Hilton Arts Festival
Hilton College: 14 – 16 September
In the dead of night… that is the how the poignant two hander, Selwyn and Gabriel begins, written by Richard Kaplan, this magical modern mystery about two strangers with secrets comes to the Hilton Arts Festival this year.
This is the second production that Kaplan, a full-time medical doctor working in the field of HIV research at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, has penned and with his latest he sweeps you into a number of themes and scenarios with his refreshing script from the moment the curtain opens.
It is 02.34am, Selwyn Aaron Bernstein wakes to find an intruder in his home. Confused and still half asleep, Selwyn enters the kitchen to find Gabriel.
Something terrible has happened. Gabriel who is at once interrogator, bureaucrat and therapist begins an investigation. “Where were you on the 10th July 2016 at 02.34am when the lights went out?” he asks. “I was asleep,” Selwyn replies.
But was he? What follows is an intriguing inner journey of discovery about regret and real estate, flight and friendship, lies and integrity. And love – always love…
Starring Kai Luke Brummer and Mbulelo Grootboom with Tara Notcutt directing them. Brummer gradutated in 2016 from UCT with a B.A. Honours in Theatre and Performance, with a distinction in Acting. In 2015 he was awarded the Ellie Walendorf Prize for Best Male Actor. In his budding career, he has appeared in several productions including The Dead Wait directed by Mdu Kweyama, Ebola directed by Nicholas Ellenbogen, Black Dog / Inj’enyama directed by Clare Stopford, Gavin Krastin’s Trophy and in (s)kin directed by Mbongeni Mtshali.
Grootboom received a Fleur du Cap award for his role in Mike van Graan’s Just Business in 2013. The versatile performer has appeared in various films, on stage and is currently working on four television shows.
No stranger to the fest is Tara Notcutt who at 31, is one of the most prolific directors in the country. She is a celebrated independent director and producer, as well as Artistic Director of The Pink Couch, with a repertoire of award-winning and internationally travelling work under her belt. She has a BA in Theatre and Performance, majoring in Theatre Making, from UCT. She has won the Fleur du Cap Theatre Award Rosalie van der Gucht Prize for New Directors (2010), and the Baxter Theatre/GIPCA/ Theatre Arts Admin Collective Emerging Theatre Director’s Bursary (2010). She was a member of the prestigious Lincoln Center, Theater Directors Lab in New York City (2011), and is one of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans (2012). Since 2009, Tara has presented works at 45 festivals in 15 cities in 4 countries on 3 continents including the Hilton Arts Festival, but South Africa is her favourite. Her most lauded works include …miskien, Mafeking Road, Undermined, The Three Little Pigs, and Three Blind Mice.
Catch them at the Festival, which will take place on the beautiful grounds of the Hilton College from Hilton College: 14 – 16 September 2018.
The festival would not be possible without the generous support of Hilton College, Grindrod Bank, Black Coffee Design, DWR Distribution, Extreme Events, Bi
dvest Car Rental, KZN Dept of Arts & Culture, Redlands Hotel, Assitej South Africa, Loud Crowd, Sappi, BASA, RMB and Corona.
For more info visit http://www.hiltonfestival.co.za/ or like the Facebook page, Hilton Arts Festival. Follow us on Twitter @HiltonFest and Instagram. All enquiries on 033 383 0126 / 7 or tickets@hiltoncollege.com. The 26th annual Hilton Arts Festival will run from 14 to 16 September. The full programme is on www.hiltonfestival.co.za. Online bookings is open and programmes are available from various outlets in KZN. Refer to website for list of outlets.
