AS EVER, BESSIE To Premiere at NAF16 Following Previews at the Galloway Theatre

On 5 July, the National Arts Festival's Arena Programme will host the world premiere of AS EVER, BESSIE - a poignant story that has been left untold, until now. Written and directed by Bobbie Fitchen, the play will have two special preview performances at the Galloway Theatre prior to its bow at the festival.

Written and directed by Bobbie Fitchen, AS EVER, BESSIE hopes to move audiences as well as provide significant insight into the life and troubled psyche of the world-renowned African writer. Probably most well-known as author of MARU, WHEN RAIN CLOUDS GATHER, QUESTION OF POWER and THE COLLECTOR OF TREASURES, Head had a complex and conflicted life, which she lived out in exile in Botswana. With its debut run coinciding with the eightieth anniversary of Head's birth, the play is not a critique of Head's writing, but rather an opportunity to understand why she was so emotionally fragile, and how she managed to deal with the difficulty of living with a mental illness.

Set in the 1970s, AS EVER, BESSIE tells the story of Bessie and a stranger who share an intimate, chance encounter in the airport in Nairobi. As the story unfolds, the audience witnesses and experiences the intense turmoil of Bessie's neurotic and paranoid personality, providing a much deeper understanding of Bessie's past, which has not been widely documented.

AS EVER, BESSIE deals with pertinent issues that remain resonant: mental illness, racism, sexual abuse, seeking a sense of identity, having to leave one's home country due to the impossible circumstances presented by the political climate, and the polarisation of ethnic and cultural barriers. On her inspiration for the play, writer-director Fitchen explains:

I lived in Botswana for several years in the early 80s and met Bessie. There was always a "Bessie story", her ability to offend and upset people was legendary. I knew that she had a very disturbed childhood, and read extensively about her, her letters to Randolph Vigne and Paddy Kitchen and the very comprehensive biography by Gillian Stead Eilersen, BESSIE HEAD: THUNDER BEHIND HER EARS, were some of my sources. If this play can inspire people to read Bessie Head and understand more about her circumstances, then I think Bessie herself would be "well pleased".

The character of Bessie Head is portrayed by Denise Newman, who needs little introduction in the theatre and film world and can currently also be seen on KykNET's SUIDOOSTER. She is joined on stage by Fleur du Cap Theatre Award-winning actress, Ntombi Makhutshi (LONDON ROAD, AFRICAN TIMES, A BROKEN WING), who plays the fictional Dr. Caroline Nandi Habib.

The production will feature a live soundscape which has been designed by live performer and music producer Nick Matthews. Fitchen also recruited illustrator and animator Archie Birch to create a moving backdrop of hand-painted African airport scenes that reflects the distinctive style of the 1970s. Completing the creative team is fine artist, fibre artist and teacher, Felicity Hartley, who handles the costume and set design for the production.

The project has the blessing of many people who knew Head, including Randolph Vigne, Head's friend and the publisher of many of her short stories during his time as editor of THE NEW AFRICAN, a radical publication that focused on publishing black African writers, both and South African; Ed Wilson from Johnson & Alcock publishers in London; world-renowned photographer George Hallett, who as the official photographer for the covers of the Heinemann African Writers Series generously gave permission for the use of his photographs of Bessie; and Alice Walker, whose poetry is recited during the play, Upon hearing about the play, Walker said:

I'm so happy to learn of your play about the great writer, Bessie Head. May all be well with you as you carry the words of Bessie Head, and her life, into the world.

AS EVER, BESSIE also has the support of the Bessie Head Trust.

Following a special media preview, AS EVER, BESSIE will have an additional preview at the Galloway Theatre on 1 July with tickets are available on Tixsa. The production then transfers to the National Arts Festival, where it will run for five performances at Glennie Hall from 5 - 7 July, with bookings through the National Arts Festival website. Plans to tour AS EVER, BESSIE both locally and abroad after the National Arts Festival are also under discussion. To stay up-to-date with announcements about the play, follow AS EVER, BESSIE on Facebook and YouTube.

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