DRAMA
MAID REQUIRED?
Leading actor and director Ralph Lawson will direct Clive Howard Morrison's Maid in
the New South
Africa which is being revived for a season at the Playhouse from June 14 to July 21.
A contemporary South African farce of mistaken identities, the play won Morris the 1986
Amstel Playwright of the
Year Award and was first produced as Maid in South Africa in the Playhouse Loft in 1987,
directed by Rex Garner.
AUDITIONING
Actors and actresses interested in auditioning for the play are invited to submit up-to-date
curriculum vitae and
photographs to Cecile Smart at the Playhouse Company. The post address is PO Box 5353, Durban, 4000, or
they can be faxed to
her on 306-2166.
NEW AKERMAN PLAY
Award-winning playwright and director Anthony Akerman follows Dark
Outsider, his excellent
play about Durban-born poet Roy Campbell which played to great success at last year's Grahamstown Festival,
with Old
Boys based on his experiences at a private school in KZN.
The play takes a look at the long-term effects of the private school system.
Old Boys will be directed by the playwright for a season in the Playhouse Loft
from June 8 to 30.
SCAT 1996 SEASON
The first production in the Shoestring Company for Alternative Theatre (SCAT) 1996 season of
plays for young
audiences in the University Open-Air Theatre is a new play by Pieter Scholtz, Children of the
Sands, which features
popular actress Philippa Savage.
Philippa Savage is in "Children of the Sands"
Children of the Sands is an adventure story about two young people, Rudi and
Lindiwe, who survive
a aircraft crash in the Kalahari desert. They have to spend several days and nights in the desert waiting to be
rescued when they
encounter a number of strange creatures, some endearing and some frightening.
These include Twinkle (Philippa Savage), an engaging little meercat; Signor Vultura, a cowardly
vulture; Ko-Bra,
a cool-dude yellow cobra, who does a rap before he strikes, and Sticky Beak, a rapacious yankee eagle, with
slashing talons.
SURVIVAL
The play includes some tips on survival in the desert such as how to find water and how to treat
a snake bite and,
of course, as always, there is much audience participation!
Children of the Sands runs in the Open Air Theatre every Saturday afternoon
at 14h30. Tickets
available at the door an hour before the show starts at 14h30.
Special performances for primary schools will be held on April 16, 18, 23, 25 and 30.
Block-bookings are available
at R5 per pupil. Performances start at 09h30 and last about 90 minutes.
For block-bookings phone 81-1617.
THEATRE CATS
The Playhouse Theatre Cats (children between six and 12 years) meet on the last Saturday each
month in the
Playhouse Alhambra Room from 10h30 and 13h00 (April 27).
WOMEN'S ARTS
South African women artists are invited to submit entries to the Women's Arts
Festival to be held
in August 1996 in the Playhouse complex. A success in 1995, the festival again promises the multi-faceted
"women experience" said
to have delighted audiences last year with a strong focus on promoting the creative impulses of women of
diverse backgrounds.
FIRST
The Playhouse Company's education and development department scored a first by hosting the
Women's Arts Festival
in October 1995. The first of its kind for South Africa, the event included the works of established artists as
well as showcasing new,
untested talent as women playwrights, choreographers, poets, performance artists, visual artists, painters,
sculptors and musicians
presented their works.
The education and development department team invites the submission of works or volunteer
participation to help
make the Women's Arts Festival a major event for all women.
Call Gitanjali Pather at the Playhouse Company on 304-3631 Ext 2164.
18 DRAMA
AGNES CONTINUES
The Playhouse Company's production of Agnes of God continues its run in the
Sanlam Loft in the
Playhouse until April 21. Shelagh Holliday, Theresa Iglich and Charmaine Weir-Smith star in director Murray
McGibbon's
production of John Pielmeier's compelling story of two women's emotional tug-of-war over a young nun's
future welfare.
The set design by Barbara Mangrum
It's a tight, well-directed production of a strong and thought-provoking drama and Charmaine
Weir-Smith's
performance as Agnes is notable for its sincerity and consistency. The Loft is well-suited for this play which
confronts aspects of
religion versus those of logic.
Tickets prices range from R20 to R25.
BRIGHTON EXTENSION
Brighton Extension Productions have two varied productions on offer at present.
Andile is a puppet
show geared to teaching pupils between the ages of five and 10 years old about laziness and obedience. The
main characters, Suzy
Sangoma and the Poofadder, have been rated firm favourites with youngsters.
Dogpounded features three pooches who, through their story, song and dance,
warn senior primary
children against the dangers of drugs, alcohol and peer pressure.
The shows can be booked for schools through Jean Byrne on 47-7318.
TOURING PUPPETS
The Playhouse Puppet Company's The Rainbow People's Puppet Show tours
KZN schools from
May 13 before a run in the Playhouse Grand Foyer from June 19 to 30. It includes African, European, Indian
and Malay folk tales
and aims to teach children about other cultures.
Phone Suzanne du Toit on 304-3631 to book performance. The cost is R5 per pupil (minimum
charge R500 per
performance). Playhouse season tickets are R15 each.
CAMP'S DRIFT MARKET
The Camp's Drift Craft and Fleamarket, situated on the banks of the Duzi River in
Pietermaritzburg takes place on
April 7, 21 and 28 from 08h30 to 16h00. Contact Erna Aken (0331) 45-479 or Jackie Webb (0331) 61313
(a/h).
HEEL AND HEAD
Heel Against the Head, Paul Slabolepszy's award-winning bedroom farce
revolving around the 1995
World Cup final in Johannesburg, opens in the Playhouse Drama on April 30 for a six-week season.
Paul Slabolepszy and Bill Flynn in action!
Described as the funniest play in the history of South African theatre, the show is about two
platteland rugby fanatics (played by Bill Flynn and Slabolepszy) who arrive in a Johannesburg
hotel for a weekend
of wine, women and World Cup rugby.
Their stay becomes topsy turvy when one of their wives pays them a surprise visit and a
Japanese tourist checks into
the wrong room!
RUNAWAY
The show has been a runaway success since it opened in Cape Town in March last year. After
an extended run it
moved to the Civic Theatre in Johannesburg where more extensions saw it performing for over half the year in
the same venue. The
production has been seen by more than 60 000 theatre-goers, won the 1995 FNB Vita Award for best comedy
and broke box-office
records at the Civic!
CRITIC
At one point during the run a Johannesburg critic said that it was easier to get tickets to the
World Cup Final than
to see Heel Against the Head!
The cast have a sneaky feeling that their special performance of the show to the Springboks
prior to the big match
went a long way towards winning the game!
Directed by Tim Plewman, the show also features Ellis Pearson, Gaby Lomberg and Michele
Levin.
To purchase a performance to raise funds for charities or sports clubs contact Sharlene or Illa on
368-3316.