Jean Genet's THE MAIDS to Play Alexander Upstairs This November

THE MAIDS, by Jean Genet, will run at the Alexander Bar and Café's Upstairs Theatre, presented by Wessel Pretorius and directed by Philip Rademeyer this November.

Genet's classic text will be brought to life by Wessel Pretorius, David Viviers and Melissa Haiden in this intimate, seductive, contemporary staging. (Meet the cast in a special BroadwayWorld South Africa feature on the trio.) The production features design by Philip Rademeyer and Stefan Benade, with Benade also handling the dutues of lighting design and stage management.

In THE MAIDS, two sisters and maids, two lowly outcasts (Pretorius and Viviers), perform a daily sacred ceremony in which they turn the tables on their Madame (Haiden) in an attempt to become human again. They are the monstrous soul of servantdom; she, the seemingly unattainable everything. A sudden change of events forces them to take their ceremony further than they ever have before.

THE MAIDS sees Wessel Pretorius, the award-winning actor, writer and theatre-maker of ONT- (translated as UNDONE by Hennie van Greunen), SLAAF, AL JULLE VOKLE and SANDTON CIY GROOTDOOP, continue to invest in the local theatre scene in South Africa.

Director Philip Rademeyer is the co-founder of the award-winning theatre collective, Rust Co-Operative. A 2013 nominee for the Fleur du Cap "Rosalie van der Gucht Prize for New Directors", Rademeyer has written, co-written and directed six productions for the collective, including THE VIEW (which won the "Oscar Wilde Award for Best New Writing" and the "Doric Wilson Intercultural Dialogue Award" at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in 2013, was nominated for "Best Production" at Aardklop in 2013, and has been published through Junkets Publishers); SIEMBAMBA (which won a Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival in 2014 and was selected for 2014 Amsterdam Fringe Festival); and ASHES (which won a Standard Bank Ovation Award at National Arts Festival in 2015). He has also directed the Chaeli Campaign's IN THE WINGS (which won a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival in 2015) NAF). He holds a Masters in Theatre & Performance (Directing) from the University of Cape Town, where he lectures part-time.

THE MAIDS previews on 9 and 10 November 2015, with a full run commencing on 16 November and running through 28 November. Performances are at 9pm nightly. Tickets cost R90-R100 and can be booked online at the Alexander Bar website or purchased at the bar. For telephone bookings and enquiries, call 021 300 1652. Alexander Bar & Café is situated at 76 Strand Street in the Cape Town city centre and can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

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