Difference between revisions of "Saira Essa"
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* ''[[Mahatma Ghandi]]'' (198*) | * ''[[Mahatma Ghandi]]'' (198*) | ||
| − | ===As actress== | + | ===As actress=== |
Saira has played leading roles in ''[[Macbeth]]'', ''[[The Primary English Class]]'', ''[[The Revenge]]'' (at the [[Market Theatre]]), ''[[The Good Woman of Setzuan]]'', ''[[Inherit the Wind]]'', ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'', ''[[In Camera]]'', ''[[Call me Woman]]'' (at the [[Market Theatre]]), ''[[Dutchman]]'', and her successful one woman play ''[[A Woman Alone]]''. | Saira has played leading roles in ''[[Macbeth]]'', ''[[The Primary English Class]]'', ''[[The Revenge]]'' (at the [[Market Theatre]]), ''[[The Good Woman of Setzuan]]'', ''[[Inherit the Wind]]'', ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'', ''[[In Camera]]'', ''[[Call me Woman]]'' (at the [[Market Theatre]]), ''[[Dutchman]]'', and her successful one woman play ''[[A Woman Alone]]''. | ||
Revision as of 17:57, 21 May 2026
Saira Essa. (1957-) Actress, director, dramatist, radio and TV presenter and model.
Contents
Biography
She was married to the actor Charles Pillai. She later married Mark Corlett.
Youth
Training
She has a BA Honours degree in Drama and is a Licentiate of the Trinity College of Music, London.
Career
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
As playwright
Among her plays are:
- The James Commission (1989)
- A Woman Alone (198*)
- Mahatma Ghandi (198*)
As actress
Saira has played leading roles in Macbeth, The Primary English Class, The Revenge (at the Market Theatre), The Good Woman of Setzuan, Inherit the Wind, Uncle Vanya, In Camera, Call me Woman (at the Market Theatre), Dutchman, and her successful one woman play A Woman Alone.
As director
She has directed: Christie in Love
1983: Pinocchio (1983)
1984: Bad Day at Black Frog Creek
and a musical based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. She wrote and directed Steve Biko: The Inquest.
She devised and directed The Snitcher Snatcher and the Naughty Child (1981).
As director she is best known for The Biko Inquest (by John Blair and Norman Fenton), done in Durban and at the Laager in 1985. (Also performed in Bombay in 1985).
She founded the Upstairs Theatre in Education Company in 1982.
Awards, etc
In 1982 she was awarded the Durban Critics Circle Award for her contribution to theatre in Durban.
Voted The Star Woman of the Year circa 1987.
Sources
SACD 1980/81.
Steve Biko: The Inquest programme notes, circa 1986.
Tucker, 1997.
Various entries in the NELM catalogue.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
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