Overview
A Human Being Died That Night opened at the Fugard Studio Theatre in Cape Town on 20 February 2014 and then transferred to the Market Theatre in Johannesburg before a formal London season back at the Hampstead Theatre in May 2014. The Production also played at BAM in New York for a limited run in 2015.
Eugene de Kock was a paid white political assassin nicknamed “Prime Evil” for his crimes against anti-apartheid activists. While serving his two life sentences, black psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela went to interview him, hoping to seek humanity and forgiveness from the government-sanctioned monster. The thought-provoking interrogation moves from clinical to intimate in a cell where fear and compassion coexist.
Details
First performance
20 February 20
Final performance
21 June 2015
Venue
The Fugard Studio
(20 February–15 March 2014)
The Market Theatre
(19 March–6 April 2014)
The Hampstead Theatre
(22 May–21 June 2014)
The Brooklyn Academy of Music
(29 May–21 June 2015)
Cast
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela
Noma Dumezweni
Eugene de Kock
Matthew Marsh
Prison Guard
Gantane Kusch (SA)
Martins Imhangbe (UK)
Femi Wilhelm (UK Matinees)
Motell Foster (USA)
Creative team
Writer
Nicholas Wright
Director
Jonathan Munby
Designer
Paul Wills
Lighting Designer (UK)
Tim Mitchell
Lighting Designer (SA)
Daniel Galloway
Associate Lighting Designer
David Ayton
Sound Designer
Christopher Shutt
Associate Director
Greg Karvellas
Production team
Production Manager (UK)
Tariq Rifaat
Production Manager (SA)
Ben du Plessis
Stage Manager (UK/USA)
Julia Slienger
Stage Manager (SA)
Juanita Ferreira
Costume Supervisor
Jackie Orton
Dialect Coach
Jan Haydn-Rowles
Photography (UK)
Robert Day
Photography
(SA) Jesse Kramer
Reviews
★★★★★
“A Five-star piece of theatre”
WhatsOnStage
★★★★★
“Unmissable. Marsh is magnificent”
Independent
★★★★
“Remarkable. Intense. Thrilling and cut with humour. Marsh is phenomenal. Brilliant Dumezweni”
The Times
★★★★
The Guardian
★★★★
The Telegraph
★★★★
Time Out
★★★★
The Evening Standard
★★★★
“… tightly scripted, intense, well-crafted …”
Cape Argus
“… Ms. Dumezweni and Mr. Marsh’s impeccable performances, under the direction of Jonathan Munby, ground the play in a vivid reality…”
The New York Times
“Watching A Human Being Died That Night is both a terrible and wonderful experience … This theatrical experience will leave you breathless .. A suspenseful, profound production that hits you hard in all the right places. You need to see it”
The Cape Times
“If there is one play you see this year – or even if this is the first in ages – make the effort to see A Human Being Died That Night“
Sunday Independent
“A rare, perfect theatrical experience”
Broadway World
“… a brilliant, searing play …”
Daily Maverick
Production photos
