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Speaker 1: Join the conversation. Join the conversation. You're with Kate Talk.

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Speaker 2: Okay. Cape Town theater lovers are in for a treat

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Speaker 2: this month. An exciting double bill from award winning playwright

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Speaker 2: Gavin Verner is coming to the Mask Theater. It's presented

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Speaker 2: by between Us Productions, and the season features the premiere

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Speaker 2: of Meeting Murphy, described as a darkly comic drama exploring bullying, masculinity,

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Speaker 2: and memory. And that's alongside the acclaimed and award winning

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Speaker 2: Spanish Steps. The productions run from tomorrow until the eighteenth

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Speaker 2: of April, offering audiences a powerful and entertaining theater experience.

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Speaker 2: And I'm delighted to say that Gavin's on the line

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Speaker 2: with this morning.

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Speaker 1: Morning, Gavin, Good morning to Jane. Are you doing.

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Speaker 2: I'm very well. Indeed, two you're giving us a twofa well,

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Speaker 2: not actually because we have to pay for both, but

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Speaker 2: you've got two plays, two plays running running at the

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Speaker 2: same time. Why did you decide to present Meeting Murphy

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Speaker 2: alongside Spanish Steps.

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Speaker 1: I think because I realized at the end of the

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Speaker 1: day the two plays are so related to each other.

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Speaker 1: I think the question I asked myself when I wrote

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Speaker 1: both these plays is why do otherwise good people exhibit

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Speaker 1: bad behavior? And that there's a there's a central question there,

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Speaker 1: and these two plays approach it from different stages of life.

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Speaker 1: In Spanish steps, it's about middle age and the choices

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Speaker 1: we've made in life and how that affects us. And

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Speaker 1: then Meeting Murphy goes further back to teenagehood and looks

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Speaker 1: at the traumas we might have picked up then and

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Speaker 1: how that affects us now.

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Speaker 2: As I mentioned that, they're described as well, certainly Meeting

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Speaker 2: Murphy a darkly comic drama, darkly funny. How how do

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Speaker 2: you balance humor with with with with the heavy stuff?

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Speaker 1: I think so often you when you're dealing with a

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Speaker 1: subject matter that is heavy, it has to be seen

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Speaker 1: through a humorous len. So I would not say that

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Speaker 1: these are comedies, but they certainly are darkly comic, and

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Speaker 1: I think that's often so how we live with certain

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Speaker 1: difficult things in life is we have to laugh at them. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, I see the laughter almost as a companion

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Speaker 1: to the hardship I had.

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Speaker 2: I had the actor Low Fencer in studio with me

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Speaker 2: at the weekend and we were talking. He's also got

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Speaker 2: something out again darkly darkly comic. But we were talking

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Speaker 2: about the a British movie called Death at a Funeral,

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Speaker 2: which I don't know if you've seen, but very much

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Speaker 2: speaking to that, you know, the situation of a funeral,

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Speaker 2: you know, versus that the app and it's a comedy,

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Speaker 2: it's an outright comedy, but it's it's brilliant and yet

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Speaker 2: moments of being very very touching and moving in of

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Speaker 2: course set and the death and everyone's hugely uncomfortable around

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Speaker 2: the death, and it's that sort of the jeopardy lies

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Speaker 2: in the discomfort.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I think you know, if we if we've

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Speaker 1: been in situations where we are facing something like the

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Speaker 1: death of a loved one. I lost my mother a

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Speaker 1: year ago and it was a long and painful process.

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Speaker 1: But the jokes that we came out with in the process,

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Speaker 1: which which got us through, Yeah, we're so much part

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Speaker 1: of that process, and they don't diminish the seriousness of

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Speaker 1: what's going on.

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Speaker 2: Spanish Steps, let's talk about that. It's one major awards.

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Speaker 2: What do you what do you think has resonated most

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Speaker 2: with the audience because can you just give us a

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Speaker 2: synopsis for those who yet to catch it?

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Speaker 1: Sure? So Spanish steps is it's about two middle aged

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Speaker 1: people who are employees in a company and they find

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Speaker 1: themselves trapped together for the weekend and they don't particularly

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Speaker 1: like each other. So I think a lot of what

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Speaker 1: resonates in Spanish strips is the issues that we face

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Speaker 1: in middle age, very often decisions we've made, dreams that

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Speaker 1: we've maybe let go of, and I think those themes

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Speaker 1: are quite sort of prevalent, and that's what we see

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Speaker 1: in Spanish steps. And another big theme in Spanish steps

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Speaker 1: is apparent child relationships and how they can go wrong

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Speaker 1: and how they can be repaired.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's a difficult one, isn't it. That's that's

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Speaker 2: an interesting One's I find myself having more and more

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Speaker 2: conversations with friends around that exact topic. That there comes

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Speaker 2: a moment where having to see your parent as human.

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Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, And they such complex relationships because very often

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Speaker 1: they can be very difficult. I had a very difficult

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Speaker 1: relationship with my father, But at the same time therese,

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Speaker 1: you know, I absolutely loved it around vice versa, And

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Speaker 1: I think that's what makes it interest sting and self

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Speaker 1: and when you're in the situation when things are difficult

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Speaker 1: you don't always realize how much you love the person.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, Spanish strip steps goes into a lot of that.

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Speaker 2: You're also performing in that one, right, that's correct. How

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Speaker 2: does that differ when you're when you're in the in

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Speaker 2: the in the cut and thrust of the action versus

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Speaker 2: being able to sit and give notes.

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Speaker 1: I've definitely enjoyed the experience of meeting Murphy. Yes, I've

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Speaker 1: written and and I'm now directing, just to get that

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Speaker 1: a little bit of distance. It's it's been a great experience.

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Speaker 1: I've also been blessed with some amazing actors both in

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Speaker 1: meeting Murphy. I've got Brent Palmer and christophin Rinsberg. And

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Speaker 1: to be working with actors who brings so much to

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Speaker 1: the table. You know that both the script of meeting

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Speaker 1: the Spanish steps have evolved a lot with the actors involved,

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Speaker 1: in the case of Spanish Steps with Dane Simpson. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's been great doing the directing. But I love being

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Speaker 1: in Spanish Steps. I've done it for so long now

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Speaker 1: it's kind of become part of me.

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Speaker 2: Is there a from a from a your your writing hat,

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Speaker 2: your directing hat, you're producing hat, your your acting hat.

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Speaker 2: Is there, which which hat do you feel more comfortable in?

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Speaker 2: And which hat do you feel best demonstrates your skill.

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Speaker 1: I if you'd asked me this two years ago, I

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Speaker 1: would have said acting. I I've come to realize how

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Speaker 1: much I love directing. It's it is such a creative process,

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Speaker 1: and there's so much that gets discovered during the directing process.

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Speaker 1: So if I had to choose, I would probably say acting,

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Speaker 1: with acting a very close second.

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Speaker 2: Sure, went, just remind us when we can catch both shows.

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Speaker 2: I gather you kicking off tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Right, that's correct. So on weekdays we've got two shows

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Speaker 1: a day, six pm and eight pm, and it alternates

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Speaker 1: between Spanish strips and meeting Murphy just to accommodate people

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Speaker 1: who might not be able to make an early show. Yep.

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Speaker 1: And in the weekends we have three shows and that

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Speaker 1: made four a show at six and a.

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Speaker 2: Show date Okay, fantastic stuff. Tickets are available via quicket.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for that early show. It helps the parents

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Speaker 2: among us. We appreciate that enormously.

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Speaker 1: Gavin.

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Speaker 2: It's been an absolute treat to have to have you

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Speaker 2: with us. What's what's next for you after this? After

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Speaker 2: this run?

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Speaker 1: Gavin, a good long break good and then I have

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Speaker 1: a couple of other play ideas in mind, but it's

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Speaker 1: probably going to be one person show.

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Speaker 2: Oh really yeah, with you, with you perform forming or writing.

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Speaker 1: How about me performing, me performing well, me performing and

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Speaker 1: writing and somebody else directing.

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Speaker 2: Okay, do you do you take do you take directions

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Speaker 2: as a writer, as an actor the writer? Do you

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Speaker 2: take direction?

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Speaker 1: Well? I think I do. It is it is tricky

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Speaker 1: ground to cover. And actually, when when you were doing

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Speaker 1: Spanish Steps, my friend Caroline Medley, who was directing, she

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Speaker 1: actually gave me three hats and said you're you're the writer, director,

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Speaker 1: and producer. Only one of those people is allowed to

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Speaker 1: be in the room at any time, and if we

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Speaker 1: were on the floor, I wasn't allowed to make a

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Speaker 1: writer's comment unless I was invited to enter the room. Right, Okay,

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Speaker 1: you have to take you have to definitely be open

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Speaker 1: to input.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you said you're taking a break. I wonder

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Speaker 2: if creatives, if if and I'm now going to be

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Speaker 2: a bit you know, emodison throw myself into that to you,

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Speaker 2: but I wonder if we ever take breaks as creatives,

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Speaker 2: because you might not be actively doing something that you

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Speaker 2: are receiving renumeration for But is the brain not always

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Speaker 2: going absolutely?

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Speaker 1: I think it just goes into that state where it

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Speaker 1: all happens in your subconscious and in your dreams and

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Speaker 1: in your sleep, which does which does help you to relact.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, definitely, as soon as one project in the

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Speaker 1: ideas stop popping.

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Speaker 2: Into the next one, it's wild, isn't it. Sometimes it

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Speaker 2: would be nice if the voice is shut up for

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Speaker 2: a bit, then what what what fun would that be? Gavin? Honestly, Govin, great.

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Speaker 1: To have you with us.

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Speaker 2: I'm so excited to come down and check out your work.

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Speaker 1: I really am.

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Speaker 2: It's it's going to be a real highlight for me

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Speaker 2: on the theater circuit to this this April, folks, you

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Speaker 2: can get your tickets. Lovely to have you with this, Kevin,

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Speaker 2: thank you. You can get your tickets for both of

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Speaker 2: the shows. From award winning writer and performer direct to

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Speaker 2: Gavin Vena. He's going to be the show's running concurrently

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Speaker 2: eighth to the eighteenth of April at the Mass Theatre

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Speaker 2: in Musemberg. That is Meeting Murphy, in which a middle

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Speaker 2: aged man comes face to face with his teenage bully

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Speaker 2: and it's set on a remote hiking trail. What unfolds

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Speaker 2: is a gripping, darkly funny confrontation that interrogates masculinity, memory,

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Speaker 2: and the lasting scars of school yard cruelty. And then

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Speaker 2: the acclaimed play Spanish Steps also running. Get your tickets

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Speaker 2: available for you at quick at