Runaway smash hit London Road returns

Event Date: 30 June – 5 July and 8 – 10 July

Published by Business and Arts South Africa

Presented by KBT Productions, it will be performed at the National Arts Festival at St Andrew’s Hall from 30 June to 5 July and from 8 to 10 July.

Lara Bye’s production features the power-house duo of Robyn Scott and Ntombi Makhutshi in Nicholas Spagnoletti’s tender, funny and poignant story about two women from diverse backgrounds whose lives collide in a Seapoint apartment block.

Winner of the Standard Bank Golden Ovation award for Theatre at the National Arts Festival last year, the show has garnered three Fleur du Cap awards (Best Performance by an actress for Robyn Scott, Best Supporting Actress for Ntombi Makhutshi and Best New SA Script for Nicholas Spagnoletti, making it the most nominated production this year) and was also nominated for two Kanna awards – Best Director for Lara Bye and Best Female Artist for Robyn Scott.

London Road has received universal praise from critics, including “one of the Festival’s must-sees….”(Cue); “Memorable, mesmerising, magnificent” (Citizen) and "...feels like a little miracle." (The Next 48 Hours).

”London Road is a simple and intimate reflection on growing old, loneliness, fragmented families and the healing power of a friendship,” says director Lara Bye.

On the surface, Stella and Rosa Kaplowitz have nothing in common. Stella is a young Nigerian woman. Long distant family, dodgy gangsters and a sense of survival makes her very mistrusting of the gestures of strangers. Rosa is an elderly Jewish widow living in a flat on the fifth floor. Her children and grandchildren live in Australia and Israel so she keeps herself occupied by becoming very involved in the business of her neighbourhood. These two women find themselves stranded together and take comfort in finding that common themes unite them.

London Road is written by seasoned TheatreSports performer and Cape Town writer, Nicholas Spagnoletti who won the Audience Choice award at the PANSA new South African Playwriting competition in 2007 for his original script. The production has been further developed for the stage through improvisations in rehearsals and based on extensive research by director Lara Bye and her actresses.

Bye continues her exploration of the theatre of suggestion. With London Road she brings her trademark attention to detail, intelligent sophistication, unique theatre style and staging to the production. Other recent projects have included directing The Flying Dutchman at the Suidoosterfees and ‘night, Mother for this year’s Main Programme at the National Arts Festival, again working with London Road designer Craig Leo and lighting designer Faheem Bardien and featuring Sandra Prinsloo and Antoinette Louw.

Original sound for London Road is by Braam Du Toit.

London Road will be performed at St Andrew’s Hall on 30 June at 13h30; 1 July at 15h30; 2 July at 10h00; 3 July at 13h30 and 17h30; 4 July at 16h30; 5 July at 22h00; 8 July at 10h00 and 14h00; 9 July at 12h30 and 10 July at 12h00.

Tickets cost R70, R75 or R85. Tickets to the show on 10 July cost only R43.

PG 13 Language

* For a taste of the production, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X9LPv2YWxc or visit www.londonroad.co.za

Bookings can be made at Computicket