Not-to-be-missed Afrikaans Season to Kick Off 2015 at the Baxter Theatre Centre

The Baxter Theatre Centre kicks off its 2015 programme with an Afrikaans season showcasing two hugely acclaimed dramas and a comedy during January and February, with all three productions featuring all-star casts. Jaco Bouwer's award-winning SAMSA-MASJIEN, which won the ATKV-Woorveertjie for Drama, takes to the Baxter's Flipside stage from 16 - 31 January. From 20 January - 7 February, in the Baxter's Golden Arrow Studio, television favourites Vinette Ebrahim and Chris van Niekerk will delight in the comedy DIE ONGELOOFLIKE REIS VAN MAX EN LOLA. Marthinus Basson's epic MACBETH.SLAPELOOS, which is performed in Afrikaans with English surtitles, will run in the Baxter Theatre from 4 - 21 February.

SAMSA-MASJIEN made its debut at the Absa Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) last year, where it received the Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director awards as well as the Herrie prize for 'mind-shifting' work. Jaco Bouwer was honoured for his contribution to 'new thinking' in Afrikaans theatre. Conceptualised by Bouwer and Willem Anker and written by Anker, SAMSA-MASJIEN aims to engage in a dialogue with Franz Kafka's THE METAMORPHOSIS. In SAMSA-MASJIEN, Gregor senior, a retired biology teacher and principal (played by Gerben Kamper), is suffering from dementia, like Gregor in the Kafka story. As a result, he and his wife Josephine (played by Antoinette Kellermann) live with their daughter Grete (Ilana Cilliers) and her husband Tjaart (Ludwig Binge) in their luxury modern home in a suburb similar to Sandton. Gregor undergoes a systematic becoming-insect, which psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors ascribe to the auditory and tactile hallucinations common to dementia patients. Gregor sees insects everywhere, feels them walking on him and eventually feels himself becoming something both less and more than human. In 2013 Bouwer's ROOILAND wowed audiences at the Baxter and earned several Fleur du Cap awards and nominations. With SAMSA-MASJIEN, he is once again responsible for design and direction, with music by Pierre-Henry Wicomb, costume design by Birrie le Roux and lighting by Johan Britz. There is an age restriction of 16 years.

Two of the darlings of South African stage and television, Vinette Ebrahim and Chris van Niekerk, have teamed up to present a brand-new dark comedy, DIE ONGELOOFLIKE REIS VAN MAX EN LOLA. Written by Ebrahim and Hugo Taljaard (who also directs the two-hander), the play tells the charming and hilarious story of 80-year-old Max who is gay and white, and Lola, a 79-year-old sharp-tongued coloured woman, who have been friends for over 50 years despite the country's political history. At Max's 80th birthday, Lola is the only guest who arrives, making for a party of just two eccentric characters who share a love for the bioscope. The comedy is performed mainly in Afrikaans with some Cape dialect in English, and there is an age restriction of 13 years.

Marthinus Basson has created an epic South African version of MACBETH with his adaption MACBETH.SLAPELOOS, featuring three of the doyennes of Afrikaans theatre: Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Jana Cilliers and Antoinette Kellermann, with Dawid Minnaar in the title role. The rest of the ensemble comprises Stian Bam, Charlton George, Ludwig Binge, Edwin van der Walt and Senzo Madikane. The play is designed and directed by Basson, with a superb translation by Eitemal and it will be performed with English surtitles. Hugo Theart produces MACBETH.SLAPELOOS with lighting design by Albert Snyman and choreography by Estelle Olivier. The production is presented by TEATERteater, widely regarded as one of the most prolific independent South African theatre companies, who, in recent years, have also produced award-winning productions such as DIE KORTSTONDIGE RAKLEWE VAN ANASTASIA W, AS DIE BROEK PAS, OP DEES AARDE and KLAASVAKIE. MACBETH.SLAPELOOS has already amassed nine awards and several nominations at various festivals which include the Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival, the KykNET Fiesta Theatre Awards and the

KKNK. It received awards for best actor (Dawid Minnaar), best actress (Anna-Mart van der Merwe), best supporting actor (Charlton George), best director, best design and best production, amongst others. In 2014, it played to great acclaim at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. There is an age restriction of 14 years.

Booking for any of the productions in the Baxter's exciting Afrikaans season of SAMSA-MASJIEN, MACBETH.SLAPELOOS or DIE ONGELOOFLIKE REIS VAN MAX EN LOLA is online through Computicket (or by telephone on 0861 915 8000) as well as at any Shoprite Checkers outlet. For discounted corporate, schools or block-bookings, charities or fundraisers, contact Sharon Ward on 021 680 3962 or Carmen Kearns on 021 680 3993.

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