‘Actress and Girl’ co-creator talks theatre in Johannesburg

LINDEN – Maude Sandham, a Linden resident, is the third and final player in the group responsible for the two-man piece Actress and Girl. She attended primary and high school in Linden before attending Rhodes University to study drama. She graduated with honours in 2013.

Regarding the recent 969 Festival at Wits University, this was Sandham’s first year as a performer. On the inception of Actress and Girl with cast mate Rachael Neary she said, “Rachael and I naturally improvise and joke around all the time.” It’s this sense of playing off each other that allows for character development.

She continued, “Rachael had this idea of using a prop or set of props to tell a story. We were both keen on creating a story with a female focus without a female struggle. We really try to focus on interesting ways of telling a story.”

Sandham feels the festival has a history of loyal audience members and on coming back from the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and heading straight into the 969 Festival, Sandham acknowledged how fortunate she and her colleagues were. “It’s an incredible opportunity to have our (play’s) run extended. Playing in front of the Art’s Festival’s audience and then a city audience is quite different, but both are nice. The 969 Festival is very well organised and it’s great to be part of this heart of live performance in the city.”

It’s also for this reason she enjoys living in Linden. “Linden is quite a creative hub. There are so many people involved in theatre and journalism and art. It’s quite a trendy, happening place with a lot going on.”

As for advice for any aspiring actresses, she is emphatic, “Get involved. But don’t limit yourself to what you think an actress should be. Get involved in community work and creating art for art’s sake. That will develop your talents and skills in different ways which will only enrich your performance.”

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‘Actress and Girl’ takes on 969 Festival at Wits Theatre