DGC in partnership with VRTheatrical and the KKNK, in association with the Tsikanya-Chaka Centre and the Centre for Creative Arts-UKZN, present a professional, rehearsed reading of a new version of Shakespeare’s epic tragedy, adapted and directed by Coppen, an internationally acclaimed writer, designer and director.
The reading forms part of the further development of the piece.
Featuring a brilliant local cast, the once-off, live online reading will take place on May 31 at 18h00 and will be hosted on the KKNK website. It will be free to view for those who wish to tune in.
The cast for the rehearsed reading includes: Anelisa Phewa, Rehane Abrahams, David Dennis, Buhle Ngaba, Faniswa Yisa, Tony Bonani Miyambo, Khutjo Green, Jemma Khan, Richard September and Royston Stoffels.
South African born Broadway actress, Bianca Amato, and multi-award-winning South African actor, writer and speaker, Buhle Ngaba, (Swan Song, What Remains and author of The Girl Without A Sound) will be Associate Directors alongside Coppen for the reading.
A Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Theatre recipient, Coppen’s prolific work includes Animal Farm, Abnormal Loads, and Tin Bucket Drum which in 2019 was awarded the English Academy of Southern Africa Olive Schreiner Prize for Drama. He is one of six South African playwrights to have been granted a staged reading of his work at The Royal Court Theatre.
Coppen also co-directed and designed Cape Town Opera’s premiere of Tsotsi - the Musical, and in early 2020 collaborated with Canadian First Nations dance company Red Sky Productions in Toronto on the premiere of a new work titled AF.
Seminal to Coppen’s work across a range of cultures and communities in South Africa, is a social-justice, theatre-making methodology, Empatheatre, which he co-founded and created with actress, Mpume Mthombeni, and sociologist, Dr Dylan McGarry.
Associate Director, Bianca Amato, is an award-winning actor, acting coach and director who has returned to South Africa after working in theatre in New York City for 15 years. She will be acting as Associate Director and text coach for this reading of Hamlet. She is also in the process of forming The Quickening Theatre Company which will focus primarily on performing Shakespeare in a South African context.
Amato comments: “I have always been in awe of Coppen’s explosive and visceral theatre-making-style and I am looking forward to collaborating with the immensely talented team to present a unique reading of Shakespeare’s powerful tragedy, which will be accessible for people around the world to experience.”
“Hamlet was scheduled to run at The Fugard Theatre in 2020 prior to the Covid-19 lockdown and subsequent closure of The Fugard. I am delighted that Neil’s bold vision for this production will take a big step towards further development with an incredible team, enabling audiences to experience the compelling nature of a live reading which forms part of the development process,” says producer, Daniel Galloway, who marks his first independent presentation under his DGC banner with this presentation of the reading of Hamlet.
With a Degree in Drama & Linguistics from Rhodes University and following 8 years at the University of Cape Town as resident Production Manager & Lighting Designer, Galloway was asked to join the brand new, purpose-built Fugard Theatre in Cape Town as Managing Director & Producer in 2010. There he worked alongside Producer Eric Abraham leading a formidable team which established The Fugard as one of the premiere theatre destinations in South Africa.
In his career, he has produced over 150 theatrical productions both locally and internationally, which collectively have received over 220 Award Nominations. After almost a decade at the helm of The Fugard Theatre, Galloway now offers his Executive Management experience, Mentorship & Training, Consultancy Services and Lighting Design to the Theatre Industry, among others.
He acts as General Manager & Associate Producer alongside Julie-Anne McDowell Hegarty who founded How Now Brown Cow Productions, alongside the How Now Brown Cow Writers’ Collective. He is currently the interim CEO of Cape Town’s The College of Magic, and is the international producing partner for London-based Blue Paper Touch Productions, founded by Katharine Farmer. Galloway is a proud Associate of the recently launched Tsikinya-Chaka Centre at WITS.
“When Greg Karvellas from The Fugard approached me to direct an adaptation of Hamlet, I jumped at the opportunity as it’s the one Shakespearean text that really excited me to reimagine and bring to life within a contemporary South African setting. My adaptation focuses on a South African Royal/Political dynasty not unlike the ones we see on the nightly news. Whenever I hear or read about the latest succession scandal, I’m reminded of how authentically the themes and ideas behind Hamlet can be situated within modern day South African cultures and paradigms,” says Coppen.
“Rehearsing Shakespeare on Zoom is definitely not without its own set of challenges which is why I’m extremely grateful to have both Buhle and Bianca’s support in the Zoom rehearsal room with me. I’m excited about where our adaptation of Hamlet currently sits, and how this online reading process will enable it to grow and expand further. The script and concept I’m starting out with will benefit and develop greatly from the feedback, imaginations and inputs of our assembled cast.
“I see this reading as a way to publicly acknowledge the initial vision and support of Eric Abraham, Greg Karvellas and the formidable team at The Fugard Theatre, all of whom made this process possible in the first place,” says Coppen.
Associate Director, Buhle Ngaba is a multi-award winning South African actor, writer, speaker and arts activist. She studied Acting and Contemporary performance at Rhodes University and Processes of Performance at the University of Leeds (UK). She performed in the world premiere of John Kani’s play Missing at the Baxter Theatre (SA) and went on to tour internationally with the production.
In 2016, Ngaba won the prestigious Brett Goldin Bursary, which earned her opportunity to expand her knowledge of Shakespeare and acting ability at The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) (Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK). It is during her time there, that Ngaba began to conceptualise and write her award winning one-woman play - Swan Song.
In 2018, she played Bianca in an all-women cast of The Taming of the Shrew for the annual Maynardville Theatre (SA) offering, solidifying the experience she had gained at the RSC and her yearning to teach what she had learnt. These experiences resulted in her curating Shakespeare Grounded; a programme consolidating all she learnt whilst at the RSC with the aim of teaching these skills to young learners in South Africa. The programme facilitates access to Shakespeare through a practical approach between teacher and student. The programme can be adjusted to suit any number of pupils and is inclusive of all students. Since its inception, Ngaba has implemented it at the University of Cape Town (2018/19) and at AFDA Film School (2020).
She was nominated to form part of the Shakespeare Society of South Africa’s Executive Committee (Theatre portfolio, 2020). COVID-19 has impacted the performing artists globally. In response to this, Ngaba spearheaded the #lockdownshakespeareinitiative with the South African Shakespeare Society, contributing to the SA arts economy by promoting theatre makers and helping to provide some financial support.
Ngaba comments: “I am inspired by the opportunity to continue to excavate Shakespeare on home ground. It’s something I couldn’t turn down as either an actor or associate on the project. I hope that audiences are offered a unique perspective on all the possibilities to be explored through storytelling within the diaspora. I am ready to meet the ‘Zoom’ challenge and the moment as any artist does; with a readiness to dive right in.”
The live, online reading of Hamlet has been made possible through the support of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the National Arts Council.
The rehearsed reading of Neil Coppen’s adaptation of Hamlet will be presented on May 31, 2021, at 18h00. To watch the free live, once-off online reading, visit https://www.kknk.co.za/afr/hamlet/
For further information, visit https://www.danielgalloway.com/hamlet2021
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