The Fugard Theatre Presents World Premiere of Louis Viljoen's THE EULOGISTS

Eric Abraham and the Fugard Theatre present the world premiere of double Fleur du Cap Theatre Award winner Louis Viljoen's new play, THE EULOGISTS. Viljoen is the Fugard Theatre's Writer in Residence and THE EULOGISTS excitingly marks his first offering in this position.

Viljoen partners with his long-time collaborator Greg Karvellas (THE FATHER, CLYBOURNE PARK, BAD JEWS) as director, reuniting the tour-de-force team that have created acclaimed productions such as CHAMP and THE FRONTIERSMEN. Besides being a prolific playwright, Viljoen is a director in his own right and is also one of the creators (along with playwrights Nicholas Spagnoletti and Jon Keevy) of the successful short-play "Anthology" initiative, which has had four successful seasons at The Alexander Bar's Upstairs Theatre. Viljoen has won Fleur Du Cap Theatre awards (Best New South African Script) for CHAMP (2013) and THE KINGMAKERS (2015). He was the recipient of the Rosalie van Der Gucht Best New Director award for his plays, THE KINGMAKERS and THE PERVERT LAURA.

The Fugard Theatre audiences have had the chance to see previous plays by Viljoen, including transfers of CHAMP, THE KINGMAKERS and THE PERVERT LAURA. Daniel Galloway, the executive director of the Fugard Theatre, comments:

We are delighted to be staging the much-anticipated premiere of Louis Viljoen's latest play as part of our Writer in Residence programme. In addition to presenting world-class South African productions of existing musical theatre and plays, we are committed to providing a platform for new voices to flourish. The Writer in Residence Programme offers the writer a series of guaranteed commissions and production of his or her work on the Fugard Studio Theatre stage.

Louis has consistently illustrated through his work his razor-sharp observation skills and no-holds-barred exploration of political, social and human themes, with dark, deviant characters that we both love and loathe. He is one of the most compelling new South African playwrights and we look forward to staging a number of his plays in the forthcoming years.

THE EUGOLISTS begins with the world media descending on a small town to wait for a great statesman to die. Audrey, a flash-in-the-pan author who once had access to the leader and profited from it, has holed herself up in a room around the corner from the dying man's family home. Zee is an ambitious researcher who dreams of breaking an exclusive story about the leader's past and shares a room with Audrey and cabin fever has begun to set in. Thrown into this volatile situation is Harris, a correspondent for an American radio station who brings with him a few bottles of wine and a plan to end the boredom. Each of these three people has their own reasons for being stuck in this town and as the truth emerges, the inevitability of losing a person who represents hope becomes an unbearable burden.

The cast includes Emily Child (THE EMISSARY, CONTRACTIONS, THE PERVERT LAURA) as Audrey, Pierre Malherbe (THE KINGMAKERS, SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO, CHAMP) as Harris and Kiroshan Naidoo (ANTHOLOGY: YOUNG BLOODS, FABULOUS NOTHING, PEOPLE BENEATH OUR FEET).

The creative team for THE EULOGISTS includes set design by Rocco Pool (THE FATHER, DANGLED), costume design by Widaad Albertus (wardrobe supervisor of DISTRICT SIX - KANALA and THE PAINTED ROCKS AT REVOLVER CREEK) , and lighting design by Kieran McGregor (THE FATHER, CLYBOURNE PARK).

THE EULOGISTS will run at the Fugard Studio Theatre from 30 May until 24 June 2017, on Tuesdays through Saturdays at 20:00 with a 16:00 matinee performance on Saturdays. Tickets range in price from R120 to R160 and can be booked online through Computicket, by phone on 0861 915 8000, or in person at any Shoprite Checkers outlet. Bookings can also be made at the Fugard Theatre's box office by calling 021 461 4554. There is a generous 15% discount available for the Friends of The Fugard members. THE EULOGISTS carries an age restriction of 16L.

The Fugard Theatre is situated in the heart of District Six, on the corner of Harrington and Caledon Streets, Cape Town. The Harrington Street car park is located at the corner of Caledon and Harrington streets and is available for the use of theatre patrons. Visit the cosy ground-floor bar, which opens two hours before all scheduled show times and stays open until last rounds are called, often as late as 1am. If the weather is fine, the bar on the fantastic rooftop terrace, with its panoramic views of the city, is opened. Both bars offer a range of wines from some of the Cape's top estates.

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