(Menzi Mkhwane, Ralph
Lawson, Rory Booth & Ashwin Singh. Pic by Val Adamson)
Into The Grey, the
latest stage work by acclaimed Durban-based playwright Ashwin Singh, will be
staged for just three nights at The Playhouse Loft between September 13 and 15,
2018. Presented by The Singh Siblings in association with The Playhouse
Company, an Agency of the Department of Arts and Culture, the new work is a
notable addition to Singh’s award-winning plays that have made an indelible
impact on the South African cultural landscape over the past 15 years.
Combining humour and pathos, Singh’s numerous works delve
into myriad issues in contemporary Durban. His production wing, The Singh
Siblings, has partnered with KZN’s leading arts institution, The Playhouse
Company to stage several impactful productions at the Playhouse Drama and Loft
Theatres since 2006.
Directed by Ralph Lawson and starring Rory Booth, Menzi
Mkhwane and Singh himself, Into The Grey
is a state of the nation play focusing on the decades-long association between
two activists, Dr Logan Pillay and Advocate Sandile Ndlovu. It commences in the
late 80s and traces these characters’ evolution until present day. Both men
struggle with professional challenges and personal demons as each tries to find
his best self and fight for South Africa’s soul. Lawson has designed an
innovative set and atmospheric lighting to explore the confrontations between
various characters which occur in different institutions: a community centre; a
university; a public hospital; and the Chatsworth streets. The play exposes the
fact that South Africa is standing at the edge of a precipice but also offers
hope that we can still work together to find a better understanding and engage
in genuine nation building. It is a wonderful mix of action and ideas.
The Singh Siblings has also staged full-scale productions as
well as dramatic readings in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth,
Grahamstown, India and the UK. Singh’s plays have been published in two
anthologies (Durban Dialogues, Indian
Voice and Durban Dialogues, Then and Now) by London-based Aurora
Metro Books and these books are being studied at universities in South Africa,
India, Canada and Europe.
The anthology in which Into
the Grey features was launched in May at the prestigious Nehru Centre in
London. The event was a huge success with the receptive audience thoroughly
engaged with Singh and his team in an evening of serious theatre and
literature. Dr Felicity Hand of the English Department at the Autonomous
University of Barcelona will be teaching Into
the Grey on their Master of Arts programme next year. Hand will be flying
to Durban for the opening night of the production. This is another coup for
Singh in a growing list of international accolades.
Singh expressed his sheer delight at the opportunity to work
with Lawson, Mkhwane and Booth again. “You cannot find a more committed and
talented group of artists. I am blessed to have someone of such rare and
intense vision and skill as Ralph as my director. Menzi and Rory are award-winning
actors with great dramatic flair and emotional depth,” said Singh.
Into the Grey runs
in The Playhouse Loft between September 13 and 15, 2018. Tickets R80 with
concessions for students and pensioners. The show runs each evening at 19h30
from Thursday to Saturday and the matinee on Saturday is at 15h00. Booking is
via Computicket, telephonically on 0861 915 8000, online at
www.computicket.com, or by calling the Playhouse Box Office on 031 369 9540/
369 9596 (office hours).