Paul Slabolepszy

Paul Slabolepszy (1948-). Actor, Playwright, Screenwriter, Director.

Biography

Born in Bolton, England in 1948, his family emigrated to South Africa when Paul was aged 3. He then grew up in a number of small towns around South Africa, including Modderfontein, Witbank and Musina.

Slabolepszy lives in Johannesburg with his wife, Carol. They have three children.

Training

He completed a B.A. (Drama) degree at the University of Cape Town, studying under Rosalie van der Gucht, Tessa Marwick and Mavis Taylor. University productions included Royal Hunt of the Sun and Oh What a Lovely War!.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Founder member of SA’s first non-racial theatre company, the The Space in Cape Town (with Athol Fugard, John Kani and Yvonne Bryceland) in 1972.

In Johannesburg (with Mannie Manim and Barney Simon) he was a founder member of the world famous Market Theatre Company in 1976.

As actor

As an actor, Slabolepszy has appeared in well over 100 stage and TV plays, as well as 15 feature films. Highlights include - Frederick Courtney Selous in Rhodes (for the BBC) and Jan Christiaan Smuts, in The Apprenticeship of a Mahatma [1]. He appeared in Barney Simon's monologue, Men Should Cry More Often, as Biff in Death of a Salesman, Chance Wayne in Sweet Bird of Youth, Kaspar in Pieter Handke’s Kaspar, Smitty in Fortune and Men's Eyes, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Chandebise/Poche in A Flea in Her Ear.

He has also performed in many of his own plays, with roles such as Vince in Saturday Night at the Palace, Pa in Smallholding, Eddie in The Return of Elvis du Pisanie, Crispin in Heel Against the Head, and Dwayne in Suddenly the Storm.

As a writer

Slabolepszy has written prolifically for the stage and for the screen (film and television). His works and contributions are listed below.

Plays:

With over thirty plays to his credit, Slabolepszy is arguably (after Athol Fugard) South Africa’s foremost English playwright, his work having been performed in the UK, the USA, Germany, France, Australia, Sweden, Denmark and the Middle East.

1979 – Renovations

1980 – The Defloration of Miles Koekemoer

1982 – Saturday Night at the Palace

1983 – Karoo Grand

1984 - Under the Oaks

1985 – Over the Hill

1986 – Boo to the Moon

1986 - Making Like America

1988 – Travelling Shots

1989 – Smallholding

1990 – One for the High Jump

1990 - The Eyes of their Whites (with David Kramer)

1991 – Braait Laaities

1992 – Mooi Street Moves

1992 - The Return of Elvis du Pisanie

1993 – Pale Natives

1994 – Victoria Almost Falls (reworked and retitled My Low-Fat, Almost Italian Wedding in 2013)

1994 - Tickle to Fine Leg

1995 – Heel Against the Head

1996 – Once a Pirate

1997 – Going for the Jocular

1997 - Fordsburg's Finest

1998 – Planet Perth

1998 - Life's a Pitch

2000 – Crashing the Night

2001 – Running Riot

2002 – It's Just Not Cricket!

2003 – Whole in One

2005 – Art of Charf (Lady Lonely Hearts)

2006 – Not the Big Easy

2008 – For Your Ears Only

2008 – Freak Country

2016 – Suddenly the Storm (preceded by Guarding Mrs Gumede - an abandoned, destroyed text)

Many of Slabolepszy's plays reflect and focus on his love of sport, particularly: cricket (Under the Oaks, Tickle to Fine Leg, It's Just Not Cricket!, Life's a Pitch); rugby (Over the Hill, Heel Against the Head); soccer (Once a Pirate), golf (Whole in One, Not the Big Easy) and running (Running Riot).

Slabolepszy has had six World Premieres at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. Saturday Night at the Palace went on to perform at London’s Old Vic Theatre in 1984. The Eyes of their Whites (co-written and co-performed with David Kramer) received acclaim at the 1990 Edinburgh Festival, and Mooi Street Moves. Once a Pirate (starring Seputla Sebogodi) was part of the Lincoln Centre’s Woza Africa Festival in New York City in July, 1997

Published works:

Saturday Night at the Palace. 1985. AD Donker.

Mooi Street and Other Moves. 1994. Wits University Press (includes Under the Oaks, Over the Hill, Boo to the Moon, Smallholding, Mooi Street Moves and The Return of Elvis du Pisanie).

Suddenly the Storm. 2017. Wits University Press.

Screenplays:

1983 - Highrise Cowboy

1985 - Van Der Merwe P.I. (with Bill Flynn)

1986 - Saturday Night at the Palace (adapted from his 1982 play) (Merit Award AFI FEST, Los Angeles 1987, TAORMINA Best Actor - John Kani)

1990 - Kwagga Strikes Back (also known as Oh, Schucks...! Here Comes UNTAG) (with Leon Schuster)

1991 - Sweet 'n Short (with Gray Hofmeyr, Leon Schuster, Daan Smuts and Peet Buys); Taxi to Soweto (with Edgar Bold, Manie van Rensburg)

1992 - Die Prince van Pretoria (with Bill Flynn)

1998 -Heel Against the Head (adapted from his 1995 play)

2005 - Mama Jack (with Steven Francis, Gray Hofmeyr, Geoff Newton, Leon Schuster and Gus Silber)

2006 - Running Riot (adapted from his 2001 play)

2017 - Riders on the Wind

Television:

1986 - Señor Smith (with Bill Flynn) (13-part series, SABC),

1987 - People Like Us (with Gray Hofmeyr)

2000 - Madam & Eve (contributing writer)

2001 - Scoop Schoombie (original concept and contributing writer)

2003 - Swansong for Charlie (based on his own play Over the Hill, directed and produced by Bobby Heaney)

2008 -Hillside (head writer on SABC2 Drama Series)

2009 - Konsternasie Oppie Stasie (conceived, created and written by Slabolepszy (13 part sitcom for SABC2, directed and produced by Bobby Heaney))

Radio:

Several of his plays have been adapted for radio and broadcast by SAfm (SABC), among them:

Under the Oaks

Over the Hill

Art of Charf

Whole in One.

Since 2014, Slabolepszy has been Head Writer on a daily serial on SAfm called Radio Vuka. In 2017 the series went past the Episode 2,100 mark.

Awards, etc

In 1983, Slabolepszy received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award.

Numerous awards for Stage include Biff in Death of a Salesman, Chance Wayne in Sweet Bird of Youth, Kaspar in Pieter Handke’s Kaspar, Smitty in Fortune and Men's Eyes (where he won his first DALRO Best Actor Award in 1976), As Eddie, in his own play The Return of Elvis du Pisanie, he became the first actor in SA to win every Best Actor Award nationwide in a single year (Vita, Fleur du Cap and DALRO, 1993).

Awards for his plays include Saturday Night at the Palace (Amstel, Vita & Fleur du Cap Best Play); 1983, 1985 – Over the Hill (DALRO Best Play); Making Like America (Vita Best Play); 1989 – Smallholding (Vita Best Play); 1991 – Braait Laaities (Pick of the Fringe, Grahamstown Fest); 1992 – Mooi Street Moves (Paper Boat Best Play Award, Glasgow MayFest), The Return of Elvis du Pisanie (Vita, Fleur du Cap and DALRO Best Play); Heel Against the Head (Vita, Star Tonight Best Comedy); Suddenly the Storm (Naledi Best New South African Script 2016/17).

Mooi Street Moves was invited to the Teater der Weld Festival in Germany and the Images of Africa Festival in Denmark, in 1993. The same play won the Paper Boat Award at the Glasgow MayFest in 1994.

In March, 1993 Slabolepszy was invited to do a four week study tour of American Theatres with a group of international drama practitioners as part of the USA International Visitor Program.

Sources

CAPAB Brochure, Aug-Nov 1989.

Beeld, 12 August 1995.

Die Beeld 26 June 2001.

CV provided by Paul Slabolepszy, October 2017.

Paul Slabolepszy Official Webpage http://paulslabolepszy.com

Bobby Heaney's Foreword to Suddenly the Storm. 2017. Wits University Press.

For more in formation

Wikipedia [2].

IMDb [3].

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