Wordsmith’s Theatre Factory Brings NORMALITY from South Africa to New York in United Solo Festival, 11/10

Cape Town based Production Company Wordsmith's Theatre Factory is bringing their acclaimed one-man musical theatre production NORMALITY to Broadway as part of the United Solo Festival.

The production, a love story centered around Alex, a disabled man in his 30's, had its origin in the coming together of three events in the life of writer Hennie van Greunen: he grew up with a sister who suffers from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, a painful and debilitating disease; as a young man he saw Whoopi Goldberg's 1985 Broadway show, which completely redefined his understanding of the genre and of the way in which disability is portrayed on stage; and the talents of singer, actor, storyteller Pedro Kruger, who can handle any theatrical demand thrown at him.

The result was NORMALITY, which has been described by the press as ' wickedly funny, raw and entirely real'. After a very successful four-year run in South Africa (in Afrikaans, under the title Lyf) the production was translated into English and in 2009 it took the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by storm, winning the Fringe Review Hidden Gem Award.

This is the first time that a South African production will be taking part in the United Solo Festival and in a way it is coming to its inspirational home, which once again just proves the effect that Broadway has on the international creative community: from New York to the tiny South African town of Mossel Bay, to Cape Town to Edinburgh back to New York.

NORMALITY is on at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, New York NY, tonight, November 10th at 6 pm. Tickets may be booked from Theatre Row or online at www.telecharge.com or telephonically at 212-239-6200.

To post a comment, you must register and login.