the piano, rather than having to rely on the live camera feed. Just make sure you’re a few seats in from the aisle so you’re not looking at the back of him. If you’d rather take in the full production with the band, set, and lighting, the left half further back gives you the widest view without sacrificing the sightline.
Either way: left side in my opinion.
Closing Thoughts
Jonathan Roxmouth’s Key Change is a polished, generous evening of live performance. It’s also a reminder of what separates a great performer from a great entertainer – and Jonathan Roxmouth is firmly in the latter category.
I’ve seen him do this before. I’d see him do it again.
⭐ 9/10 – One of the best shows currently running in Johannesburg. Don’t miss it.
Key Change runs at the Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino, Fourways, Johannesburg until 10 May 2026. Show times: Wednesday to Friday at 19h30; Saturday at 15h00 and 19h30; Sunday at 14h00 and 18h00. Tickets from R150 – R350 via Webtickets.
