Premiere Of Louis Viljoen's Gripping Horror-Comedy THE DEMON BRIDE Comes to Woordfees

The latest play from multiple award-winning playwright and director Louis Viljoen, THE DEMON BRIDE, has its premiere at the University of Stellenbosch (US) Woordfees from 8 to 10 March.

Eric Abraham presents this Fugard Theatre production in association with US Woordfees. Following its debut at the Festival, THE DEMON BRIDE will run at the Fugard Studio Theatre from 8 May to 2 June. Viljoen also directs the play.

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

Viljoen is the Fugard Theatre's Writer in Residence. His first play in this position, The Eulogists has been 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.

In 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. 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 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 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.

"The Demon Bride is going to be unlike anything we've ever seen on stage - a horror rom-com set in the winelands that is going to be 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 to bring this thrilling production to audiences at the Woordfees and then a little later in the year at the Fugard Theatre. We are 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 (Language, Sex).

THE DEMON BRIDE will be performed at the HB Thom-Auditorium at US Woordfees on 8 March at 5pm and 8pm; on 9 March at 12:30 and on 10 March at 4.30pm and 8pm.

Tickets cost R120 - R140 at Computicket or R140-R160 at the door. Bookings can be made at Computicket 0861 915 8000, online at www.computicket.com or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet.

Bookings for the run at the Fugard Studio Theatre from 8 May to 2 June open on 1 March and can be made through the Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554. Visit www.thefugard.com

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