Fugard Adaptation THE WOMAN WITH A BABY ON HER BACK for Alexander Bar And Café's Upstairs Theatre

Athol Fugard's THE WOMAN WITH A BABY ON HER BACK will come to Alexander Bar's and Café's Upstairs theatre in a run split over two weeks this April and May. This adaptation of Athol Fugard's riveting short story, "To Whom It Must Concern" portrays the impact a tragic event has on the life and psyche of a Karoo train driver, Roelf Visagie. During the hour-long one-man play, Roelf and other characters share with the audience their unique perceptions of the same incident. The play is presented in a simple manner, and deals with universal issues of humanity.

THE WOMAN WITH A BABY ON HER BACK is the result of a collaboration between actor Pieter van Zyl and Professor Thomas Leabhart, director and senior professor in drama at the Pomona College in Claremont, California. The play was given its first performances at the Seaver Theater in California, where it was received with much praise and acclaim. The performances at the Alexander Theatre mark the South African premiere of the play.

Fugard is one of South Africa's most esteemed playwrights. He is best known for his political plays opposing apartheid and for the 2005 Academy Award-winning film of his novel, TSOTSI. The recipient of many awards and honorary degrees, he is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Pieter van Zyl has studied acting at the Akademie van Dramakuns in Cape Town and then continued his theatre studies in London, Paris and California, specialising in the corporeal mime technique of Etienne Decroux. In London, as a member of Theatre de l'Ange Fou, he performed in Jean Tardieu's ENTANGLED LIVES and Nikolai Gogol's THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, while in California in Edgar Lee Masters's SPOONRIVER ANTHOLOGY and Eugène Ionesco's MAID TO MARRY. In South Africa, he created four plays that were much influenced by his study of corporeal mime: ON A GREEN FOOTPATH, BREAD, WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING and EARLY WORKS - A LOVE STORY. For the Spier production of THE GREAT GATSBY, directed by Peter Joucla, he played the character of Wilson. VAn Zyl's voice is regularly heard in plays and readings on RSG. He has a master's degree in music and also works as a musician.

Director Thomas Leabhart is Professor of Theatre and Resident Artist at the Pomona College in Claremont, California. He frequently teaches and performs in Europe, Asia and South America and is a member of ISTA (International School of Theatre Anthropology) Artistic Staff. His specific areas of scholarship is Etienne Decroux, with whom he studied from 1968 - 1972. Leabhart is the most published writer on the subject of corporeal.

THE WOMAN WITH A BABY ON HER BACK runs from 27-29 April and 5-9 May at 19:00. Tickets, costing R90 or R80 if paid for in advance, can be booked at The Alexander Bar website. You can also purchase tickets in person at the bar anytime during our regular opening hours or call 021 300 1652 for telephone bookings and enquiries. The Alexander Bar & Café is situated at 76 Strand Street in the Cape Town city centre. To keep up to date with all things Alexander Bar, visit the venue's Facebook page or Twitter account.

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