Family Meeting replaced by My Fellow South Africans

Description

Thank you for your interest in FAMILY MEETING. Unfortunately, the performer is no longer available but the multiple award-winning MY FELLOW SOUTH AFRICANS will be offered instead. The FAMILY MEETING performer has been optioned for a movie in Johannesburg, and given the gig nature of the performing arts economy where actors make their livelihoods from gig to gig rather than earn a regular salary, it's inevitable that actors will need to make decisions that offer better financial returns. I am very pleased though, that Kim Blanche Adonis - the incredibly talented performer in My Fellow South Africans - is in town between international engagements related to a US play, and is available to perform this satirical multi-sketch revue on 2 Oct. Ironically, Kim was supposed to perform Family Meeting, the sequel to My Fellow South Africans, but her talent has been recognised and she has spent much of the last year touring the USA and the UK with two plays. Awethu Hleli - another talent! - was recruited to replace Kim in Family Meeting, and so here we have Kim replacing Awethu on 2 October! A little bit more about My Fellow South Africans: We launched this revue in 2023 as part of the build-up to the 2024 elections, and given its popularity, it continued to be performed around the country, as recently as this last Saturday, to senior students at the University of Stellenbosch as part of the Listen, Live and Learn leadership and development programme. (Family Meeting was written as part of the build-up to the local government elections in November). My Fellow South Africans has evolved to address contemporary themes beyond the elections of May 2024 and has earned the talented performer Kim Blanche Adonis two “Best Solo” Performance awards (including at Woordfees) as well as the production receiving the Standard Bank Bronze Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival. It also won the Best New Script award at the Independent Theatre Awards in Gauteng and has been nominated in the Naledi Theatre Awards (Gauteng). The production has been performed more than 180 times around the country in theatres, community halls, corporate boardrooms, festivals, university campuses, retirement villages, on a jazz cruise and even in people’s homes! The satirical revue has resonated with audiences across the demographic board, touching on themes which are of concern or interest to many. Academics and NGO leaders, teachers and corporate CEOs, students and retirees have all praised the work as tapping into our current anxieties and frustrations while allowing us a moment of catharsis and hope. Here’s what some have said about My Fellow South Africans: So clever and entertaining as well as educational, funny, profound, real. Best hour spent in an intimate setting. Not to be missed. - Laurence Esteve, co-director of the Zip Zap Circus Political satire at its best. Brilliant script and exceptional acting that sharply capture the nuances of our society. Evokes laughter, sadness and hope. - Mansoor Jaffer, Cape Cultural Collective It is such a cleverly constructed play, with a brilliant performance by Kim Blanche Adonis.…It is the kind of play that should be performed to young people throughout the country and…followed by a discussion of the issues raised. - Ryland Fisher, former editor of the Cape Times Extracts from some of the reviews are: My Fellow South Africans is bracing satirical sketch comedy, performed by Kim Blanche Adonis with great skill…Adonis…is funny and fabulous and there are moments of laugh-out-loud laughter and we need that. – Robyn Cohen, Cape Robyn My Fellow South Africans does exactly what it promises to do: it gives audiences an entertaining satirical take on contemporary South Africa and does so by merging wit and commentary in a provokingly entertaining manner. – Barbara Loots, Theatre Scene Cape Town Thank you for supporting independent theatre