Fountain Theatre to Premiere Fuggard Play 'Victory'

Fountain Theatre's co-artistic director Stephen Sachs will direct the U.S. premiere of Athol Fugard's play Victory opening the theatre's 19th Season on January 25th, starring Morlan Higgins, Lovensky Jean-Baptiste and Tinashe Kajese stars.

Victory "examines life in post-apartheid South Africa. Two young blacks looking for cash break into the house of an elderly white man.  Vicky (Kajese) is a teenager living in a dusty and deprived Karoo town.  Led astray by her reckless thug boyfriend, Freddie (Jean-Baptiste), Vicky formulates a plan to vandalize the home of Lionel Benson (Higgins), the employer of her late mother.  When the old man discovers them ransacking his home, an explosive, savage confrontation reveals the twisted emotional ties that bind them all," state press notes.

Victory had its world premiere at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival at Oudtshoorn, South Africa last April, transferring to the Baxter Theatre Centre in Cape Town and then to the Market Theatre in Johannesburg.  It received its UK premiere from the Peter Hall Company at Theatre Royal, Bath.  Following its U.S. premiere at The Fountain Theatre, Sachs will direct Victory at the Santa Barbara Theatre in Santa Barbara, California and regional productions nationwide.

Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, actor, and director.  One of the first white playwrights to collaborate with black actors and workers, Fugard writes of the frustrations of life in contemporary South Africa and of overcoming the psychological barriers created by apartheid.  In 2005 his novel, "Tsotsi" (1980), was adapted for the screen, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Set Design for Victory is by Travis Gale Lewis; Lighting Design is by Christian Epps; Costume Design is by Shon LeBlanc; Sound Design is by David B. Marling; Props are by John Minchin; Make-Up is by Judi Lewin; Fight Choreographer is Doug Lowery; Dialect Coach is JB Blanc; and Production Stage manager is Kerrie Blaisdell.  Simon Levy and Deborah Lawlor produce for The Fountain Theatre.

Victory opens for on January 25, with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 9.  Six previews are scheduled on Wednesday, January 23 at 8 pm; Thursdays, January 17 and 24 at 8 pm; Friday, January 18 at 8 pm; Saturday, January 19 at 8 pm; and Sunday, January 20 at 2 pm.  Tickets are $25.00 except opening night (January 25), which is $30.00 and previews which are $15.00.  Students are $18.00 (with ID), and senior tickets are available for $23.00 on Thursdays and Sundays.  The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles.  Secure, on-site parking is available for $5.00.  The Fountain Theatre is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.  For reservations and information, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.

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