OUT OF BOUNDS

Rajesh Gopie’s smash hit South African classic returns to Hexagon Theatre, Pietermaritzburg.

Master story-teller Rajesh Gopie is set for a return season with his smash hit one-man play, Out of Bounds, for the Hexagon Theatre from April 15.

Rajesh Gopie’s signature piece returns home to the city of its origin after an absence of some years. Acclaimed in 33 European cities and across the United States of America, the play was hailed as ‘boundlessly brilliant’ and ‘a gem’ by The Citizen and as ‘one of the best plays you’ll see this year’ by The Sunday Times during its run in Johannesburg in 2005.

Written and performed by Gopie, and directed by American, Tina Johnson, Out of Bounds is set in 1980s South Africa. It tells the story of Lal, a young boy growing up in Inanda and Phoenix, where he lives with his parents, brothers and sisters, cousins, grandmother, uncles and aunts - all under one roof. All Lal longs for is a room to himself, and privacy.

As we follow Lal’s trials and tribulations and accompany him through his learning curves in life, we experience a time in South Africa’s history when, as Gopie points out, being a ‘coolie was anything but cool’. But Out of Bounds is far more than just a play about Indian culture. It embraces all people who have asked themselves who they are and where they come from.

Both irresistibly funny and emotionally searing, Gopie’s virtuoso performance in Out of Bounds draws from a rich palette of some 25 characters to paint the story of his protagonist’s life and has frequently had theatre goers returning to see it more than once.

Since he was last seen onstage in Durban, at The Playhouse in 2005 in another of his stage hits, The Coolie Odyssey, Gopie has been heavily committed to work in the international film industry. He appeared in Roger Spotteswood’s (director of James Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies) Rwandan drama, Shake hands with the Devil, and took a role in Shamim Sarif’s World Unseen, alongside international stars, Lisa Ray and Nandana Sen. This is soon to be released at the Toronto Film Festival.

Gopie also played the romantic lead role opposite European acclaimed actress Monique Henriks in a feature film entitled Stellenbosch. He received critical acclaim for his role in Hansie about Hansie Cronje, in which he played the role of a ‘baddie’, the bookie, Sanjay Gupter (“the devil that made Hansie do it”).

On the mainstream South African theatre circuit, Gopie achieved considerable success playing the title role of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by Oscar nominated Dame Janet Suzman at the 2006 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, and subsequently at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town.

Presented by Rasa Productions, Out of Bounds runs at the Hexagon Theatre in Pietermaritzburg from April 15 to 18 as well as from April 22 to 25 at 19h30. Special schools performances will also take place. Bookings through the Hexagon Theatre Office 033 260 5537or e-mail hexagon@ukzn.ac.za

More information at www.hexagon.ukzn.ac.za