JAN 31—FEB 09, 2025
Emerson Paramount Center, Robert J. Orchard Stage
559 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
Life & Times of Michael K Media Partner:
In an effort to reduce paper waste, we have stopped printing full show programs. Instead, we’ve created a small printed piece with the essentials that all audiences receive which then links to a complete digital program.
Dearest ArtsEmerson Friends,
We are thrilled to welcome you back to the theater for Life & Times of Michael K. Based on J.M. Coetzee’s award-winning novel of the same name, this gorgeous piece follows a man named Michael K who journeys across South Africa to return his mother to her birthplace, against the backdrop of civil war. Adapted and directed by Lara Foot of the Baxter Theatre Centre and coupled with inventive puppetry from our friends at the Tony Award Winning Handspring Puppet Company (last seen with Little Amal), Life & Times of Michael K showcases the enduring power of human connection and resilience amidst unimaginable hardship.
While the piece itself is a work of fiction, J.M. Coetzee’s novel was published at the height of Apartheid in South Africa and its themes around forced displacement, poverty, and racism remain resonant and timely decades after its publication. This incredible adaptation for the stage urges us to witness the impact of injustice and oppression and honor the everyday people who actively defy it.
ArtsEmerson was founded in 2010 to foster positive change in this historically segregated city. For nearly fifteen years, we have centered artists and narratives often invisibilized—Black, Indigenous, POC, immigrant, LGBTQIA+, international perspectives, and more. As we enter this next year and chapter, we will continue to center our Boston community, deepen our relationships around the globe, and uplift risk-taking artists and work. We are grateful to our partners both at home and abroad for their commitment to our mission and for holding us accountable to it. We continue.
Sincerely,
Ronee Penoi
Interim Executive Director of the Office of the Arts and ArtsEmerson
Director of Artistic Programming
ANDREW BUCKLAND (Actor) embarked on his theatrical journey in 1974, evolving into a renowned actor and theater maker. His career spans diverse roles in theater, film, and television, earning three Fringe First Awards and acclaim for his portrayal of Sgt Pepper in Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE (2008/2009). Buckland is celebrated for innovative works like The Ugly Noo Noo and Bloodstream, and has won numerous awards, including the Standard Bank Young Artist Award in 1986. He served as Associate Professor Emeritus at the University Currently Known as Rhodes until 2017. Recent performances include Hold Still, Oedipus at Colonus, and Life & Times of Michael K.
SANDRA PRINSLOO (Actor) Sandra Prinsloo’s illustrious career in theatre, film and television spans 50 years, performing female lead roles in over 100 different productions by international dramatists and local playwrights, De Kat magazine named her ‘one of the 100 most influential people in SA’. In Miss Julie (opposite John Kani) in 1985, she received bomb threats and violent assaults as the first South African white actress to appear on stage in love scenes with a black actor. Leading theatre roles include The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Hamlet, A Winter’s Tale, Hedda Gabler, Siener in die Suburbs, Christine, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, Absurd Person Singular, Night and Day, Miss Julie, People are Living There and Amy’s View. Others include The Road to Mecca (with Marius Weyers), Soebatsfontein and So Ry Miss Daisy (with John Kani). Sandra has directed several plays, including Kopstukke, Frieda Kahlo’s Eyes, Susters van Eva and Stuur groete vir Ma. She was honoured for her Lifetime contribution to theatre by kykNET Fiëstas and received her fifth lifetime achievement award, when the University of Stellenbosch awarded her an Honorary Doctorate degree.
CARLO DANIELS (Actor) is a dynamic physical theater actor, singer, and theater maker from Cape Town. Starting his career performing on street corners in Mitchell’s Plain, Carlo has since collaborated with notable figures like David Kramer and Clowns Without Borders SA. A 2019 Magnet Theatre graduate, Carlo won Best Actor and Best Production at the 2018 Zabalaza Festival for Onweer. His solo play Klippies Van die Grond earned him KKNK’s Kanna Award and Suidoosterfees Best Actor accolades, with further Fleur De Cap nominations in 2019 and 2020. Notable performances include Antigone, Concerning The Life Of Baby Boy Kleintjies, and Life & Times of Michael K. In 2023, he won the Fleur du Cap for Best New Director.
CRAIG LEO (Puppet Master) is a distinguished South African theater designer, puppeteer, and performing artist. His extensive work includes collaborations with Magnet Theatre, Jazzart Dance Theatre, Mothertongue, Janni Younge Productions, and The Handspring Puppet Company. Notable productions include Medea, Bolero, Rain in a Dead Man’s Footprints, and The Firebird. His work with The Handspring Puppet Company features Tall Horse, War Horse, and Life & Times of Michael K. Craig designed and directed puppetry for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Bridge Theatre, London, and performed in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Re- Imagined at Shakespeare’s Globe. He is currently the puppetry director/puppeteer for Walk with Amal.
FANISWA YISA (Actor) is a versatile South African actor with a dynamic career in theater, film, and television. A University of Cape Town drama school graduate, she co-created and performed in Beading My Soul, Uhambo, and The Space of Dreams as part of The Mothertongue Project, with a residency in India in 2003. Her extensive stage work includes Madiba Magic, The Suitcase, Missing, The Jungle Book, and Medea. Notable tours include Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking, which was nominated for Best Foreign Production in Argentina and received Pick of the Festive at the National Arts Festival. Yisa won the Fleur du Cap Best Actress award for What Remains and was joint Best Actress at Aardkloop.
NOLUFEFE NTSHUNTSHE (Actor) is a versatile performer and member of Baxter Theatre’s Fires Burning Company. Her recent work includes Lara Foot’s adaptation of Life & Times of Michael K, which won the Scotsman Fringe Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2022, she was a Zabalaza mini festival adjudicator and received a Fleur du Cap nomination for her role in the same production. Ntshuntshe has performed in Silindile at the Common Ground International Festival and When We Awake at the Baxter Theatre. She served as assistant director for Koleka Putuma’s Scoop and has toured internationally with productions like Knock and Ekhaya.
BILLY LANGA (Actor) is an award-winning actor, playwright, and educator known for his innovative approach to theater, emphasizing the relationship between the body and the stage. His recent work explores the integration of language and physicality in performance. Langa's directing credits include Khongolose Khommanding Khommissars, A Place of Knowing, and Just Antigone. As a performer, he has appeared in Tswalo, Salt, and Waiting for Godot. Langa has also contributed to digital platforms like ICA Online Fellowship and the Virtual National Arts Festival. His accolades include the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Theatre (2022) and the Naledi Theatre Award for Best Production for Young Audiences.
ROSHINA RATNAM (Actor) is a South African performer, puppeteer, theater maker, and audiobook narrator. She recently directed Surge at Magnet Theatre, a climate change-themed puppetry production. As an assistant director and performer, she contributed to Janni Younge’s Hamlet, showcased at the 2023 Chicago International Puppet Festival and Abstrakt Festival in Budapest. Her upcoming projects include puppeteering in Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo in Berlin and participating in Life & Times of Michael K, touring Galway and Edinburgh. Ratnam also narrates over 35 audiobooks, including Children of Sugarcane. Her company, Inala Theatre, won the 2019 Fleur Du Cap for Lumka. She is also head of projects at UNIMA South Africa.
MARKUS SCHABBING (Actor), born in 1989 in Alhaus, Germany, trained at the Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg. He debuted at Landestheatre Schleswig-Holstein and Thalia Theatre’s The Skin of Our Teeth. Schabbing made his London West End debut in War House at the Royal National Theatre and has since appeared in The Addams Family and Hinterm Horizont. He graduated from the Curious School of Puppetry in 2019 and worked with Theatre- Rites on The Incredible Tale of Robot Boy. Notable projects include Life & Times of Michael K, which won the Scotsman Fringe First Award, and Animal Farm. Schabbing is also an illustrator for various theater and media clients.
LARA FOOT (Adaptor, Writer, Director) is a distinguished playwright, director, and producer, currently serving as CEO and Artistic Director of the Baxter Theatre Centre. With a career highlighted by awards and innovation, she has directed over 70 productions, focusing on South African theater. Her acclaimed works include Tshepang, Karoo Moose, The Inconvenience of Wings, and Othello. She has won numerous awards, including Fleur du Cap and Naledi Awards, and has been a Rolex protégé and Sundance Fellow, as well as being honoured with The International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) 2023 International Citation of Merit Recipient award. Her adaptation of JM Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K received the Scotsman Fringe First Award and multiple accolades. Foot’s leadership has significantly shaped South African theater’s development and international presence.
BASIL J.R. JONES (Adaptor, Puppetry Director) is a renowned puppeteer, theater maker, and theorist, co-founder of Handspring Puppet Company with Jill Joubert and Jon Weinberg. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UCT and began his career at the South African Cultural History Museum. In Botswana, he worked with the Medu Arts Ensemble before co-founding Handspring in 1981. Their landmark productions include Woyzeck on the Highveld and War Horse, which has captivated over 7 million people globally. Jones is recognized for his innovative puppetry theories and has received numerous accolades, including honorary degrees from UCT and the University of Toronto.
ADRIAN P. KOHLER (Adaptor, Puppetry Director, Design & Creation) is a distinguished puppetry director, designer, and co-founder of Handspring Puppet Company. With a BA in Fine Art from the University of Cape Town, Kohler honed his craft from a young age under the influence of his amateur puppeteer mother and craftsman father. After running the National Popular Theatre Programme in Botswana and collaborating with the Medu Art Ensemble, he co-founded Handspring in 1981 with Basil Jones, Jill Joubert, and Jon Weinberg. Kohler has designed iconic puppets for War Horse, The Chimp Project, and Tall Horse. His work has earned numerous awards, including a Special Tony Award for War Horse and honorary degrees from UCT and the University of Toronto.
KYLE SHEPERD (Composer) is a prominent South African pianist and composer renowned for his progressive jazz work. A Stellenbosch University graduate with a Master of Music degree, Shepherd has released seven critically acclaimed albums and performed internationally. He curated the 49th SWR NEW Jazz Meeting in Germany, featuring a double album of his live performances. Shepherd composed the score for Noem My Skollie/Call Me Thief, South Africa’s 2017 Academy Awards entry, earning a SAFTA nomination and the 2018 South African Humanities and Social Sciences Award. His accolades include the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Award (2014) and Best Original Score awards for Fiela se Kind and Noem My Skollie.
PATRICK CURTIS (Set Designer) is a renowned set designer with over four decades in theater. His career includes six years at Johannesburg’s Market Theatre, five at The Performing Arts Board of the Cape, and six at UCT’s Little Theatre. As Production Manager at UCT’s Baxter Theatre from 2002 to 2018, his designs garnered numerous award nominations. Post-retirement, Curtis continues to design for Baxter Theatre, including Life & Times of Michael K. His award-winning work includes Vanya/Oom Wanja, Betrayal, and Fishers of Hope, for which he also received a Naledi Award. He has designed sets for notable productions like Aunty Merle the Musical and Scrooge, and has toured extensively with Baxter Theatre productions and continues to design for notable works such as Athol Fugard’s Life of Babyboy Kleintjies and Nadia Davids’ Hold Still.
MPHO JACOB TAIWE (Sound Operator) Mpho Taiwe is from Johannesburg in South Africa. He graduated from Allenby Campus and his theatre credits include, School of Rock, We Will Rock You, Chicago The Musical, Tap Dogs, The Sound of Music, Singing In Rain, War Horse, Phantom Of The Opera and Grease The Musical. His career path has led him to work in various genres of arts and entertainment which includes dance, opera, concerts and television.
JOSHUA CUTTS (Lighting Designer) a leading South African lighting designer with over two decades of experience, has made significant contributions to both theater and television. Starting at the Market Theatre, he transitioned to TV in the early 2000s, designing lighting for major events like Idols SA, The Voice SA, and Miss South Africa. A career highlight was joining the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 lighting team in Tel Aviv. In 2016, he won a Naledi Award for his work on West Side Story at the Fugard Theatre. Founder of The Visual Frontier in 2011, Cutts is dedicated to advancing lighting design in South Africa.
