HAMLET
Who's Who

JANET SUZMAN – Director

After graduating from the University of the Witwatersrand and studying for the stage at LAMDA, Janet Suzman started her career in the UK with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s blockbuster opening season The Wars of the Roses, at Stratford-on-Avon. Portia, Rosalind, Katharina, Beatrice, Lavinia and Cleopatra followed. In London and elsewhere over the years she has played in works by Goldsmith, Genet, Fugard, Chekhov, Pinter, Harwood, Albee, Brecht, Racine, Marlowe, Wasserstein, Nicholson, Ibsen. The Singing Detective, The Clayhanger Trilogy, The Draughtsman’s Contract, Nicholas and Alexandra, Fellini’s E La Nave Va, A Dry White Season and Mountbatten of India are a few of the many TV and feature films she has appeared in.

She is a Patron of The Market Theatre in her native Johannesburg and appeared in its inaugural production in 1976. A decade later she directed Othello there with John Kani in the title role – also filmed for Channel Four TV – which won an AA Vita Best Production Award, and she is thrilled to be working with him again on Hamlet. She has written and directed her own versions, radically changed to contemporary South African settings, of Brecht’s Good Person of Setzuan and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, renamed The Free State. This was done at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre in Association with The Market and won the Barclays TMA Best Director Award, 1998.

She has twice won The Evening Standard Best Actress Award and received Academy Award and Golden Globe Nominations for Nicholas and Alexandra. She holds honorary D.Lit. degrees from the universities of Warwick, Leicester, London (QMW), Southampton and Middlesex.

JOHN KANI (Claudius)

John is an internationally recognized, multiple award-winning actor, director and playwright. His impressive list of theatre credits includes Driving Miss Daisy, Othello, The Blood Knot, The Island, Waiting for Godot, Playland, Duet for One, Sizwe Banzi is Dead and My Children! My Africa! His last appearance at the Baxter Theatre Centre was in the Greek classic Antigone, directed by Sean Mathias, in 2004. Several of these productions, and many others, have been performed to audiences across the world. The Island, which won the Toronto Theatre Award 2001 for Best Production, was co-written by John, Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona. The team also wrote Sizwe Banzi is Dead. John won the 1974/75 Best Actor Tony Award on Broadway for his performances in these plays.

His films include The Wild Geese, The Grass is Singing, Marigolds in August, Victims of Apartheid, An American Dream, A Dry White Season, Sarafina and Saturday Night at the Palace, for which he won a Taormina Golden Award at the Milan International Film Festival. He also acted in Kini and Adams, Ghost and the Darkness with Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer, The Tichbourne Claimant with Robert Pugh and Sir John Gielgud and The Final Solution with Vusi Kunene and David Lee. As director his credits include Goree and Blues Africa Café by Matsamela Manaka, Kagoos by Kessie Govender and The Meeting by Jeff Stetson for the Market Theatre. His own play Nothing But The Truth won Fleur du Cap Awards for Best Actor for himself and Best New South African Play in 2002. The play has just come off after successful seasons in the USA and Australia. He has also directed several commercials and received an M-Net Plum and a CLIO Award in New York. In 1993 he received a special Obie Award in New York for his extraordinary contribution to theatre.

John’s accolades for his contribution to South Africa and culture include The Avante Hall of Fame Award, a National African Federation Chamber of Commerce Merit Award, the Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellowship Award, an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Durban, Westville, an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from Rhodes University, the 2000 Hiroshima Renaissance Merit Award for Peace in Stockholm, the African Renaissance Merit Award for his contribution to the development of the African Film Industry, a Titan of the Century Award by Tribute Magazine’s Black Business Forum for the Performing Artist of the Past Century, the 2003 SAB Leadership and Service Award, and the Best Actor in a Film in 10 years of Freedom Award. John is a trustee of The Market Theatre Foundation and Chairman of the Apartheid Museum.

DOROTHY ANN GOULD (Gertrude)

Dorothy ann graduated from the University of Natal, Durban, with a BA Honours cum laude in 1975. She has appeared in over 176 plays in the theatre in South Africa, America, the UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain. Highlights of her theatre career include Stevie, Talley’s Folley, Tom and Viv, Hello and Goodbye, Malora, Kindertransport, The Witches on London’s West End and, most recently, The Breath of Life. She has received 40 nominations for her work in theatre and television and has been the recipient of 19 Best Actress awards, most recently winning the Best Actress Avanti Award for her performance as Trish in Isidingo.

Her great love is Shakespeare and she has played 16 of the Bard’s heroines, most notably Cleopatra, Emilia in Janet Suzman’s Othello at the Market Theatre, which was filmed for British Channel 4, and Tamora in Titus Andronicus opposite Sir Antony Sher at the Market Theatre and at the Royal National Theatre in London. She played Kate twice at Maynardville as well as Rosalind in As You Like It.

Her numerous television credits include Charley’s Aunt, Antigone, Man in a Sidecar, Death of a Teddybear, Westgate, Faulkner’s Law, Natural Rhythm, Where Angels Tread, Justice for All, The Mantis Project and Isidingo. On invitation from the BBC, she performed in the radio adaptation of Athol Fugard’s People Are Living There, which she also directed for the theatre – one of 14 plays which she has directed.

She performed in 14 productions during her five-year stay in London and has returned three times since 1993, twice to work with Janet Suzman on The Free State, and she compiled a programme of South African prose and poetry which was performed for the Shakespeare Trust, Stratford upon Avon.

A teacher since 1972, she is the founder and the Artistic Director of The Actors' Centre in Johannesburg, aimed at honing the skills of both professionals and new young actors, and initiating theatre outreach programmes.

RAJESH GOPIE (Hamlet)

This University of Natal BA graduate in History and Drama furthered his classical Shakespearean training with an intensive course at Oxford in England in 2004, where he trained under John Barton, Fiona Shaw, Henry Goodman, Andrew Wade, Katie Mitchel, Debra Warner and Brian Cox

Rajesh's varied career includes acting work in theatre, television and film, as well as work as a writer and producer. His theatre credits include The Coolie Odyssey, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Out of Bounds, The Chimp Project with the Handspring Puppet Company, Romeo and Juliet, Back to the Faith, Mahatma vs Gandhi, The Pinter Sketches and The Wiz. Television audiences may remember him from his roles in Zero Tolerance, SOS, Madam and Eve and Generations. His film credits include the lead in the British/South African co-production The Eastern Bride and Skid-marks for M-Net.

Rajesh has penned four plays, namely The Coolie Odyssey, Out of Bounds, Mahatma-Madiba and Marital Bliss, and is currently working on Too Close for Comfort, while also producing the first two plays. Out of Bounds has won the FNB Vita Award for Best Play and the Fleur du Cap Award for Best Original South African Text, while Rajesh received the National Arts Council Writer's Grant for The Coolie Odyssey, which premiered at the Grahamstown Main Festival in 2002 and went on to the Market Theatre in 2003.

ROSHINA RATNAM (Ophelia)

Armed with a Performer’s Diploma from UCT, Roshina has steadily made her mark on the local acting industry in all areas, including classical theatre, educational theatre, television and film. Her theatre credits include Caged, Where there is Darkness, Desire, Hamlet, A Dream Deferred, directed by Chris Weare, which played in Rome, Roy Sargeant’s Equus, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, directed by Lara Bye, for which she won a Fleur du Cap Best Actress award, Salaam Stories and Happy Endings are Extra, which played at the Grahamstown Festival main circuit. Her most recent work, My Body is My Home, which took her to Maputo, Paris and Amsterdam, saw her moving into contemporary dance with Sandra Martinez.

She has also been involved in educational theatre and appeared in the television sitcom SOS. Her film experience includes roles in Slavery of Love and The Meeting Room. She currently runs an industrial theatre company which tackles various social issues.

ROYSTON STOFFELS (Polonius and Gravedigger)

Royston was seen in Twaalfde Nag at the Baxter Theatre Centre in April 2005. Prior to that he performed in Send for Dolly at Artscape. Last year he directed Last Twist at the Blue Moon, Kanna hy kô Hystoe and Die Gazoem vannie Township. During 2004 he was Festival Manager of Die Suidoosterfees. He also co-authored the New Africa Arts and Culture text book for primary schools which was published last year. He loves music and composes and plays the piano, guitar and harmonica. Recent TV and film work includes roles in Interrogation Room, The Soul Sessions and Don’t Touch.

ADAM NEILL (Horatio)

Adam started his career in theatre at the age of fifteen in Hines and Stronach's Kes. He completed an Honours Degree in Drama at Rhodes University and continued a passion for directing, presenting Curse of the Starving Class and co-directing Whose Life Is It Anyway?. Adam travelled extensively, working for Carlton Television in London, and in Dublin where he performed the one hander Easy Come, Easy Go, before returning to his native Zimbabwe to form Taura Tinzwe Productions with two partners. They produced and directed Macbeth and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, among other plays. He also independently produced his own work, DARK.

He was then invited by Over The Edge Theatre Company to direct a five-man version of Twelfth Night which the company took to the Edinburgh Festival, where it won the Spirit of the Fringe Award and was nominated for Best Ensemble Production. The show then travelled through the UK, the USA and Germany, leading to Adam joining Over The Edge as a partner. They continued touring with Twelfth Night as well as The Taming of the Shrew and Soyinka's King Baabu. Over The Edge’s most significant work is its self-devised show Born African, which has played throughout Zimbabwe, the UK, Germany, New York, at Harvard, where it formed the basis of a discussion at the Kennedy School of Government, at the Grahamstown Festival and the Baxter Theatre Centre, and was nominated for the Amnesty Freedom of Speech Award in Edinburgh.

Adam currently lives in Cape Town where, as well as continuing to collaborate with Over The Edge, he has recently performed in Much Ado About Nothing at Maynardville and directed a reading of John Hunt's Stand in the Sun for the Baxter's PlayGround programme.

CLYDE BERNING (Laertes)

Clyde is a recent UCT graduate with a BA Honours Degree in Theatre and Performance. Despite his youth, he has an impressive list of theatre credits to his name, including More, The Great Gatsby, (Uncle) Vanya, directed by Geoffrey Hyland, Colony Discovered, Unconscious July, Mary Barnes and Noises Off, directed by Chris Weare for UCT. He was nominated for a Fleur du Cap Award for Best Student Actor in 2004. His first production in 2005, since returning from his travels, was Lies and Deceptions, directed by Steven Pillemer for Artscape.

MARCEL MEYER (Rosencrantz and other roles)

Marcel received vocational training in dramatic art at the Pro Arte School, Pretoria, and attained the BTech Degree in Musical Theatre from the Technikon Pretoria in 2002 with majors in Acting, under Antoinette Kellerman and David Dennis, and Directing, under Johann Swart. Since then he has appeared in a number of high-profile productions under the guidance of some of South Africa’s foremost directors. Among his theatre credits are Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Fred Abrahamse, and Macbeth, directed by Geoffrey Hyland, both for Maynardville. For the Bashoto Cultural Village he appeared in the Reminiscense Theatre project Remembering for the Future, directed by Marthinus Basson, which toured to Belgium and England. He appeared in Johann Swart’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. His credits as a writer and director include Loving Apollo, The Tragic Ladies, Dissecting Chekhov and Sappho. He has also been involved in educational theatre, playing the title role in Macbeth and Mark Antony in Julius Caesar for Pitt Productions.

BRETT GOLDIN (Guildenstern and other roles)

Brett has acted professionally since the age of 11 and has had extensive experience in theatre, television and film, both locally and internationally. He completed his BA degree in English and Drama and later a Performer's Diploma in Speech and Drama at UCT.

He is a popular figure in youth culture in South Africa and Europe owing to his frequent appearances on MTV’s Crazy Monkey. His most recent local television credits include Yizo Yizo 3 and the Canadian/South African co-production Charlie Jade. He starred in and co-wrote the series Fela's TV and has appeared in Cavegirl, Stokvel, Madam and Eve, SOS and Scoop Schoombie. His film credits include the Cannes Film Festival success Slash and the critically acclaimed Proteus, as well as roles in Racing Stripes, Citizen Verdict, Adrenaline and the short film Stimulation. Later this year Brett hits the big screen in the movie version of Crazy Monkey, entitled Straight Outta Benoni.

His theatre credits include performances in Macbeth and The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Maynardville, More, Pick-Ups, A Tale of Two Cities and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. Brett’s self-penned one-man show Bad Apple recently played at the Cape Town Festival, the Schools' Festival at Artscape and the NSA Festival in Johannesburg, where it was very well received. The show continues a national schools' tour. Brett also works as a writer, voice artist and club DJ.

MBULELO GROOTBOOM (Fortinbras and other roles)

Mbulelo graduated at UCT with a BA degree in Theatre and Performance. He played Gloucester in King Lear, directed by Geoff Hyland, and performed in Romeo and Juliet at Maynardville, directed by Clare Stopford, Met Woorde soos met Kerse by Antjie Krog, performed at the KKNK, Middle Passage at the Grahamstown Festival, Jakkalsstreke van Scapino, Can Themba's The Suit, which won the Best Production award at the Czech Republic World University Drama Festival, and Antigone, directed by Sean Mathias at the Baxter Theatre Centre.

Earlier this year he performed in Hostile Takeover in the PANSA series of plays at the Kalk Bay Theatre and the Baxter Theatre Centre / Canadian Theatrefront collaboration showcase, Chapter 1, as well as in the play-reading of Sarah Kane’s Blasted, part of the Baxter’s PlayGround series. He will soon be seen in The Suitcase, the stage adaptation of the short story by Es'kia Mphahlele, which marks the directorial debut of popular actor James Ngcobo.

Mbulelo was nominated for a Fleur du Cap Award for Most Promising Student in 2001. He also appeared in the film Apostles of Civilized Vice.

DUNCAN MACFARLANE (various roles)

After completion of his BA Drama degree at Rhodes University in 2003, Duncan has gone on to appear in various theatre productions, has made a television appearance and has been production manager for the Rhodes Theatre Complex and the stage manager for a number of top directors. His theatre credits include The Island of Slaves, directed by Andrew Buckland, Pride and Prejudice, A Meaning of Life, A Walk in the Park, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Reservoir Dogs, Empress's New Clothes and 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. He has also appeared in Madam and Eve on television. Apart from his theatre interests, Duncan is also a keen sportsman.

ADRIAN COLLINS (various roles)

Adrian graduated from UCT in 2004 with a BA degree in Theatre and Performance and was nominated for a Fleur du Cap award for most promising student. His student theatre credits include Abandonment and The Blue Room, directed by Jacqui Singer, Lekker Faith, Geoffrey Hyland’s Hamlet and Mephisto, directed by Chris Weare. Since graduation he has appeared in Fred Abrahamse’s Much Ado About Nothing at Maynardville, The Homeless Menace directed by Milton Schorr, and Lekker Faith and Frank ‘n Stein both directed by Myer Taub.

TAURIQ JENKINS (various roles)

Tauriq was born in Zimbabwe and trained at UCT. His theatre credits include House of Kalumba, Othello, "Buckingham Palace" District Six, Trojan Women, Les Splendids, The Passions, Roy Sargeant’s King Lear, Oedipus and Bacchae, Geoffrey Hyland’s Macbeth at Maynardville and Hamlet, directed by Mark Hoeben. His most recent appearances have been in last year’s classic Antigone at the Baxter Theatre Centre, directed by Sean Mathias, and in Fred Abrahamse’s Much Ado About Nothing at Maynardville. He recently made a film appearance alongside Steven Seagal in Mercenary. Tauriq is also an accomplished poet, his award-winning anthologies Uncle Bob and Böjan Djuranovi? having been published internationally.

Tauriq currently serves as the Deputy General Secretary of the Performing Arts Network of South Africa (PANSA).

PETER CAZALET – Designer

Zimbabwean-born Peter obtained a Bachelor of Architecture degree from UCT but, after being bitten by the theatre/dance bug, he left for the UK to "break in". Thirteen years of dance with various companies followed, with Peter ending as principal dancer for Scottish Ballet. After a broken back ended his dance career, he started designing ballets and returned to Cape Town in the 1970s to work for CAPAB and later Artscape as a freelance designer and then Head of Design, during which time he designed approximately 30 ballets, 25 operas and many plays, including the Shakespeare classics Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, Love's Labour's Lost, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It. Over the last ten years he has designed productions in many US cities and in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore in the East. This is the first time he has been invited to design for a Baxter production and he is very excited at the prospect.

MANNIE MANIM – Lighting Designer

Mannie Manim's association with Athol Fugard as lighting designer or producer started in 1970 with Boesman and Lena and People are Living There at the Alexander Theatre. Since then he has lit and directed all the first South African productions of Fugard's plays in South Africa.

Mannie has been in theatre for 49 years. Recently he has designed the lighting for Nothing But The Truth for its American and Australian tours, The Island in Toronto, where he won Best Lighting Design 2001/2002, at the Old Vic in London, and the BAM Harvey, Brooklyn, and Bizet's Carmen and The Mysteries at Wilton's Music Hall, the Queen's Theatre in London and at the World Stage Festival, Toronto. He was lighting designer for The Mysteries, Carmen, The Beggar's Opera and The Snow Queen for Dimpho Di Kopane at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York, and for Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing at the Strindberg's Intima Theatre in Stockholm. He also lit Twaalfde Nag at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn and at the Baxter Theatre Centre, and Show Boat for Cape Town Opera.

In 1980 he received the Shirley Moss Award for the Greatest Practical and Technical Contribution to Theatre in South Africa, and in 1981 he received the South African Institute of Theatre Technology Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Theatre Technician, Administrator and Lighting Designer. In 1985 Mannie received the first Vita Award for the Most Enterprising Producer. He has received the Vita Best Original Lighting Award ten times. In December 1990 Mannie was made Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres by the French government and in 1996 he was awarded a gold medal for Theatre Development from the South African Academy of Arts and Science. In January last year he was awarded a Naledi Lifetime Achievement Award by the South African Theatre Managements Association.

He is the co-founder of the Market Theatre, and is Chairman of the Committee of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown. He is Director of the Baxter Theatre Centre.

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