Photo Feature: Upcoming Tour of FIELA SE KIND to the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria

Dalene Matthee's well-known FIELA SE KIND will stop at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria as part of its national tour this August and September. Take a look at the production in a set of photographs, courtesy of the Lefra Productions, below.

God forgives many things, but God never forgives us the wrong we do to a child. FIELA SE KIND is the story of a white foundling, Benjamin, who is raised by a woman of colour, Fiela Komoetie, with love and pride for nine years until the day the census takers take him away. On the other side of the mountain, in the forest, live the woodcutter, Elias van Rooyen, and his wife, Barta, who had lost their three-year-old son, Lukas, nine years before. Could Benjamin and Lukas be the same child? Years later, this young man struggles with the question of who he is. If he cannot find out, the woman he loves might never be his. He knows that there is an answer, somewhere within himself, hidden deep within the past, and he has to find it before it evades him forever.

Frans Swart directs Suzanne van Wijk's stage adaptation of Matthee's classic South African novel, having produced the play twice before, in 1997 and 2007. Swart, who became great friends with Mattee before she died, comments on the new production:

With this production of FIELA SE KIND, we would also like to pay homage to Dalene Matthee, one of South Africa's most talented authors. During one of our rehearsals in those days, Dalene brought me a copy of FIELA SE KIND. Inside, she had written: FIELA IS IN GOOD HANDS! DALENE MATTHEE. It is once again time for us to experience the wonderful story of Fiela se Kind on stage. From the outset, my team and I said that we did not want to copy any of the former Fielas and therefore, this production will be fresh and new. I am very excited about what happened during the creative process. Theatregoers will definitely experience a wonderful new production and after 30 years, there is of course a whole new generation that has never seen Fiela se Kind on stage.

Swart further explained that they did a nationwide search for the cast of the production, especially for a young Benjamin and Nina.

After auditioning more than 300 children across the country, we finally found our new Benjamin, Vian Singleton from Meyerton, and Nina, Jaime du Toit from Vereeniging. These two are extremely talented and will definitely do justice to the very important roles of the young Nina and Benjamin. I am just as excited about Shaleen Surtie-Richards, the original Fiela. Then we have the two wonderful young actors, Marissa Claasen and Phillru van Achterbergh, as the older Nina and Lukas, respectively.

The rest of the cast includes Paul Lückhoff as Elias van Rooyen, Edrien Erasmus as Barta van Rooyen, Johny Klein as Selling Komoetie, Dirk Vermeulen and Nardus van der Vyver as the census takers, Divan Prinsloo as Willem van Rooyen, Graigan Swartz as Tollie Komoetie and Marilise van Wyk as Emma Komoetie.

Bookings for both the Cape Town (22 - 26 August) and Pretoria (27 August to 3 September) seasons of FIELA SE KIND can be made online at Computicket or by phone on 0861 915 8000. For group and school bookings, contact Lefra directly by email or by phone on 011 815 3000. The production is proudly presented with the support of Stuttaford Van Lines, RSG and Sounds Good.

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