Now On Stage

Four twitchers in a bird-hide, somewhere in the Kruger National Park.

They're taking part in a major birding competition. The first prize is a trip to Mala Mala, the second  prize;  a new pair of binoculars.  And the team is fighting for their club's reputation, as well as the prestigious Owl Award.

The pleasantries and social formalities slowly begin to unravel with outrageous consequences when uncomfortable truths  are revealed about the birding club, its members and, more specifically, the twitchers in the birding hide!

WEDNESDAY 15 MAY TO SATURDAY 01 JUNE 2013.   Tue – Fri @ 8pm  /  Sat @ 5pm & 8pm / Sat 18 May @ 8pm only

Running time:  2 hours inclusive of a 20min interval

PG 16 (L)

INDIVIDUAL TICKET PRICES

It’s Cheaper on a Tuesday

Show Only:
Rows A, EE and FF (EE and FF are restricted view seats):  R  90pp
AA 16 - 19; BB 17 - 20 and Row DD:  R110pp
Rows B to J and AA 1 - 15, BB 1 -16 and CC 1 – 15:  R130pp

Dinner/Theatre Package:  Inclusive of a three-course meal.

Valid in Rows B to J and AA 1 - 15, BB 1 - 16 and CC 1 - 15:  R265pp
(R165 for dinner and R100 for the show)

Wednesday to Saturday

Show Only:
Rows A, EE and FF (EE and FF are restricted view seats):  R100pp
AA 16 – 19,  BB 17 - 20 and DD 1 – 16:  R125pp
Rows B to J and AA 1 - 15, BB 1 -16 and CC 1 - 15:  R160pp

Dinner/Theatre Package:  Inclusive of a three-course meal.
Valid in Rows B to J and AA 1 - 15, BB 1 - 16 and CC 1 - 15:  R295pp
(R165 for dinner and R130 for the show)

Book for both the theatre and the dinner through > the theatre’s Box Office on 021 438 3300 > any Computicket outlet > through the Computicket Call Centre on 0861 915 8000 > on www.computicket.com.   A table in the restaurant can be reserved through the theatre's Box Office on 021 438 3300, where you order a la carte from the menu and pay on the night.

REDUCTIONS

Show Only

GROUP BOOKINGS
In Rows B to J and AA 1 - 15, BB 1 - 16 and CC 1 - 15 only.  Valid until Thursday 30 May, subject to availability of reduced price seats.   Valid for 10 or more people:  Tuesday - R30 reduction, i.e. R100pp  /  Wednesday to Saturday - R60 reduction, i.e. R100pp.  To Book:  Contact Tracy Cahill on 021 438-3301, option 2 / tracy@theatreonthebay.co.za.

SENIOR CITIZENS
60+ years.  All seats.  Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm and Saturday at 5pm.  Half price.  Subject to availability.  Book at any Computicket outlet on presentation of ID. These tickets cannot be booked on-line or by 'phone.  Further dates for groups of twenty or more senior citizens on request - contact Tracy Cahill on 021 438 3301, option 2 / tracy@theatreonthebay.co.za.

SCHOLARS
Up to matric. All seats.  Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm and Saturday at 5pm.  Half price.  Subject to availability.  Book through > the theatre’s Box Office 0n 021 438 3300 > any Computicket outlet > through the Computicket Call Centre on 083 915 8000. These tickets cannot be booked on-line.   Further dates for groups of twenty or more scholars on request - contact Tracy Cahill on 021 438 3301, option 2 / tracy@theatreonthebay.co.za.

PERMANENT STUDENTS
Including visiting international students.  All seats.  Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm and Saturday at 5pm.  Half price.  Subject to availability.

Book > at any Computicket outlet on presentation of a valid student card. Tickets cannot be booked on-line or by 'phone. Further dates for groups of twenty or more students on request - contact Tracy Cahill on 021 438 3301, option 2 / tracy@theatreonthebay.co.za.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­FUNDRAISING PERFORMANCES
Contact Tracy Cahill on 021 438 3301, option 2 / tracy@theatreonthebay.co.za for available dates and prices.  40% - 50% reduction on a full house.

FIVE STARS “If Twitch – which is award-winning actor Robert Fridjhon’s first play – is a  sample of what we can expect from him in the future, then stand by to welcome a new master of comedy!”  Caroline Smart – Daily News Tonight!

“It will have you in ‘twitches’  Twitch is  a great new South African play, so whether you’re  a bird lover or not, I suggest you join its four ‘twits” for some hilarious fun.”  Estelle Sinkins – Natal Witness

“When feathers fly … Twitch takes flight.”  Billy Suter – The Mercury

Starring  Michael Richard  -  Louise Saint-Claire  -  Russel Savadier  -  Bronwyn Gottwald

From the playwright -  Robert Fridjhon

The moment of inspiration for Twitch was unexpected and instant. I was whiling away a blissful, bushveld afternoon in Eugene Marais' beloved Waterberg region, reading an article written by Kenneth Newman for some wildlife magazine or other. Much to my surprise, he went on at length describing his disdain for fanatical birders and twitchers; the type who will shove small children out of the way in order to get a glimpse of some rare species, the type who will stop at nothing (including other wildlife) to enter a new sighting in their bird guide, the type who have become known as the bushveld paparazzi. At the time, I also happened to be reading African Genesis by Robert Audrey; an in-depth investigation into the origins of man and our connections with nature. The two ideas collided and the very notion of four people stuck in a birding hide somewhere in the bushveld appealed to me. How much have we really evolved since our primordial beginnings, and how far removed have we become from our natural origins?

Furthermore, the idea of the birding club committee within the play provided an analogy for one of Man's evolutionary failings; that of revolution instead of evolution. History is littered with instances of regimes and governments being overthrown, only to be replaced by administrations that are equally appalling.

Is society the work of man, or is man the work of society? It's an anthropological paradox.