The multiple-award-winning Sylvaine Strike directs a stellar cast in Molière’s deliciously mean comedy The Miser, which humorously magnifies the madness of a father’s greed, paranoia and suspicion, at the Baxter Flipside from 8 to 25 May at 8pm nightly with a matinee at 2pm on 23 May.
The play recently walked off with four Naledi Theatre Awards for Best Production of a Play, Best Director (Sylvaine Strike), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Patricia Boyer), Best Costume Design (Sarah Roberts).
Legendary designer Sarah Roberts dresses the dynamic cast led by the inimitable Lionel Newton as the demagogue and miser Harpagon, with Patricia Boyer, Mpho Osei-Tutu, Atandwa Kani, Jason Kennett, William Harding, Kate Liquorish and Motlatji Ditodi. Set design is by Chen Nakar, with set décor by Sarah Roberts, and music composition by Dean Barrett. Both Strike and Harding have also translated and adapted the script.
Strike has established herself as an actress, voice-over artist, creator and director with a diverse career in the mediums of theatre, television and film. She returns to Cape Town, where she studied at UCT Drama School before going to specialise in physical theatre and movement analysis at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. She is best known for her riveting, innovative plays that have captivated audiences both nationally and internationally.
Sylvaine is the recipient of the 2006 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Drama and was one of the 25 worldwide nominees in line for the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative 2010. She has wowed Cape Town audiences as an actress and director with productions such as Baobabs Don’t Grow Here, Black and Blue and The Travellers. She was awarded the Fleur du Cap award for Best New Director in 2005 and has devised and directed many productions, including the critically acclaimed The Table, The Butcher Brothers, Pregnant Pause, The Arabian Nights byMary Zimmermanand A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
She explains, “We are at such a crossroads in our cultural expression in South Africa; as artists we are continuously pressured to create work that is relevant, inoffensive, politically correct and cheap to produce. My love affair with Moliere’s work goes back a long way. My fascination with Commedia dell’arte and deep love of clowning, coupled with my passion for re-imagining the classics in my own private capacity as there is rarely enough demand to do so for professional purposes, were all factors that urged me to pursue the dream of directing The Miser.
With her Fortune Cookie Theatre Company Strike has given a remarkably contemporary interpretation to Molière’s timeless 1668 classic which premiered at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg in October last year as part of the South African French Season.
The Star said, ”Miss Molière’s The Miser, and you are sacrificing the South African production of the year”. The Daily Maverick was equally impressed, saying, “a magnificent piece of theatre even now”, and the Citizen agreed, with “Generous performances.”
Harpagon (played by Newton) is a penny-pinching wart of a father and a pulsating boil on the beaten posterior of his panic-stricken household, ruling over his roost with calculated avarice. But for how much longer? His offspring, Cléante and Elise, wish to marry. Will Harpagon approve of their choices despite the foul smells of poverty afoot? Or will his escalating paranoia snuff out their hopes of happiness once and for all?
Veteran actor and director Dr John Kani, who saw the production, said "Sylvaine Strike's ability to merge the Western style of a period piece with the African story-telling form is so evident in The Miser ... she is indeed one of South Africa’s most important story-tellers working in the theatre today."
Respected artist William Kentridge was also encouraging, saying, "The clockwork precision of every movement and gesture in the production is a wonderful foil to the sharpness of Molière's language and thinking. We see a whole society being taken apart into its constituent mainsprings, flywheels, and escape mechanisms. A wonderful theatrical demonstration of ebullience and exactitude."
Lionel Newton and Atandwa Kani were last seen in Cape Town when they both performed in the highly successful Baxter and RSC production of The Tempest which transferred to Stratford-upon-Avon for a season there. Newton’s latest film, Sleeper’s Wake, has received critical media acclaim. Other films include Triomf, Jump the Gun, Forgiveness, Gums and Noses, Stander and Jozi. On television he has appeared in Isidingo, as well as Rhythm City, Barney Barnato and Crossing the Line. He also performed in Hear and Now and The Well Being at the Baxter.
The Miser previews on 8 and 9 May and runs until 25 May at 8pm nightly with a matinee performance on Thursday 23 May at 2pm. Ticket prices range from R110 to R150 and booking is through Computicket on 0861 915 8000, on-line at www.computicket.co.za or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet.
For discounted block bookings, charities, corporate bookings and fundraisers please contact Sharon Ward on 021 680 3962, e-mail sharon.ward@uct.ac.za, or Carmen Kearns on 021 680 3993, e-mail carmen.kearns@uct.ac.za.
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