Coopwood, Huntsman, Van Norden Star in West Coast Premiere of GROUNDSWELL

San Jose Rep will stage the West Coast premiere, and the second U.S. production, of South African playwright Ian Bruce's psychological thriller, 'Groundswell'.

Kirsten Brandt directs the production which plays from Oct. 10-Nov. 8 in San Jose, CA. Opening is scheduled for Oct. 16. The production will feature Scott Coopwood, Dwight Huntsman, and Peter Van Norden.

According to San Jose Rep press notes, "What would a man do for one last chance at a better life? Johan (played by Scott Coopwood) and Thami (Dwight Huntsman) are caretakers of a beachfront guest lodge on the jagged edge of the South African diamond coast. These two men, from starkly contrasting backgrounds, have become friends through their shared dreams of a better life. When Smith (Peter Van Norden), a wealthy businessman, arrives at the lodge on a foggy evening, the two desperate men see Smith as the perfect investor for their 'get-rich' scheme to buy a government-run diamond concession. Soon, the three men find themselves in a power struggle fueled by greed, desperation and entitlement. Ian Bruce has created three incredible characters who explore the effects of politics on the individual. Each character is an emblematic representation of what the end of apartheid has meant to various groups in South Africa."

'Groundswell' is a haunting, psychological thriller about dashed dreams, enduring hope and the seductive promises of a transforming society. Set in a guest house on the jagged edge of the South African diamond coast, Johan and Thami, an ex-cop and a gardener from starkly contrasting backgrounds, maintain this beachfront lodge during the off-season while looking for one last chance to better their lives. When Smith, a wealthy businessman, arrives at the lodge on a foggy evening, the two desperate men see Smith as the perfect investor for their "get-rich" scheme to buy a government-run diamond concession. Soon, the three men find themselves in a power struggle fueled by greed, desperation and entitlement. Groundswell premiered in South Africa in 2005 and off-Broadway at The New Group in 2009. San Jose Rep's undertaking marks the second time only that this production has been staged in the U.S.

Ian Bruce was trained as an actor in Johannesburg and appeared briefly in the early nineteen seventies on the South Africa stage and in early SABC TV productions. During a long political exile in Holland, he co-founded the Tekhwini Theatre Foundation with Anthony Akerman and Joseph Mosikili. He also began writing, and his first play, Falls The Shadow, won a Dutch Arts Council best new play award. His only work at the time to evade South Africa's censorship laws, My Father's House, was produced by PACT in 1989, and directed by the late Francois Swart. After his return to South Africa in the early nineteen nineties, Bruce won a Radio SA award for his play, Kept in Mind. In 1998, he began working with the New Africa Theatre Association for which he and his wife, Ina, have created a host of productions, educational plays and Industrial Theatre works. The writing of Groundswell is special to Bruce as it marks a return, after many years, to the kind of probing drama he most values. He is the current executive director of the New Africa Theatre Association.

The creative team for the production includes John Iacovelli (scenic designer), Maggie Morgan (costume designer), David Lee Cuthbert (lighting designer) and Steve Schoenbeck (sound designer).

Tickets are available at the San Jose Rep box office at 101 Paseo de San Antonio or can be purchased online at www.SJRep.com or by calling (408) 367-7255.

 

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