PRESS: ÎLE is back onstage at the Baxter

Spark In The Dark

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ÎLE, winner of the Gold Standard Bank Ovation at National Arts Festival 2022, is back onstage at the Baxter Theatre this May.

“It’s less a family tree, more a family house plant that’s grown too big for its pot. After a couple generations the roots start to get a bit knotty.”

This coming-of-age story about mothers and daughters, dodo birds, lava lamps and volcanic islands was nominated for Best Actress at Woordfees 2022 and a Fleur de Cap for Best Performance in a One-person show, Revue or Cabaret, with audiences comparing it to Fleabag in style.

Sophie Joans’ award-winning play will be showing for a final run in Cape Town, before heading to the National Arts Festival in Makhanda and the Edinburgh Fringe Fest.

The coming-of-age story follows an 18-year-old girl who visits her ancestral home: Mauritius. A trip to a tropical island to connect with her extended family (and have some fun away from her mother) gets too real as she uncovers strange characters and realises that underneath paradise, a volcano is still waiting to erupt.

“It’s a hell of a play. The writing is superb. It’s fast, funny, and able to turn on a dime – from the outrageous and the absurd to moments of striking sincerity. It’s a play that excavates and animates the aforementioned matrilineal lines as a point of connection, a search for one’s personal history to better make sense of the present. We’re just along for the journey, and happily so.” - Dave Mann, The Critter

“Sophie Joans’ Île is a deliciously captivating piece of theatre. Heightened stand-up comedy, together with knockout physical comedy, astute use of props (wooden cubes) and activation of the stage space. It is uplifting, funny and inspiring. The show reverberates in terms of our families (especially our mothers), our relationships, the stories we cherish, tell and embrace.”  - Robyn Cohen, The Cape Robyn

“If you liked Fleabag, don’t miss this play!” - Audience member

Written & performed by Sophie Joans

Directed by Rob van Vuuren

Produced by Spark in the Dark

Where: Golden Arrow Studio at The Baxter Theatre, Main Rd, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700

When: 2 - 6 May | 8pm (3pm matinee on 6 May)

Tickets: Webtickets.