{"id":83,"date":"2013-02-15T15:16:11","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T13:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=83"},"modified":"2013-02-15T15:16:11","modified_gmt":"2013-02-15T13:16:11","slug":"gritty-comedy-drama-bench-runs-at-alexander-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2013\/02\/15\/gritty-comedy-drama-bench-runs-at-alexander-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"Gritty Comedy-Drama, BENCH Runs At Alexander Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Popular writer, actor and comedian, Brent Palmer, presents his latest play, Bench, <\/i>at Alexander Theatre from 13th to the 16th<\/sup> of March 2013.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the story of two small time crooks, Bench<\/i> is a gritty, compelling comedy-drama that examines a day in the life of two hustlers.\u00a0 Brent also performs in the production alongside acclaimed actor Adrian Collins, and the show, which enjoyed a successful reading at the Baxter Theatre earlier this year, is directed by Michael Kirch.<\/p>\n

Bench <\/i>tells the story of two local petty thieves, Hendry and Dwain, who are sat on a park bench, about to embark on their most daring job to date. This is the job they believe is going to change their lives and make them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. When one of them gets a crisis of conscience and begins to question the job, the planning takes an interesting turn with surprising and unexpected results.<\/p>\n

Brent Palmer\u2019s inspiration:<\/i><\/h3>\n

\u201cI was inspired by the story of two small time crooks, and curious about what motivated them,\u201d says Brent. \u201cI wondered, what would these two hustlers speak about? What makes them laugh or cry? I was interested in their humanity; not just in our views of them as crooks.\u00a0 I wanted to peel back the layers to reveal two absorbing characters, who, despite what they do, are able to hold up the mirror to all of us and reflect some of our own humanity; our aspirations and our disappointments. Of course, with a healthy dose of comedy thrown in!\u201d<\/p>\n

Biographies:<\/h3>\n

Adrian Collins:<\/h4>\n

Adrian Collins\u2019 extensive theatre work includes Hamlet,<\/i> directed by Janet Suzman at the Baxter and Swan theatre in Stratford upon Avon, A<\/i> Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/i> and The Birthday Party,<\/i> for which he received a Fleur de Cap nomination.\u00a0 Adrian is a member of The Mechanicals theatre collective and most recently played the role of Edmund in King Lear.<\/i><\/p>\n

Michael Kirch:<\/h4>\n

Michael Kirch holds a Masters degree in directing from UCT.\u00a0\u00a0 Credits include directing a production of The Wizard of Oz<\/i> for an all-Japanese audience, when, since English is not widely spoken there, the script was reduced to an absolute minimum, and Toto the dog became a Japanese speaking narrator who cleverly linked the show from one song to another. The Japanese national broadcaster NHK was so impressed they filmed the production and gave each of the cast members a video copy to take home.<\/p>\n

Other projects include an adaptation of Dario Fo\u2019s One was Nude and One wore Tails,<\/i> called Nude\/Tails. <\/i>\u00a0Michael again took on a challenge and translated the play from its original Italian context and localised it in a contemporary South African political and cultural setting.\u00a0 At this point he realised that he had a knack for the politics of comedy, as well as the comedy of politics, and has since worked with various Cape Town comedians to develop their shows.<\/p>\n

Brent Palmer:<\/h4>\n

Brent Palmer is a London trained actor who has enjoyed an illustrious career locally and internationally in theatre, film, TV and stand-up comedy.\u00a0 He has performed on stage in numerous Shakespearean and modern productions, while his international film credits include, The Flood<\/i>, The Triangle<\/i> and Mercenary for Justice<\/i> with Steven Seagal and Leon Shuster\u2019s Shucks Tshabalala<\/i>.\u00a0 Brent performs regularly as a stand-up comedian, and has also written and performed two one-man comedy shows, Credit Crunch<\/i> and Corner Hope & Vrede<\/i>. He has directed all of Nik Rabinowitz\u2019 comedy shows over the past seven years, including \u201cStand and Deliver\u201d. Brent has most recently directed award winning comedian Siv Ngesi in his hit show \u201cRace Card\u201d which can be seen at the Baxter in October.<\/p>\n

To meet Brent\u2019s character Hendry, visit, http:\/\/www.brentpalmer.co.za\/wordpress\/project\/interviews\/<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Here is what the press had to say<\/span>:<\/h3>\n

Cape Argus \u2018Funny and surprisingly poignant,\u00a0 four stars\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Cape Times \u201cPalmer is a joy to watch, while Collins brings an almost visceral energy to his performance. Bench is a worthwhile contribution to local theatre. It is stimulating and, at the same time, entertaining.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

Die Burger \u2013 Die interaksie tussen die twee sorg vir puik komedie <\/i><\/p>\n

Encore online \u2018an emotional and clever journey between comedic and serious moments; a must see\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Broadway World\u00a0 \u2018a script that is stand-up sharp\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

The Next 48hours – ‘It’s that great\u00a0 combination of strong script, spot-on acting and sound direction – the type of all-round winner that you always hope to stumble across’<\/i><\/p>\n

Sunday Independent – ‘One of the most unique and funny theatre offerings Cape Town audiences will experience this year’<\/i><\/p>\n

Megans Head\u00a0 \u2018the characters are absolutely classic\u2026.absolutely kak funny.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Writing Studio\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018\u2026superb\u2026.hilarous\u2026Invest time and effort to see Bench. The reward is great. It will be a sinful crime to miss this fresh and entertaining production that makes going to the theatre a pleasure and also serves as a reminder of how great is it to be on the other side of the bench. \u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Monday Missile \u2018one of the best performances of the 2012 season to date\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Bookings:<\/h3>\n

Bench<\/i><\/b> will be performed from Wednesday the 13th<\/sup> through to Saturday the 16th<\/sup>. Performances start at 7pm. <\/b><\/p>\n

TICKET PRICES: <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/b>R80 <\/b><\/p>\n

To book visit<\/span>: <\/b>http:\/\/alexanderbar.co.za\/show\/bench\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Or call<\/span><\/b>: 021\u00a0300 1652<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Popular writer, actor and comedian, Brent Palmer, presents his latest play, Bench, at Alexander Theatre from 13th to the 16th of March 2013. Inspired by the story of two small time crooks, Bench is a gritty, compelling comedy-drama that examines a day in the life of two hustlers.\u00a0 Brent also performs in the production alongside… Continue reading Gritty Comedy-Drama, BENCH Runs At Alexander Theatre<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theatre","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}