Theatre: Stage adaption of JM Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K, will preview in Cape Town June 7-21, 2021 and will open at the Theater der Welt Festival, Düsseldorf via a livestream from the Baxter- June 17 and 18
| What: JM Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K – adapted for the stage by Lara Foot, in collaboration with the Handspring Puppet Company Where: Baxter Theatre and livestreaming to Theater der Welt Festival, Düsseldorf When: Preview season -June 7-21, 2021 at the Baxter, 7pm. The opening will be at the Theater der Welt Festival -livestreamed from The Baxter on June 17 and 18, to Düsseldorf and the world Bookings for the Baxter: Webtickets |
Lara Foot’s stage adaption of JM Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K – in collaboration with the Handspring Puppet Company- was scheduled to premiere in June, 2020, at the Theater der Welt festival at the Düsseldorf Theatre in Germany. Covid scuppered the debut and the festival was postponed. The great news is that the organisers of the festival are presenting the preview of the production at the Baxter Theatre. That means, that this production will be on stage – from June 7-21, 2021 – in Cape Town. This will be the preview season. The official opening will be on June 17 and 18 and this will take the form of a livestream of the show- beamed from the Baxter to Theater der Welt Festival in Düsseldorf. This staging of this classic by JM Coetzee, brings together and incredible team of award winning creatives and is a collaboration, across borders. It is a co-production between Theater der Welt Festival, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Baxter Theatre Centre and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg.
The production has been in development for two years and marks the first time that Lara Foot will be working with Tony award-winning Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler of Handspring Puppet Company. The genesis of Handspring’s, War Horse, started at The Baxter. Handspring staged its production, Tall Horse, at the Baxter in 2004. A team from The National Theatre UK, saw Tall Horse and that led to the commissioning of War Horse. Foot has adapted and is directing Life and Times of Michael K. In addition to Foot, the creative team includes Handspring Puppet Company (adaptors, puppet directors, design and makers), Patrick Curtis (set design), Kyle Shepherd (original music composition), Joshua Cutts (lighting), Fiona McPherson and Barrett de Kock (directors of photography and film), Yoav Dagan (videography and editing), Kirsti Cumming (projection design), Phyllis Midlane (costumes) and Simon Kohler (sound design). The cast features Sandra Prinsloo, Andrew Buckland, Faniswa Yisa; puppeteer Craig Leo, Roshina Ratnam, Carlo Daniels, Marty Kintu, Billy Langa, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe and German puppeteer Markus Schabbing.
✳ Images: Fiona McPherson. Supplied.
