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Brace yourself for KING GEORGE... Award-nominated playwright and actor Brent Palmer’s new and unsettling urban drama, KING GEORGE, will keep you transfixed with nail-biting suspense at the Baxter’s Masambe Theatre from 21 November to 2 December 2023.
“They were right – you are a slippery rat, George.”
George Megalos, a controversial, sleazy and abrasive strip club owner has run his business in Woodstock for the greater part of fifteen years. He wants nothing more than to run a respectable strip club but when property developers threaten to shut him down he decides to fight back. Then he crossed paths with Shane Wyntock...
Shane Wyntock is the suave CEO of Synergy properties and on the verge of a bold yet hugely disruptive development in Lower Woodstock.
One fateful evening George barges in on Shane’s plush office and slams an eviction notice he’s received down on the table. What follows is a tense stand-off, ceaseless battle of wills with devastating secrets revealed. Two alpha males caught in a ferocious stand-off. Two men, from vastly different backgrounds, willing to put everything on the line in their quest to protect what is theirs.
Originally envisioned as a short film, KING GEORGE is now set to take the stage with Brent Palmer’s signature dark comedic writing style that has kept audiences enthralled with Fleur Du Cap nominated highlights such as Bench (2012), The Visit (2017), and in 2019, The Room, which John Maytham described as “wonderful … with superb dialogue”.
"I decided to bring the story of KING GEORGE to the stage because I believe the characters are compelling, and there is a raw urgency to their conflict", says Palmer about the stage development of his film vision. "Moreover, I felt that the themes of gentrification and the significant consequences it has for communities is immediate and relevant."
Not only is Palmer the writer of this exciting new play, but he also reprises his short film role as George Megalos. As an actor, Palmer is no stranger to independent theatre. He was most recently seen in Scott Sparrow’s Dinner with the 42’s, directed by Greg Karvellas, for which performance he received a Fleur du Cap nomination earlier this year. He has also performed in a number of acclaimed plays at the Fugard Theatre, including Louis Viljoen's award-winning The Kingmakers and the Adrian Collins directed A Steady Rain.
Joining Palmer onstage is Clyde Berning, who steps into the shoes of Shane Wyntock. Berning is a leading actor of his generation. He has performed in a number of mainstream and independent productions, including Laertes in Hamlet, Eros in Antony & Cleopatra, Slim in Cowboy Mouth, Mark Dolson in Mass Appeal, Dakin in The History Boys and more recently, Nick Arnstein in Funny Girl. He won a Naledi award for his role as Dakin in The History Boys (2012).
Berning has previously commented on his approach to his characters that he believes "you need to see the greater truth of your character’s humanity". With that perspective it will be interesting to see how Berning interprets the dimensions of Shane in KING GEORGE.
Adrian Collins, brings the dynamic acting duo together as the director of KING GEORGE. Collins, a scintillating stage and film actor, has switched his focus to directing, with a passion for creating Low-Fi independent theatre and film. His directorial credits include; Apple Face, written by Pierre Malherbe, Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain, Richard Kaplan’s The Finklestein’s Are Coming To Dinner, The Room, also written by Brent Palmer and the short film Gcobisa, written by Louis Viljoen and produced by Lika and Clyde Berning.
Catch KING GEORGE onstage at the Baxter Theatre's hottest new performance space, the Masambe Theatre, from 22 November to 2 December 2023.
Tickets are available online through Webtickets at a price of R150 per person. Please note that KING GEORGE carries an age restriction of 13 years for explicit language.