The Promise

“If you don’t know, maybe it’s because you didn’t want to know, you didn’t care to ask.”

Producers: Club Dezza Productions Derek Lubner and Philip Bassett

Playwright: Damon Galgut
Adapted for the stage by Damon Galgut and Sylvaine Strike from Damon Galgut’s Booker Prize winning novel The Promise

Director: Sylvaine Strike

Assistant Director: Kirsten Harris

Production Photos: Claude Bernardo


FULL REVIEWS:

BBC World Service Podcast: The Promise on Stage

pARTicipate: The Promise – Paying The Bond, Or An Uncertain Assurance

BroadwayWorld: THE PROMISE at The Homecoming Centre Will Satiate and Haunt Audiences

Robyn Sassen My View: Little house in the garden

Cape Robyn: The Promise on stage, extraordinary theatre, magnificent production

CAST:

  • Chuma Sopotela
  • Rob van Vuuren
  • Kate Normington
  • Frank Opperman
  • Jenny Stead
  • Sanda Shandu
  • Cintaine Schutte
  • Albert Pretorius
  • Jane de Wet


CREW:

Production Manager: Grant Eglin

Stage Manager: Kayla Dunne

Sound design: Charl Johan Lingenfelder

Set and Lighting design: Joshua Lindberg

Costume Design: Penny Simpson

Choreography Intimacy co-ordinator: Natalie Fischer

Movement Direction: Sylvaine Strike

Publicity: Christine Skinner assisted by Sheldon Olivier

  • ...it is a wonder and as fully immersive as theatre can get. I was blown away on all levels.... The entire piece is a masterclass ...It is also extremely funny and the first piece of theatre I've loved in a long time. A truly inspiring work.

    Atiyyah Khan

  • A celebration of incredible talent! Bravo to everyone involved.

    Fine Music Radio

  • Brilliantly directed by Sylvaine Strike and starring a dream cast, it fulfilled my expectations on every level.To my mind, “The Promise” will not only stand as a highlight of Galgut’s career, but as the signature example of Strike’s seemingly never-ending capacity to plunge the depths of her imagination to present to us the beauty and depravity of the human condition, its strength and frailty, greed and generosity. Together with Sanda Shandu, Frank Opperman, Chuma Sopotela, Rob van Vuuren, Jane de Wet, Kate Normington, Albert Pretorius and Cintaine Schutte, Damon and Sylvaine have birthed a play that will stand for a long time as representative of the excellence of South African theatre currently.

    Marina Griebenow ARt

  • An extraordinary, riveting, moving and wonderful piece of theatre. I was completely transported into the theatrical world of the characters through the richness of the text, brilliant direction, quirky and evocative design, and compelling performances. A must see!

    Karen Nelson

  • Opening Night of The Promise On Stage at the Homecoming Centre (formerly Fugard Theatre) was an absolute WOW!!! If you are looking for exceptional physical, emotional and comical performances then the stellar cast of 'The Promise' will leave you speechless! I was captivated by the storytelling. It’s perfectly balanced between light and dark; compelling and comical; insightful and provocative.

    Guy McDonald, Smile 90.4

  • A powerful piece of theatre about this country told with heart, humour and style... by Sylvaine Strike and her fantastic cast, who all deliver extraordinary performances. Set, lighting, costumes, soundscape all contribute brilliantly. While the production continually acknowledges Damon Galgut's acclaimed novel, this is a work that stands proudly on its own. Don't miss out.

    Nigel Vermaas, Bush Radio

  • Really powerful...brilliant...breath-taking...funny

    Sara-Jayne Makwala King, Cape Talk

  • Don’t miss this production – it makes for both an entertaining and very thought-provoking evening of great theatre.

    Bonny Feldman, Cape Jewish Chronicle

  • The low-key mordant humour of the novel is turned into a sustained metatheatrical comic mode that serves as a counterpoint to the grim plotline.

    Chris Thurman, Business Day

  • Phenomenal theatre... it’s genius on every level

    Bianca Coleman, Eat Play Drink

  • A bold rendering helmed by Sylvaine Strike.... it's like you've been hypnotised...The Promise, On Stage overflows with dynamic performances... The Promise, On Stage, remains an utterly unique theatrical experience...

    Joel Ontong, News 24

  • A feat to behold..... Damon Galgut’s remarkable novel has lent itself so well to the medium of theatre. This show is a relevant South African story of epic proportions filled with comedy and tragedy, light and dark. Sylvaine Strike flips convention on its head in the most beautiful and thrilling ways, showing us everything theatre can be, if we are willing to listen and engage....Don’t miss it!

    Léa Blerk, Newslink

  • The set/lighting design is really clever, and serves to situate us in the twisty kind of space that the book inhabits. The sound/music is equally effective. And a veritable who’s who of Capetonian actors has been assembled to put this all together, not to mention the much lauded Sylvaine Strike at the helm. And she has certainly packed so many styles into the mix – satire, magic-realism, surrealism, tragedy, farce – from Brechtian snippets to stand-up comedy to socio-political commentary.

    Karen Rutter, Weekend Special

  • Die spelers lewer aanskoulike spel, elkeen blink uit in die talle rolle wat hulle speel....Dit is sekerlik die belangrikste teater wat vanjaar nog die planke getref het.

    Laetitia Pople, Die Burger

  • Absolute theatrical magic... brilliant

    John Maytham, Cape Talk