A Conversation with Nadia Davids

Nadia Davids is a writer, theatre-maker and scholar. Her plays, At Her Feet and Cissie, have garnered various theatre awards and nominations and has been staged internationally. Her play What Remains will be performed during The National Arts Festival before returning to Cape Town for a limited run. Her debut novel An Imperfect Blessing was long-listed for the Sunday Times Fiction Award and shortlisted for the UJ Prize and the Pan-African Etisalat Prize for Literature. She holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town and, as an A.W. Mellon Fellow, has been a visiting scholar/artist at the University of California Berkley and at New York University. She lectured at Queen Mary University of London between 2009-2016 and is a recipient of a Philip Leverhulme Prize.  Continue reading

A Conversation with Thando Mangcu

Thando Mangcu is an actress, director and theatre-maker. She burst onto the theatre scene in 2016 co-creating, co-directing and performing in The Fall, which went on to win the Encore Award at this year’s Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards. She has also just been named as the newest recipient of the highly coveted Theatre Arts Admin Collective’s Emerging Director’s Bursary. The Fall is currently making it’s return to the Baxter before jetting off to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
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Guest Post: Being a woman in the world of Viljoen

Actress and author, Emily Child is currently starring in The Eulogists at The Fugard Theatre, a play that reunites her once more with playwright Louis Viljoen. In 2015 Emily took home a Fleur du Cap award for her performance in Viljoen’s The Pervert Laura. Each Viljoen production that Emily tackles feels like a true collaboration between playwright/director and performer. While many can voice their opinions on Louis Viljoen’s writing, there is no one who understands it better than Emily Child.  Continue reading

A Conversation with Jemma Kahn

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

Through the lens: The unsung heroes of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

We easily forget the many people who work tirelessly under the radar to bring a production to life. Actress and photographer, Candice van Litsenborgh took her camera backstage at Priscilla Queen of the Desert, a production which boasts a majority female crew, to give us a glimpse at some of the unsung heroes of the show.  Continue reading

A Conversation with Diane Wilson, Michele Maxwell and Kate Normington: The Women of Funny Girl

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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A Conversation with Nicole Franco

Nicole Franco is a stage and screen actress currently starring in the Broadway and West End smash-hit, The Play That Goes Wrong which is currently playing at Theatre on the Bay following a sold out run in Johannesburg. A returned season of the production has just been announced for Joburg later this year. In addition to acting, Nicole also works as a second language teacher. We sat down to discuss this hilarious new play and her diverse career.  Continue reading

A Conversation with Tara Notcutt

Theatremaker Tara Notcutt is a director, writer and producer. Her debut production, …miskien took the theatre industry by storm and won her a Fleur du Cap Award for Best New Director, cementing her as a prolific theatremaker. Since then she has helmed multiple award-winning shows including The Three Little Pig, The Gruffalo, Mafeking Road, After Dark in the Groot Marico, just to name a few. We sat down at Alexander Bar to chat about her career, the success surrounding her debut production and finding ways to fall back in love with her career.  Continue reading

A Conversation with Jennie Reznek

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

A Conversation with Jaqueline Dommisse

The World Cup of children’s theatre is headed to South Africa. Internationally renowned children’s theatre organisation ASSITEJ proudly presents it’s 19th world congress and performing arts festival, The Cradle of Creativity, a 10 day event that celebrates the very best of children’s theatre from around the world. We spoke to Festival Director, Jaqueline Dommisse about the festival and her career as a theatremaker. Continue reading