Lara Bye is a prolific and versatile theatre director and educator whose work travels extensively locally and abroad. She directs across genres from opera to physical comedy, large-scale outdoor events and more intimate dramas in both English and Afrikaans. Her latest directorial project, the stage adaptation of Mark Behr’s best-selling novel Die reuk van appels is now playing at The Fugard Theatre. Continue reading
Mamela Nyamza is an internationally renowned choreographer, dance artist, activist and Standard Bank Young Artist winner. After a successful run in The Netherlands, her carefully curated double bill, Rock to the Core and De-Apart-Hate arrives at the Baxter Theatre for a limited engagement before jetting off to be performed in Germany.
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Nicole Fortuin is the true definition of an artist. As an accomplished actress, dancer, photographer and director, Nicole has managed to take the film, theatre and television industry by storm since graduating from UCT only three years ago. Impressive credits aside, Nicole has made it a priority to use her platform as a young creative to bring awareness to the causes that she believes in. We sat down to talk about her success, staying grounded and navigating the world of social media.
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LJ Neilson arrived in South Africa six years ago and has rapidly become one of South Africa’s most in demand musical theatre performers. She has starred in some of South Africa’s biggest hits including Dirty Dancing, Singin’ in the Rain, Funny Girl and Saturday Night Fever for which she was honoured with a 2017 Naledi Award nomination. Later this year she will take on the role of Eva Perón, twice a week, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita which begins performance at Joburg’s Montecasino in October before transferring to Cape Town’s Artscape Opera House in December.
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As the creator of Theatre Scene Cape Town, Barbara Loots has managed to take her passion for theatre and turn it into a digital initiative sharing what the thriving Cape Town theatre industry has to offer, all in the name of getting “bums on seats.” In five short years she has managed to transform Theatre Scene Cape Town into a thriving online resource. She is also a director of Cape Town Angels, an NPC that believes in spreading the magic of compassion. In addition, she also makes up half of the dynamic duo known as Loots Digital. Barbara has managed to effortlessly achieve all of this while balancing her full-time career in law. Continue reading
Actress and artist, Jemma Kahn returns to the Alexander Bar with In Bocca al lupo, her latest Kamishibai endeavor. Following the breakout success that was Epicene Butcher and We Didn’t Come To Hell For The Croissants, Jemma has become a pioneer of not only the Kamishibai style in South Africa but for boldly creating her own boundary-pushing work. Continue reading
Theatre legends Diane Wilson, Kate Normington and Michele Maxwell have joined forces to star in The Fugard Theatre’s production of Funny Girl. With over a century’s worth of experience between the three of them, they have graced South African stages playing all the iconic roles that theatre has to offer, all while collecting every top accolade along the way. What is interesting to note is the bond that has formed between these three women during the run of the show, leading us to believe that the “sisterhood of the poker ladies” will continue to live on far beyond this production.
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Jennie Reznek is multihyphenate. She is a performer, theatremaker, director, choreographer, lecturer, co-founder, trustee and director of Magnet Theatre. She has also worked as an aerialist and clown in the circus. We sat down with her at the Magnet Theatre offices to discuss her career, the challenges of founding a theatre company and the moments that have inspired her. Continue reading
Stage and screen actress Tinarie van Wyk Loots is currently performing in Hemelruim at The Fugard Theatre, a role that has already awarded her Best Actress at The Aardklop National Arts Festival, the KKNK and at the kykNET Fiëstas 2016. In this year alone, Tinarie has already appeared on stage in five major productions. Awards and production credits aside, Tinarie radiates passion for the work that she does.
To read the conversation in Afrikaans please click here.
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Over the course of her career, stage and screen actress Jennifer Steyn has gifted audiences with some truly iconic performances. Fresh off her recent Fleur du Cap Theatre Award win for her role as Sara in Lara Foot‘s The Inconvenience of Wings, Jennifer is back on stage, this time tackling the role of the strong-willed painter Galactia in Howard Baker’s Scenes from an Execution. In addition to her work as an actress, Jennifer is also a director and a voice and performance teacher. We sat down with her at the Baxter Theatre to discuss her new production, her career and the moments that have inspired her.
Sarafina Magazine 