UNDERMINED to Play Kalk Bay Theatre, 26-30 August

Following rave reviews and rapturous responses, Standard Bank Ovation Award winner UNDERMINED returns to Kalk Bay Theatre for a limited season from 26 to 30 August. Presented by KBT Productions and Here Manje (Pty) Ltd, directed by multiple award-winning Tara Notcutt, UNDERMINED features Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Luke Brown and Stefan Erasmus.

Written by Mkhwanazi and Brown and adapted by Notcutt in collaboration with the actors, UNDERMINED played to great acclaim at the National Arts Festival following its successful premiere earlier this year at Kalk Bay Theatre. The BroadwayWorld review of that debut production praised Notcutt for her direction of the play and with critic David Fick reporting that 'the performance of the trio of actors is seamless as they bring the play to life through the use of explosive verbal dynamics accompanied by mime, comic book styled physical theatre, song and lively choreography'. The subsequent run in Grahamstown earned UNDERMINED a Standard Bank Ovation Award, and the play also received a prestigious invitation to be part of the Perth International Fringe Festival in Australia next year.

Mashing up comic book with African storytelling and choreography by Mkhwanazi and Cleo Notcutt, UNDERMINED tells the true tale of Madlebe, an ordinary man with an extraordinary gift, who came from Mozambique to find a job and take home a better life to his father and wife to be. However, his unique talent of a finely tuned sense of hearing leads to some interesting developments along the way. Told against the backdrop of urban Jozi and the deep of the mines, it is a story of hope, perseverance, and an unexpected hero.

Tara Notcutt is a seasoned and internationally acclaimed director and producer, and artistic director of The Pink Couch. The many productions she has worked on have toured around South Africa and abroad with much success. ...MISKEIN and THE THREE LITTLE PIGS have both been performed in Perth and Amsterdam and been invited to New York, the latter winning the Silver Award for Best International Production at the Amsterdam Fringe. Notcutt's numerous credits include MAFEKING ROAD; LAST ROUNDS; WHATWHAT; ILLUSIVE; THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING); WAITING FOR THIS GOD OU and A TOWN CALLED FOKOL LUTHO. At the tender age of 27, she has already received more than twenty awards and nominations.

Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi trained locally and internationally and his illustrious career has spanned performing, writing, composing, choreographing and devising theatre performances and educational programmes. He has worked with some of South Africa's top companies, including Theatre for Africa, Sakhile Theatre Company (of which he is a founder member), FTH:K, Third World Bunfight, Artscape and Siyasanga Cape Town Theatre, where he was Roy Sergeant's joint artistic director. Mkhwanazi has toured the SADC regions, the US, England, Europe and Asia, performing and facilitating theatrical workshops and he has helped build four theatres. His extensive list of credits include CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY; NOW NOW; THE BIRD; ORPHEUS; NGUNI: THE LOVE STORY; THE DIARIES OF DIESEL DU TOIT; SUBJECT TO CITIZEN; MAMA THEMBU'S WEDDING; MY LOW-FAT ALMOST ITALIAN WEDDING and A MAN AND A DOG, for which he received a Fleur du Cap nomination. He is the artistic director of Here Manje and currently appears on television in the SABC series TRAFFIC and 90 PLEIN STREET.

Capetonian Luke Brown received his training in film and theatre from AFDA. Brown works and has training in various disciplines in the arts, both in front and behind the line. Brown founded Here Manje with Mkhwanazi and Samantha Davies in 2013 and the production company recently won two Standard Bank Ovation Awards for MEMORY and UNDERMINED with KBT Productions. A previous work, BELOW MY FEET, which he co-directed with Ciara Baldwin ended a three year run around South Africa this year with Arts Education and Assitej.

Stefan Erasmus trained at UCT and has been directed by Sandra Temmingh, Geoffrey Hyland and Luke Ellenbogen. In 2012, he worked with Philip Rademeyer, in one of two starting productions for Rust Co-Operative, playing Anna Jones in LIE. Stefan has worked with exciting theatremakers such as Roy Seargent, Kim Kerfoot and Gabriella Pinto.

"This is a last chance for Cape Town audiences to catch this breathtakingly fresh and exciting show before it starts touring," says co-producer and Kalk Bay Theatre owner, Simon Cooper. "Come and see why everyone has loved it."

UNDERMINED will be performed at the Kalk Bay Theatre from 26 to 30 August at 8pm with a matinee on 30 August at 2.30pm. Tickets cost R85 and R75 for seats in the gallery. On Tuesdays, get two tickets for the price of one. Guests can enjoy a delicious supper before the show. For information and to book a table for dinner, call 079 361 8275.To book tickets for the show, visit www.kalkbaytheatre.co.za.