The Mountaintop, a play that won the Olivier Award in 2010 for best new play on the London stage, comes to the Market Theatre in June.
It was staged on Broadway with acting luminaries Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Basset.
The South African premiere is directed by Warona Seane, and features powerhouse performances from acting veterans Sello Sebotsane and Mwenya Kabwe.
Sello plays the character role of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. on the fateful night in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, the evening before his assassination. Mwenya stars as the chambermaid who encounters this legend residing in her motel, only to discover, over the course of their encounter, that Dr Martin Luther King Jr. is a man, first and foremost, who struggles and is tormented by his burden of fame, the social problems he faces, and his yearning for a cigarette and some female company.
Sello Sebotsane is a familiar face in theatre, television, and film. He has starred in memorable productions such as the musical Guga Mzimba (portraying Gerard Sekoto), Madam & Eve, Isidingo, Muvhango, Backstage, Jacob’s Cross, Sophiatown (directed by Malcolm Purkey), Cold Stone Jug, Ten Bush (directed by Mncedisi Shabangu) and Big Dada (international tour). He has received a Naledi award for Happy Natives, two Fleur de Cap nominations and another Naledi nomination.
Mwenya Kabwe is a theatre-maker who hails from Zambia and has a Master’s Degree in Theatre and Performance from UCT. She has received numerous awards for her stage work. They include a Fleur de Cap and Naledi Award for her role in Yellowman. In 2011, her work Traces of Places and All Points In Between was seen in Barcelona, Spain.
Director Warona Seane is best known for her mind-blowing production of Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed and Antonio David Lyons’ We Are Here, as well as the Sacred Thorn, Yes Medem, Fragments of an Orgy, Mute Echoes, Romeo and Juliet and the mesmerising For Colored/Girls who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozakhe Shange. She also stars in the TV series 90 Plein Street, Justice For All, Home Affairs III and Hillside II-IV on SABC, and was nominated for a Naledi Award for best actress for her role in Nongogo.
The Mountaintop will feature innovative and cutting-edge production and lighting design by Wilhelm Disbergen. His designs have been seen in Europe and the UK, and he has received Naledi Award nominations for set design and lighting.
Critics the world over have unanimously praised the play:
“… Even before the first flash of lightning – and there will be plenty of that before evening’s end – an ominous electricity crackles through the opening moments of The Mountaintop … I felt a spark of Dr King-like divinity in his rousing climactic oratory.” (New York Times).
“… the story unfolds as a wary, increasingly intimate, personal, political and at times theological pas de deux – part minuet, part two-step, part tango.” (San Francisco Chronicle).
“… This work by Katori Hall will leave you variously stunned, raw, teary. It functions as an evening in an unpredictable Gethsemane. You thought you came here for a history lesson you already knew. Instead, you leave amazed at your own misassumptions and part of something bigger.” (Stark Insider).
“fearless … dizzying … prophetic” (San Jose Mercury News).
The Mountaintop is produced by Yellow Bunny Productions in association with the Market Theatre. In 2011, this production house was responsible for the acclaimed Kiss of the Spiderwoman, which received two Naledi nominations, including for best overall production.
The Mountaintop is presented by arrangement with DALRO (Pty) Limited, www.dalro.co.za
The Mountaintop will be staged at the Market Theatre from 12 June to 21 July 2013 for 6 weeks only.
Running time 125 minutes. No interval.
Bookings can be made through Computicket.
Prices are:
Tuesdays R79
Wednesday and Thursday R95
Friday and Saturday R158
Sunday R116
Half price for Pensioners/Actors/Staff from Wednesday - Sunday
R50 for Students and Students’ block bookings
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