Louis Viljoen's Gripping Comedy-Horror, THE DEMON BRIDE, Comes To The Fugard Theatre

Nominated for three WoordTROfees awards at this year's University of Stellenbosch (US) Woordfees, THE DEMON BRIDE will be unleashed on the Fugard Studio Theatre from 8 May.

Eric Abraham presents this Fugard Theatre production in association with US Woordfees. THE DEMON BRIDE is the latest play from multiple award-winning playwright and director Louis Viljoen, who is also the Fugard Theatre's Writer in Residence.

The play was nominated for the WoordTROfees awards in the categories of Beste Akteur for Bianca Flanders as Amelia, Beste Woodrfeesdebuut and Best Tegniese Prestastie for the Sound Design by James Webb.

THE DEMON BRIDE is a gripping and hilarious comedy-horror that sees Viljoen taking an exciting new direction in a production that will make you shiver with delight!

"With this new play, Louis Viljoen (who wrote and directed) delivers a highly enjoyable, self-reflexive homage to the horror movie genre." commented Theatre Scene Cape Town.

THE DEMON BRIDE: it's wedding season and the wine lands are abuzz with travellers who come to celebrate the nuptials of friends and family. But when the wedding party gets trapped in a haunted cabin in the middle of a dilapidated wine farm, a carefree weekend turns into a nightmare when the spirit of an ancient demon possesses a newlywed and wreaks havoc on her friends. The Demon Bride has one simple message: `With this ring I thee DEAD!'.

The production stars Craig Jackson (The Play That Goes Wrong, Black Sails, Blood Drive), Sarah Potter (The Pervert Laura,The Dark Tower, Shepherds and Butchers),Bianca Flanders (Shakespeare in Love, District Six Kanala, Orpheus in Africa), Carel Nel (Die Rebellie van Lafras Verwey,Blood Drive, The Verbalists) and Andrew Roux (Shakespeare in Love, Wit, Macbeth).

Set Design is by Rocco Pool (The Father, The Eulogists), Lighting Design by Benjamin du Plessis (The Rocky Horror Show, Orpheus in Africa, Funny Girl [all with Daniel Galloway]) and Sean Whitehead (Black Dog/Inj'Emnyama [with Luke Ellenbogen], AFDA), Costume Design by Widaad Albertus (The Eulogists, Associate Costume Designer King Kong) and Sound Design is by internationally acclaimed artist James Webb whose theatre credits include the Fugard Theatre productions of The Birdwatchers and Die Laaste Karretjiegraf, both of which won him Fleur du Cap Awards.

Viljoen's first play as the Fugard's Writer in Residence, The Eulogists, was nominated for a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for Best New South African Script. Viljoen has won Fleur Du Cap Theatre awards (Best New South African Script) for Champ (2013) and The Kingmakers (2015). He was also the recipient of the Rosalie van Der Gucht Best New Director award for his plays, The Kingmakers and The Pervert Laura.

"The Demon Bride is unlike anything we've ever seen on stage - a horror rom-com set in the winelands that is a thrilling theatrical sensory experience to scare and delight you," says Daniel Galloway, Executive Director of the Fugard Theatre. "Louis is an exciting, provocative and visionary South African writer and with his venture into this new genre, he retains his hallmark flawed characters we both love and hate, which are sharply interwoven in to his utterly compelling storylines. We can't wait for Fugard Theatre audiences to see this innovative, fresh and daring production. We are also delighted to be partnering for the first time with the US Woordfees".

Louis Viljoen is a Cape Town based playwright and director. He has written and produced numerous plays including, The Bile Boys, The Frontiersmen, The Verbalists, Champ, Porno 88, The Kingmakers, The Pervert Laura, Oh Baby, I'm A Wild One, The Emissary and The Eulogists. He is one of the creators (along with playwrights Nicholas Spagnoletti and Jon Keevy) of the successful short-play initiative Anthology which has had four successful seasons at The Alexander Bar's Upstairs Theatre.

THE DEMON BRIDE is presented in English and has an age restriction of 18 (Adult content, Language, Sex).

THE DEMON BRIDE will be performed at the Fugard Studio Theatre from 8 May Tuesday to Saturdays at 8pm with a matinee on Saturdays at 3pm.

Tickets cost R160 and can be booked through the Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554 or through the Fugard Theatre's website at www.thefugard.com.

Harrington Street car park is located at the corner of Caledon and Harrington streets and is available for the use of theatre patrons for a small parking fee. 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. And if the weather is fine the bar on the fantastic rooftop terrace is opened, with its panoramic views of the city. Both bars offer a range of wines from some of the Cape's top estates.

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