Following its sold-out success at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South African theatre legend Athol Fugard’s acclaimed play Blood Knot transfers to The Baxter for a limited season.
The multi-award-winning cast and creative team are led by James Ngcobo who directs Mncedisi Shabangu and Francois Jacobs in this hit production which recently received five Naledi Theatre nominations, including Best Director, Lead Performance in a Play, Production, Lighting and Sound Design. Winners will be announced on Monday 16 May.
Fugard’s timeless classic Blood Knot which tackles themes of brotherhood and hope, first premièred in 1961. Set in the suburb of Korsten in Gqeberha – a place packed with people who are desperately trying to find an opportunity that will offer them some hope – the play delves into the bond of love between two brothers, the kind that transcends skin colour. They are forced to dream as they navigate the intricacies of being stuck in a place that offers them nothing but its squalor and the poverty that they are confronted with every single moment.
Ngcobo is an award-winning actor and director, and the artistic director at The Market Theatre.
Recently he won his fourth South African Film and Television Award (Safta) for Best Actor for his performance in the Netflix series Queen Sono.
“In Blood Knot Fugard unpacks this country in such a brave manner as he weaves together themes that are still so pertinent in our contemporary times,” explains Ngcobo. “He explores our baggage as a nation in a poetic manner that allows us to look at who we are, what we have gone through and tickles our curiosity about the collective aspirations that we have.”
He continues: “We have witnessed glimpses of hope popping up from the horizon and then jumped back into despair and hopelessness which raises a litany of questions . . . do we still have the South African dream or is it a South African delusion?”
With several accolades under his belt, Shabangu has wowed audiences at The Baxter for his performances in Tshepang, Fishers of Hope, The Inconvenience of Wings and Marat Sade. This production of Blood Knot is a reunion between Shabangu and director Ngcobo, who collaborated on The Suitcase in 2006 and which won him a Naledi Award for best supporting actor.
Jacobs is no stranger to Fugard’s work having starred in People Are Living There at The Market Theatre in 2015. The University of Stellenbosch BA (Drama) graduate has appeared in numerous films and on television, which include Binnelanders, 7de Laan and Madiba. He is a regular presenter on the popular magazine programme Fiësta and was runner up in the first international series, Top Actor SA.
Mannie Manim is responsible for lighting design, Nadya Cohen for props and set, Noluthando Lobese for costumes and soundscape is by Dean Pitman.
Blood Knot runs from tomorrow (11 May) to Saturday 28 May at 19:30 nightly, with Saturday matinées at 14:30.
There is an age restriction of 14 years.
