THE REAL MRS. MUHAMMED Explores Explosive Inter-cultural Love

Exploding onto the Arena Stage at Artscape as one of the plays during the Applauz Arts Initiative 2nd SoloAfrika Festival of MonoDrama from 27 August to 1 September 2018 is The Real Mrs Muhammad featuring Artscape's very own Senior Marketing Manager, Simone Heradien in her debut appearance on-stage.

The play tackles the complexities of an inter-cultural relationship between a naturalised practicing Muslim, Pakistani man and a feminist, atheist Capetonian woman.

Heradien will dramatise a raw, auto-biographical, microscosmic view of her life, confronting her struggle to balance her liberalism, feminism and atheism among others, within a relationship which is masculine, Muslim, Pakistani and culturally driven by her partner.

The two meet on a plane, fall passionately in love mid-air halfway between somewhere and Dubai, which sees her move lock, stock and two smoking barrels to Pretoria where he resides. Meanwhile, he's secretly betrothed to another in the Motherland...

The secret is exposed 3 years into the relationship after he's taken his love to Pakistan. The relationship nearly bombs. Five years into the relationship he moots that the "cultural wife" and their baby (what?), move to South Africa. Are there any more surprises that this relationship must face, and who will stand up as the real Mrs. Muhammad?

The Real Mrs Muhammad is a new South African piece. Through the extensive network of Applauz Arts Initiative on the continent and abroad they intend to export this and other productions to the international theatre community after the festival.

As an NGO within the creative industry, Applauz Arts Initiative is pushing the envelope to make a difference not just within the South African creative narrative but also testing the "Global Village" concept and offering emerging talent this opportunity to showcase and network with their international peers.

These new productions would not exist without the mastery of mentor/director and the multi-talented Kurt Egelhof.

Egelhof has been active in the Arts and Culture sector for 34 years, uninterrupted. He started his professional career in the industry as an actor in 1981 and rose to his career highlight as the head of creative department for Endemol SA 20 years later. Today, he resides in Muizenberg, Cape Town, with a wealth of experience as a freelance consultant / producer / director for film, television and stage productions. He was the National Coordinator of the Performing Arts Network (PANSA) and the South African representative for the International Theatre Institute (ITI).

The SoloAfrika Festival of MonoDrama is hosted in partnership with Artscape Theatre Centre and the International Theatre Institute while the Singer Group is on board as accommodation sponsor.

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