Sir Ian McKellen to play in Fugard Theatre in July

Sir Ian McKellen tops the cast as Estragon; Roger Rees plays Vladimir; Matthew Kelly plays the role of Pozzo; and Brendan O’Hea completes the cast in the role of Lucky.

The casting for the Boy will take place in Cape Town, giving two 11 year-old South African boys the opportunity of rubbing shoulders and treading the boards with this stellar international cast

Sean Mathias spoke of how it came about to bring Godot to the Fugard: “Whilst planning an international tour of Godot, I felt thwarted when the available dates of the South African Theatres suitable for the scale of our production and the actors’ availabilities didn’t co-incide. I then had the good fortune to attend the opening night of the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town and pondered the notion of bringing Godot there. We were about to tour Australia and New Zealand with a set that was a large and intricate piece of architecture. Not only would the costs of transporting it to South Africa be prohibitive, but it would simply never fit into the Fugard. I puzzled further and thought why not bring the production without the set, and therefore without the lighting design – why not re-conceive the whole project? Having successfully played 14 major cities internationally, including two London seasons, with a production that has been acclaimed extensively, the Fugard Theatre then invited me to bring the troupe of actors to them and to start our Godot anew. At the Fugard we will play to an auditorium one quarter the size of other theatres we have previously played and with an ad hoc set and a new lighting design by Mannie Manim, we will re-invent our Godot wheel. The heart and soul of the production – the actors’ performances, will remain intact (albeit a little stirred) but in every other sense – the physical space, the visual impact, the overall dynamics will début at the Fugard Theatre.”

All performances cost R250. The price for students and pensioners from Tuesday to Thursday is R150.

Performance times:
Tuesdays to Saturdays: 19:30
Saturday matinee: 14:30

Tickets can be booked at the Fugard Theatre or by calling the Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554 or online at www.thefugard.com. Seating at the Fugard Theatre is unreserved and guests will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.