PARROT WOMAN Comes to Masque Theatre, November 18-22

The highly acclaimed play THE PARROT WOMAN by award-winning playwright and director Charles J. Fourie will be staged at The Masque Theatre in Muizenberg for a short season following its recent Cape Town run. The production features Leonard Moss and Adri van der Hoven in the roles of a British soldier, and a Boer woman who is held captive for the shocking murders of her husband and children. Set against the backdrop of the Anglo-Boer War of the previous century the bitter sweet love story has seen over fifteen different productions with various actors over the years and was last staged in London and in Oxford.

In the play, an unwilling soldier guards the so-called parrot woman in a concentration camp during the Boer war of the previous century. In an attempt to reveal the truth surrounding the murders of her husband and children the soldier falls haplessly in love with her in a poignant game of ritual and escapism. What is revealed in the powerful and touching end sheds light not only on the ravaging effects war has on the human psyche, but sees the two characters find solace in each other's pain and loss.

Audiences and reviewers at the recent performances of the production agreed that this new production of Charles J. Fourie's play is still very relevant since its first staging at the Market Theatre some 25 years ago. CAPE TIMES reviewer Tracey Saunders writes: "The Parrot Woman allows audiences a glimpse into a slice of history not frequently interrogated on stage. Viewing the Anglo-Boer War through the lens of this unusual relationship renders the past more vivid and is a painful reminder that not all casualties of war die on the battlefields." Marilu Snyders writes on ARTSLINK: "The setting is a unique one - the Boer war not being the most romantic or exotic of settings for a love story to unfold - but the themes are poignantly relevant. Difficult topics such as family murders are tackled head on, and questions raised as to whether there is a justifiable situation in which to take
others' lives. THE PARROT WOMAN also shines a bleak light on how war can break the human psyche, driving good, moral people to make decisions they never would contemplate otherwise."

THE PARROT WOMAN season at The Masque Teater runs from 18 to 22 November nightly @ 19h00. Call 021 7881898 to book or send an e-mail to bookings@masquetheatre.co.za. Tickets cost R75 and a 20% discount is offered to pensioners and groups of 10 or more. Also stand a chance to win free tickets by visiting https://www.facebook.com/KAAPTEATERENSEMBLE.

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