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Spanish Steps

Theatre / Princess Alice

https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2023-06-23-spanish-steps-full-of-quirky-moments/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1687523047-1“Compelling theatre at it best … Littered with quirky moments while delving deep into the human condition, Spanish Steps is a masterpiece in triggering emotional understanding.” – Devon Koen, HeraldLive.
“Fresh, funny and tragically Human” – Megan Choritz – Weekend Special
“A Coming-Of-Middle-Age Comedy – QUIRKY, UPLIFTING AND FUN” – The Cape Robyn

Spanish Steps is back at at the National Art Festival after it’s debut in the 2022 Curated Programme.

Two unlikely companions get stuck in a basement and face the unhappy prospect of spending the foreseeable future in close quarters. Maureen the earnest corporate exec, and Barry, her underachieving employee, get to know one another more than they ever wanted. They enter into a fraught dance, triggering each other’s deepest issues and in the process, they become mirrors to each other’s blind spots. As the tensions rise we wonder if they will push each other over the edge or if they’ll help each other become unstuck.

No Under 16.

Review from HeraldLive:
https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2023-06-23-spanish-steps-full-of-quirky-moments/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1687523047-1

Reviews from 2022:

Review: Spanish Steps –coming-of-middle-age comedy – quirky, uplifting and fun

Spanish Steps: Last Laugh at the bottom of the ladder:

Spanish Steps: Last Laugh at the bottom of the ladder

Interview with playwright and actor Gavin Werner:

Interview: Pushing through to hope in Gavin Werner’s comedy drama, Spanish Steps

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Director: Caroline Midgley
Writer: Gavin Werner
Cast: Gavin Werner, Dianne Simpson

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Gavin Werner – Writer and Male Lead Playing Barry
Gavin’s theatre credits include Neil Simon’s “God’s Favorite”,’ Noel Coward’s “Private Lives”, David Stevens’ “The Sum of Us” and Mary Laws’ “Blueberry Toast”. He has appeared in over twenty five film and TV productions including “Black Sails”, “Wallander”, “Warrior” and “Vagrant Queen”. After school he enrolled for a performer’s diploma at UCT, then switched to IT for several years which led him to travel extensively and live and work around the world. He came back to Cape Town to study at ACT Cape Town and thereafter with the Mathew Harrison’s Actor’s Foundry based in Vancouver. He won a silver Standard Bank Ovation Award (2021) for his performance in Pete Malicki’s “Extraordinary Unusual”. He has written one play (Spanish Steps), a short film (The Art of Peace) and a screen play (FarAway).

Dianne Simpson – Female Lead Playing Maureen
Dianne graduated from Pretoria Technikon in 1996. She then attended the TVI Actors Studio course in LA. Her theatre highlights include ‘SPOOF FULL OF SUGAR’ (Sandton Square), ‘THE SOUNDOF MUSIC’ (State Theatre), ‘MY FAIR LADY’ (State Theatre), ‘A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM’ (Civic Fringe Theatre), BLITHE SPIRIT (Sandton Square), ‘WITHOUT A HITCH’ (Monte Casino Studio), ‘THE TAMING OF THE SHREW’ (Maynardville), ‘INTO THE WOODS’ (Theatre on the Bay and Monte Casino) and ‘KINKY BOOTS” (The Fugard Theatre)

She has appeared on TV in “GENERATIONS”, “EGOLI” and “THE WILD”, “BINNELANDERS” and “HEAVEN CAN WAIT and “LEGACY” and movies, ‘PASSION GAP’,‘PLAY BY HEART’ and ‘BHAI’S CAFÉ’. She has done numerous documentary re-enactments eg: THE DEVIL SPEAKS, THE GRANT SERIES and AMERICAN MONSTER.

She was an on-set voice artist for the movie, “RACING STRIPES” (Warner Bros) and she can be heard as the voice of Lillian in SA animated Movie “JOCK, THE HERO DOG”. She wrote a few episodes of SILLY SEASONS (motion capture animation series for e-tv) directed by Daniel Buckland and voiced the characters of Summer and Venus. She also wrote and voiced ‘SHARP SHARP’ children’s programme for four years for the SABC. She became one of the writers for ‘LEGACY Season 2’ in 2021.

She has written and has been touring with her own one woman show, ROSE RED since 2011 and debuted the sequel, THE SISTERS UGLY at the National Arts Festival in 2017.

Caroline Midgely – Director
Caroline has a penchant for satire and shrewd social commentary and she enjoys exploring the fine line between comedy and tragedy with her actors. She discovered her love of directing while studying drama at Wits and at AFDA. Starting as an assistant director in Laughing Wild by Christopher Durang, she became known for her innovative and sometimes quirky techniques for helping the actors find their characters. Her directing credits include her own productions of Hey Baby and Ain’t She Sweet. Her theatre acting credits include Berkoff’s Decadence, Pinter’s The Lover, and a female Vladimir in Waiting For Godot and her her most recent television appearance was as Ruth in Tali’s Wedding Diary.

  • Venue: Princess Alice
  • City: Makhanda
  • Location: Princess Alice Hall, 18D African St, Grahamstown, Makhanda, 6139
  • Ticket Price: R90.00
  • Programme Type: FRINGE
  • Genre: Theatre
  • Duration: 60 mins
  • Ages: 16+
  • Language: English
PRINCESS ALICE
June 22, 2023   14:00 - 15:00
PRINCESS ALICE
June 23, 2023   20:30 - 21:30
PRINCESS ALICE
June 24, 2023   16:00 - 17:00
PRINCESS ALICE
June 25, 2023   18:30 - 19:30
PRINCESS ALICE
June 26, 2023   12:30 - 13:30
PRINCESS ALICE
June 27, 2023   16:30 - 17:30