| What: I Can’t Speak for Freddy by Alyssa Dionne When and where: Two venues: Where and when: Homecoming Centre, 15 Buitenkant Street, District Six: August 18-23, 2026 The Outlore Base, 80 Hout Street: August 25-28, 2026 Bookings: via Quicket: quicket.co.za/events/377644 Website: www.freddy.crd.co Writer: Alyssa Dionne Cast: Alyssa Dionne and Matthew Vey Director: Morné Visser Lighting: Juliette Rose-Innes Duration: 50 minutes Presented by: First Light Theatre Co-Producer: Jake Maisel Age advisory: No under 13s. Contains themes of grief, loss and suicide. |
Alyssa Dionne’s, touching and poignant play, I Can’t Speak for Freddy opened last night, August 18, 2026 in the beautiful Avalon Theatre at the Homecoming Centre in District Six. It is performed by Alyssa and Matthew Vey and directed by Morné Visser. There was a rousing reception and standing ovation by the opening night audience- filled with young, beautiful and talented people – supporting their friends.
I Can’t Speak for Freddy is a story about friendship, relationships, navigating a career in theatre, love. It is wistful look back at being young, talented and beautiful, tussling with expectations and pressures from the theatre industry. This is a dark story – shrouded by grief – and the Avalon with its peeling walls, palimpsests lingering from the past – is a potent container for the narrative.
Sensitive and energised performances from Alyssa Dionne andMatthew Vey, with articulate direction by Morné Visser, using rostrums to configure space – physically and emotionally. Juliette Rose-Innes’ lighting plot, cleverly illuminates moments in the narrative. I liked the use of sound. I won’t plot spoil.
I salute these young, talented and beautiful actors for creating their own work, producing and staging. A big shout out to the entrepreneurial Jake Maisel for co-producing.
I Can’t Speak for Freddy is at the Avalon from August 18-23, 2026 and will be followed by a season at the Outlore Base, August 25-28, 2026.
✳ Matthew Vey (actor), Morné Visser (director) and Alyssa Dionne (writer/actor), I Can’t Speak for Freddy, August 18, 2026, The Avalon Theatre, The Homecoming Centre, District Six, Cape Town. Pic: TheCapeRobyn/Robyn Cohen.
