F Creations Debuts YOUR PERFECT LIFE at the National Arts Festival

Ever noticed how a woman is now expected to have a fulfilling career at the same time as raising a family? Really, she should have it all and be happy that she is now not only able to but expected to achieve everything. Add to this the stress of a twenty-year high school reunion and you have two women stuck wondering whether or not their lives are a success.

F Creations presents Your Perfect Life - a tale of two real women, doing things their way. It's a loosely autobiographical story, inspired by the lives of the writers and performers: Erika Marais and Faeron Wheeler.

This brand-new production is set to premier at this year's National Arts Festival in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown). The best part about this whole project, according to Wheeler, is that it's a team of women coming together to tell women's stories. "I am so excited about the team we've got on board. It's just women of all ages and all with their own story adding their talents. It's quite beautiful."

The story of Your Perfect Life revolves around the friendship and history of two women: Karlien and Caitlyn. They were close friends in high school but attending different universities and having to make grown up decisions just got in the way. It's now twenty years later and they couldn't be more different. One woman has the family, the other the career. Neither one is sure that they have what they want.

As the one-time friends reminisce about their high school years, ex-boyfriends and all the trouble they got into, it's almost hard to imagine that they haven't kept in touch. However, when you scratch a little deeper, you find just how easy it is to get wrapped up in your own problems and hurt the people you care about, including your best friend. Your Perfect Life is a poignant and funny look at how life can take unexpected turns and how society judges us for dealing with it the best way we can.

The idea for this play first sparked when the two real-life friends, Marais and Wheeler, were struck time and again by how close they were despite leading such vastly different lives. They also regularly have a good eye roll at how society judges women for not managing to do it all. It's a conversation the pair have had many times and turning it into a play seemed like the natural progression.

Marais and Wheeler teamed up in 2018 to bring Jam Every Other Day to audiences around the Western Cape and at the National Arts Festival. Last year they were writer, performer (Marais) and producer (Wheeler). This year, they're sharing the stage and couldn't be more excited about bringing this original piece to NAF audiences.

As a testament to women for women, director Sue Diepeveen was brought in to help steer Your Perfect Life from conversations over catch-up coffees to a thoughtful, funny and truthful take on women's lives. We all know that other people's lives aren't perfect, but we can't help thinking that somehow, they are.

Bookings: www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/events/your-perfect-life

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