This year, Westville Theatre Club, has a
jumbo-packed line-up for April!
The Westville Theatre Club’s One Act Play
Festival rehearsals have kicked off and are in full swing and the club has
announced that they also have two groups from outside Westville Theatre Club
joining them. A total number of nine plays will take part in the festival,
divided into three groups, over 12 nights.
The plays are grouped into three themes:
Group 1 - Plays written by South African
Authors (1x Comedy & 2x Drama). The
Miracle Makers; Iwisa! The Fist and
The Better Half – April 2, 5, 9 and 12.
Group 2 -Family and Comedy (2x Farces and
1x Comedy). A Cut Above The Rest; Tell
Tale Teacher; The Proposal – April 3, 6 (matinee), 10 and 13 (matinee).
Group 3 -Mature Plays (1x PG13SVL-rated
comedy,1x PG13V rated Thriller,1x PG13VL-rated drama). Caught in The Act; Faith; and You
Do Love Me Don’t You – April 4, 6, 11 and 13
The Tell Tale Teacher:
The teacher is called away by the principal and then disappears after reading The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
The children must then work together to find out what happened to their
teacher. Will they succeed or will their teacher be lost forever?
Caught in the Act
:Imagine waking up in a bed with a beautiful girl or a handsome guy and not
being able to remember the first thing about them or worse about yourself?
Trapped in a one act play, this duo tries to sort out their relationship but
come across an interesting turn where their characters and lines are constantly
being re-written and their emotions and feeling for each other are being
controlled by the all and mighty scriptwriter. Will they overcome and break
free or will they forever be stuck between the two pages that bind the script
together?
The Proposal: :A
hilarious one-act play set in the 19thcentury Russia in which a long-time
neighbour and friend comes to ask for the hand in marriage of his neighbour’s
daughter. After receiving joyful permission, the neighbour, an extreme
hypochondriac, and the daughter get into a couple of arguments that get heated
quickly resulting in tempers flaring, heart palpitations and hysterics. Will
they live happily ever after?
A Cut Above The Rest: When
the wealthy Ms Devonport dies, a host of suspects descend upon her funeral in
search of her legendary diamond necklace, but who will get the diamonds?? And
who is John Smith?
You Do Love Me Don’t You: This chilling psychological thriller will keep you on the edge of
your seats. An ordinary household, or is it? Who turns an ordinary luncheon into
an extraordinary bloodbath??
Faith::A crime drama
play about a lady who murders her abusive husband. It is then behind bars that
she finds her faith.
The Better Half: Cathy
is up for an award! Will she get it? She just might with or without the help of
her rugby mad husband aided by his friend Vic.
Just when she thinks all is going well, the arrival of the “ladies of
the Guild” cause more chaos in this hilarious comedy.
The Miracle Makers: A
word from the author (Patrick Coyne) regarding his play: The Miracle Makers was originally written as a short story for the
SFSA Nova Competition. To my surprise, it won. Then I rewrote it as a stage
play. The basis of the story rests in Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. At one point in
the book, he relates how the commander of the prison he was in at the time took
him for a drive round Cape Town in his car. Surprisingly, the commander stopped
at a cafe and left Mandela in the car alone. Mandela describes what a strange
experience this was for him. He had never been left alone for many, many years.
He got all stressed and had thoughts of escaping. Still, the commander did not
return from the café. In my story, Mandela gets out of the car and stands next
to it. A police rifleman lying down in the bushes fires at Mandela, killing
him. The excuse was that Mandela was trying to escape. The rest of the play
relates how the country is thrown into shocking civil war as a result of
Mandela’s assassination. But in true sf style, a group of people work out how
to reverse time so that Mandela stays in the car and can’t be shot. All comes
right. Mandela is NOT assassinated and at the end of the play we see Nelson
Mandela presenting the Rugby World Cup to Francois Pienaar in front of cheering
crowds. The play ends with problems for the group who are now assumed to be
asylum patients. The play won the South African Writers’ Circle drama award.
Iwisa—The Fist: The
title comes from the cultural value of the nopkiri (iwisa) to the Southern
African tribe known as Nguni Tribe. It is said 90% of South Africans initiate
from the very tribe, fathered by Umnguni. Iwisa is said to be made from one of
the strongest trees found along the southern regions of Africa, a tree called
Umsimbithi (in Zulu). Iwisa is used by men and young boys in ways of protection
and cracking fruit and veggies to feed in. The Fist is the signal of victory in
our country and other neighbouring countries, and so we come with the name Iwisa –The Fist. The major theme said to
evoke around the concept of a ‘Fatherless nation’. Sub -themes are knowledge
empowerment, youth politics, brotherly love against xenophobia and identity. The show is telling a
journey of men in the struggle of understanding the yesterday and today
struggle, pressing on what they believe is best for everyone. It’s partly
abstract through the dance form accompanied by bits of dialogue. The young teaches
the old man something about today, first this seems foreign to the old man and
the old man slowly uncovers how it all came about. The show is cleverly done,
an approach which is new to the actors sets the pedestal. Slam sounds created
bring intriguing thoughts and ideas to the conscious of these characters. A
high energy and subtle movements in the same piece makes it diverse. It’s a piece
that provokes a mind awakening sense, as to why Africans are angry and sort of
lost in the living. There’s use of few quotes from legendary Steve Bantu Biko
and Dr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Tickets R100 pp per night. If you book for
more than one night (more than one group) you only pay R80 pp per night.
Youngsters under the age of 16 will only pay R50 (50% discount) for GROUP 2
only. Doors open 30 minutes before curtains up. Bring your own snacks and
drinks. Bookings through Kerry White on 083 342 3650 or Daniel Oosthuizen on
060 376 8852, Alternatively email :bookings@oneactplayfestival.co.za
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