To coincide with the premiere of the four-person The Good White on 1 and 2 May as part of the Die Suidoosterfees at Artscape, Mike van Graan will host a mini-festival of three solo shows at the Avalon Theatre (the upstairs space in the former Fugard Theatre) from 28 April (Freedom Day) to 3 May.
These three shows are
- A drama To Life, With Love featuring Cape Talk’s John Maytham,
- A comedy-drama I Can Buy Myself Flowers performed by Erika Breytenbach and
- A multi-sketch satirical piece, So Over The Rainbow with Rondo Mpiti-Spies in her first solo work.
While The Good White is a completely separate production, MVG Productions is marketing the four works under the banner of Three Solos and a Quartet to cross-market the plays all written by Van Graan.
‘I am very excited about this production, and am extremely grateful to KKNK’s Teksmark for giving it an initial platform, to the University of Free State for the residency during which I wrote the text, and to Die Suidoosterfees, the National Afrikaans Theatre Initiative and the Market Theatre for collaborating in bringing this work to the stage’ said Van Graan.
Set against the backdrop of the Fees Must Fall Campaign, The Good White is an explosive exploration of the non-racial project in contemporary, post-apartheid South Africa. Featuring the talented quartet of Russel Savadier, Vusi Kunene, Renate Stuurman and Shonisani Masutha, The Good White is directed by Greg Homann, Artistic Director of the Market Theatre who directed Van Graan’s Brothers in Blood at Artscape twelve years ago.
So Over The Rainbow – in the tradition of Van Graan’s previous multi-sketch satirical works such as My Fellow South Africans, Pay Back the Curry and the Bafana Republic franchise – will premiere on 28 April under the direction of Dion van Niekerk, who directed the multiple award-winning Afrikaans version of Samuel Beckett’s play, Ons Wag Vir Godot.
A co-production with Erika Breytenbach’s Unlikely Productions company, the comedy-drama, I Can Buy Myself Flowers, premiered under the direction of Toni Morkel at the Drama Factory earlier this year and has evolved since then, resonating with many women who face the challenges of balancing their professional lives, parenting, relationships, caring for ageing parents and maintaining friendships with their own personal happiness.
To Life, With Love, a poetic drama about ageing directed by Josh Linberg, played to numerous sold-out houses at Artscape and the Drama Factory in February and has already sold out its one-off performance at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in May. There will be three opportunities to see this work at the Avalon Theatre at 18.00 on Monday 28 April and at 17.00 on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 April.
The mini-fest of solo works kicks off on Freedom Day, Monday 28 April with So Over The Rainbow at 15.00, followed by I Can Buy Myself Flowers at 16.30 and To Life, With Love at 18.00. The full programme with two or three shows each day may be found HERE.
WHAT: Mike van Graan at Suidoosterfees and Avalon Theatre
WHERE: Artscape,Foreshore, Cape Town, 8001 | Avalon Theatre, Homecoming Centre, Caledon Street, Buitenkant St, District Six, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: see dates and times above
BOOKING & TICKETS: The Good White Webtickets | the three solo works at Webtickets
INFO: MVR Productions E art27m@iafrica.com
