The world is in a digital age; gone are the Mr Video stores and waiting days for the next episode of your favourite series. Now, with the power of the internet, you have the world at your fingertips.
However, despite the dwindling demand for the more ‘old-fashioned’ means of entertainment, the theatre industry is utilising everything they have to stay in the game. The latest masterpiece the Roodepoort Theatre has to offer is an exceptional solo production of Kamphoer – Die verhaal van Susan Nell, starring the legendary Sandra Prinsloo.
Sandra has taken on the challenge of bringing life to the emotional story of Susan Nell, who was sent to Winburg concentration camp with her mother during the Anglo-Boer War after her father was killed in battle. In this stage adaptation of a true story, Susan is forced to relive the traumas of the camp when, 16 years later, she travels to England during WW1 to serve as a psychiatric nurse at a military hospital for shell-shocked soldiers and comes face to face with one of her biggest tormentors from Winburg – an officer who had raped her and is now a patient at the hospital.
While most theatre productions have hoards of actors to tell a story, Sandra will be the only actress on stage, taking on the difficult task of playing multiple roles in multiple points in time. Building up to the opening of the play, Sandra graciously agreed to an interview with the Record, where we got to learn a little more about her and how her latest role came to be.
Sandra was born and raised in Pretoria and joined the entertainment industry shortly after she left university. Since then, she has made a name for herself in the film industry, television, theatre and directing. While she is extremely passionate about all of the projects she has undertaken, Sandra said she was drawn to theatre because of the live audience, and the intimacy and interactions that an audience brings.
Sandra lived in Johannesburg for 20 years, but for the past 13 she has called Cape Town her home when she isn’t travelling for work. She said that even though she is used to the excessive travel her career brings because she has been acting most of her life, she will never get used to leaving her beloved dogs at home. However, Sandra knows that while she is gone, her fur babies are well looked after.
With nearly 51 years of experience in the professional entertainment industry, it is no wonder that Sandra was head-hunted for her role in Kamphoer. She had already read both of the books that inspired Cecilia du Toit’s stage adaptation of the story (namely Kamphoer by Francois Smit and The Boer Whore by Nico Moolman), so when Sandra was approached with the role, she was excited to accept. Learning that she would be working together with renowned director Lara Foot, whom she has admired for years, pushed Sandra’s decision even further towards ‘yes.’
While she loves her job, it is not all glamour and applause; there is a lot of hard work involved. “It is immensely challenging to play Susan,” said Sandra. She went on to describe how – because an entire book needed to be condensed into an hour and a half – she needed to work extremely hard to be able to portray the emotions of many different people in different times in history with believability and relatability. “It is a very serious production and certainly has a message to be shared. Susan’s story is extremely powerful and very fascinating,” Sandra continued.
While a theatre is Sandra’s favourite place to perform, she worries about the future of the industry. Once vibrant and thriving, the theatre industry is now in dire straits because of a lack of interest to see live performances, and the fact that many people are in a difficult place financially and cannot afford tickets. “I want to urge everyone to support their local theatres and try and see one of their shows; it doesn’t even have to be mine. We just need to save our theatres,” she concluded.
Kamphoer will be at the Roodepoort Theatre for four days a week from 18 to 28 February, and tickets start at R90. Tickets can be purchased from webtickets or your nearest Pick n Pay outlet. Roodepoort Theatre telephone bookings can also be made by contacting 0861 670 670 or 011 472 1374.
