Minke Marais puts on her blazer to play Shani in Reënboogrant

At just 23, Minke Marais has already made a name for herself with excellent performances in the likes of Mooiweer en Warm and Dinge van ‘n Kind. Now, she’s summoning her school days to play Shani Brink, one half of the Brink sisters who are at the heart of the new Showmax Original telenovela Reënboogrant.

Inspired by Louise van Niekerk’s bestselling 90s novels, Reënboogrant is a Tshwane-set teen telenovela centred on the Brink family. Minke and Mila de Villiers (Wyfie) co-star as Grade 10 sisters Shani and Sunette Brink, with Paul Strydom (Spooksoeker) as their older brother Dolf, who is in Matric and the school head boy. 

Watch the trailer for Reënboogrant

Also look out for Diepe Waters’ duo Johnny Potsanyane and Righard van Jaarsveld among the teen cast, as well as ex Miss Teen Namibia finalist Marelee Ferreira and Xander Venter in their Showmax debuts. SAFTA and Silwerskerm winner Desiré Gardner (Magda Louw) is the head writer, with André Velts heading up the directing team and Sonvelt Media producing. Sonvelt Media won the 2024 SAFTA for Best Made For TV Movie for ‘n Tyd van Waterpere.

Roz Els spoke with Minke about her lead role in the new Afrikaans Showmax Original telenovela, which premieres today, with two new episodes every Wednesday until 11 June 2025. Reënboogrant will also screen on kykNET, but with only one new episode per week from Friday, 17 January. 

Tell me a little more about yourself and your experience as an actor. When did the acting bug bite?

I was terribly shy as a child so my parents enrolled me in a type of self-confidence school when I was five years old, and that’s where it all started. In primary school, I started doing mime, and did it until Matric. In high school, the acting bug really took hold, because that’s when I first heard about the ATKV Tienertoneel competition. Fun fact: I had my first kiss on stage – during an audition in Grade 10 (laughs). Luckily, I got the role! But the production didn’t progress beyond the regional finals, and I was heartbroken. I remember my dad saying before one of the performances, “Minke, if you’re not going to focus on your maths marks, I’m going to tell them you’re withdrawing from the production,” and I was horrified! (laughs) I just wanted to act, to perform. 

I went on to study drama at university, got an agent and landed some small roles. And then came Mooiweer en Warm and the film Nuwejaar. Last year, I shot another series with Sonvelt Media too. 

Who is Shani? What were your first impressions of her when you met her on paper?

I have a character bible where I make all my notes for all the scripts, and the first thing I wrote about her was, “She’s different.” But I can relate to her. The great thing about her is that she is a dreamer. That’s one of her greatest qualities. She’s like Sandra Prinsloo’s character in Siener in die Suburbs, Tiemie. Tiemie said, “I want to be known.” And that’s 100% Shani’s thing. She wants to be known; she wants to be bigger; she wants to dream; she wants to achieve things in her life rather than stay in Reënboogrant. And that attracted me to the character because I’m a lot like that too: also a dreamer, wanting to do everything in my power to achieve my dreams.

The question I always ask myself when I go into Shani or analyse the scripts is, “To what extremes will you go to achieve your dream?” Her dreams are the biggest drivers of Shani’s decisions and actions. 

Is it strange to pretend to be 16 years old again?

When I put on the school uniform… (laughs) I was a very busy teenager in high school and I remember the feeling of the blazer and the school shoes. And when I put on Shani’s school shoes and blazer that first time and walked to the set, I felt the same as when I was in high school. But it’s fun. It’s exciting to be able to play this role at the age of 23.

I struggled at first to fully understand her, but I realised that I know exactly who she is, not because we necessarily had the same experiences, but because we all go through this spectrum of human emotions. I was 16 too, I had all these questions too, and also made some stupid choices and also did stupid things… We’ve all been there.

Had you read the Reënboogrant books before you got involved in the project?

I hadn’t read the books, but when André told me it was based on the book series, I went and bought them. What makes me excited is how this story serves a lot of different generations. People my mother’s age read and loved the books at the time, but I also have a friend who read the books, and her younger sister also read them. It excites me to know that this is a story that many people already love, with characters that some people have been following for a very long time. It’s especially nice to say that we are now the faces of this beloved story.

How would you describe the relationship between sisters Shani and Sunette (Mila de Villiers)? And how did you and Mila work together to portray the relationship between the two sisters?

I think we have a few things that count in our favour. First of all, Mila and I know each other very well. I called her right away when I heard I got the part. And then we decided to stay together during filming because we both come from Cape Town. We met at university, and I think knowing each other for so long and so well helps us; that chemistry makes us comfortable with each other on screen.

As for Shani and Sunette – everything in life is about relationships. I have a sister of my own, so I know how rivalry between sisters sets in without you even realising it. The same goes for their brother, Dolf, and younger sister, Marietjie. There are things said like, “Who is the favourite?”, “Who’s the most beautiful?”, and things like that. It sounds superficial, but it’s something you have to navigate when you have siblings.