Mike van Graan Double Bill

This double-bill by multiple award-winning playwright Mike van Graan comprises Helen of Troyeville, a poetic drama in the vein of his acclaimed To Life, With Love and Pet-Friendly, a 'stand-up commentary' piece that employs stand-up and sketch comedy techniques to make contemporary social commentary.

Inspired by one of Van Graan’s real-life theatre angels – though not a telling of her life story – Helen of Troyeville raises interesting questions about the interplay between collective history and individual agency, about the juxtaposition of personal goodness and societal injustice. Played by Zolie Markey, this solo show features the 70-something character Helen Jennings, who once stood on streets protesting apartheid as a Black Sash member, but now finds herself in the midst of an opportunistic crime when all she wanted, was to do good.

When it was first performed at the National Arts Festival Fringe in 2018 (this will be its first season in Cape Town), the Cue reviewer described it as a play “…told through the eyes of Helen, a privileged woman trapped both physically and emotionally, who reflects on the life she has lived. We share in her journey of uncomfortable truths, parallel worlds, unwilling sacrifices, human desperation and waves of hope.…a remarkable script.”

Pet-Friendly is a new script featuring the charming Ugandan-born actor, Marty Kintu, who entertains with insights and humour that will resonate with pet owners, while also creatively deploying pets as metaphors and springboards for commentary about various themes in our national and global lives. This solo show reflects the satirical pen and insights that Van Graan displayed in the long-running My Fellow South Africans.

Each piece is 55-60 minutes in length, with a 20-minute interval between the two shows.

The double-bill season - 19-30 May - will take place in the function room of the Kloof Street Hotel in 8 Rheede Street, Gardens (around the corner from the Labia Theatre) with its Sanctuary Restaurant and bar offering patrons excellent refreshment options before and after the show, as well as during interval.