The Baxter Theatre Centre, producers of the 2012 Edinburgh hit play Mies Julie, has been invited to showcase six award-winning, cutting-edge, South African productions at the 2017 Edinburgh Assembly Fringe Festival in Scotland from 3 to 27 August.
Six potent dramas
Presented in association with Assembly Festival and Riverside Studios, the six dramas are Lara Foot’s Tshepang: The Third Testament, Karoo Moose – No Fathers and The Inconvenience of Wings, The Fall, Sylvaine Strike’s Tobacco and Yael Farber’s Mies Julie returns to complete the line-up.
36 actors and technicians
“This is an amazing challenge and opportunity for the 36 actors and technicians who will be opening all six shows at the Assembly Fringe on the same day, 5 August,” says Foot, CEO and artistic director of the Baxter Theatre Centre and Executive Producer of the season. “We are proud to be part of such a prestigious international festival where we hope to learn, grow and be part of world thinking, understanding and connectivity. We want to show that we represent theatre which is cutting-edge in style and content and that South African theatre is to be taken seriously. With some generous financial assistance from The Andrew W Mellon Foundation, Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), Investec and, with the Assembly on board, we were able to create this season.”
70 years of the Fringe
“We are delighted to welcome Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre back to Edinburgh as part of their 40th Anniversary and in celebration of 70 years of the Fringe,” says William Burdett-Coutts. “Yael Farber’s Mies Julie was the theatrical coup of the 2012 festival. It garnered incredible reviews and awards and has gone on to enormous acclaim and sold out performances around the world. It really is one of the best shows I have ever seen and is entirely appropriate as the headline production of this season of 6 award-winning productions. With Lara Foot at the helm, Baxter Theatre continues to go from strength to strength and enjoys an enviable reputation for world-class theatre that shows the vibrancy of South African culture to audiences the world over.”
This Baxter South African season at the Assembly Fringe Festival coincides with the Baxter Theatre Centre’s milestone 40th anniversary on 1 August, 2017. At the forefront of the performing arts, both as a popular venue and as a leading award-winning producer, the Baxter unwaveringly continues the tradition of showcasing cutting-edge, contemporary and classic works, making it one of the busiest independent theatres in Africa.
“This is such an honour and we are thrilled to present this line-up of productions at the largest and most prestigious arts festival in the world, while the Baxter celebrates its 40th birthday and especially given our history as a theatre in South Africa since 1977”, adds Fahiem Stellenboom, the venue’s marketing manager.
What: 2017 Edinburgh Assembly Fringe Festival, Scotland
When: 3 to 27 August, 2017
Web: www.baxter.co.za
Social media: Twitter @BaxterTheatre, Facebook BaxterTheatre
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