The Bear and The Proposal

4.67 (15)

The Bear and The Proposal

3 performances between Sept. 8, 2016 and Sept. 10, 2016
Comedy (Farce)
Directed by Sheldon Rolihlahla Cross • Starring Leigh Bremridge as Popova • Natalya Trad Nogueira-Godsey as Smirnoff • Ivan Matt Roy as Luka/Stepan
60mins
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The GingerbreadMan Collective returns with their comedy double bill; Anton Chekhov’s The Bear and The Proposal. The hilarious staging of two of Chekhov’s short plays explores the relationship between man and woman. It’s a story of contrasts, evident in the six diverse characters that the cast of three interprets.  In The Bear, Popova (Leigh Bremridge) has locked herself in the house since her husband’s death. Unable to pay her dead husband’s debt, she is embroiled in an argument with a neighbouring land owner; Smirnov (Trad Nogueira-Godsey), whom she calls, among other things, a bear. Caught in the middle of their argument is Popova’s delicate footman, Luka (Matt Roy).  Like The Bear, The Proposal follows the fiery relationship between two highly opinionated characters. A long time neighbour, Lomov (Nogueira-Godsey), asks for Stepan’s (Roy) sister’s hand in marriage. After receiving her brother’s blessing, Natalya (Bremridge) is asked to join them. This is where the farce begins. Arguing about the mundane, with his betrothed, emotions escalate to a hysterical high. Lomov finally collapses from exhaustion.

Meet the director: Sheldon Rolihlahla Cross, or “Crossbow” as he is more widely known, rose to national fame with his controversial production of Glengarry Glen Ross set in Soviet Russia. When asked about his return to the Russian context for The Bear and The Proposal, Crossbow said, “Nah, I changed the setting to Arkansas.”  

Meet the actress: Accomplished actress Leigh Ann Jo Marie Bremridge, known for her method acting, was forced to postpone her tour as the lead in Evita after being ‘accidentally’ elected to Argentinian parliament. Impressively, Bremridge speaks 8 languages, though ironically Spanish is not one of them.  

Meet the tall actor: Fresh off his critically acclaimed success playing opposite Leo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in The Revenant, Trad Nogueira-Godsey reprises his role as “The Bear” to fit Chehkov’s comedic masterpiece by the same name. Critics are eager to see Godsey’s debut in human form as Lomov in The Proposal, directly following.  

Meet the not so tall actor: Following his conviction peddling haggis in Cape Town’s black market, Matt Roy, determined to turn his life around, found acting to fill the haggis-shaped void. Quickly moving from amateur theatre to professional work, Matt now lives a respectable life in the Southern Suburbs with a vegan partner.

Audience Responses

Really good show x very funny x great evenings entertainment!

Adrian • Attended Sept. 8, 2016, 9 p.m.
5.0

After a slow, uncertain start the actors warmed up and in the end delivered realistic performances. The addition of a "peasant woman" was a nice touch. Pity the theatre wasn't full! Should have been...

John • Attended Sept. 10, 2016, 9 p.m.
4.0

So nice to see people doing something that they love. Great entertainment. The food at the restaurant is not great.

Jonathan • Attended Sept. 8, 2016, 9 p.m.
4.0

Would give more than 5 stars, if there was an option like that. Outstanding.

Wayne • Attended Sept. 8, 2016, 9 p.m.
5.0

No stars simply zero! One does not like to see theatre fail so badly but this was an abomination of poor interpretation and pure 'rape' of a classic text ignoring or simply unable to understand the themes. Both stories were excruciating - the director completely missed the dramatic suspence which is the pivot to the comedy in both pieces. I have in all honesty never seen anything so poorly staged (unimaginative and pedestrian) on Alexander stage. The Louka character in The Bear was unacceptable and transposing The Proposal into a hill-billy charade was a cop out! The male lead has imitation ability but no ability to engage with emotion and clearly should not appear on a professional stage again. The female lead obviously has ability (confident with accent) but was directed into some excrutiating ham acting which entertained the family audience but I am afraid I could not find merit in this production. But amateur theatre is alive and well in Cape Town and the community is well supported. Trust you guys did make some money. Thanks for all the other great shows.

Chris • Attended Sept. 9, 2016, 9 p.m.

Wonderful show with such talented actors! Thoroughly enjoyed.

Elaine • Attended Sept. 10, 2016, 9 p.m.
5.0

Brilliant!!!! I'm bringing my niece from Australia and i'm seeing it again with her on Saturday

Susan • Attended Sept. 8, 2016, 9 p.m.
5.0

Excellent show. Wonderful performances. Loved the variety of two short shows.

Tamara • Attended Sept. 8, 2016, 9 p.m.
4.0

After a slow, uncertain start the actors warmed up and in the end delivered realistic performances. The addition of a "peasant woman" was a nice touch. Pity the theatre wasn't full! Should have been...

John • Attended Sept. 10, 2016, 9 p.m.
4.0

Really good show x very funny x great evenings entertainment!

Adrian • Attended Sept. 8, 2016, 9 p.m.
5.0

No stars simply zero! One does not like to see theatre fail so badly but this was an abomination of poor interpretation and pure 'rape' of a classic text ignoring or simply unable to understand the themes. Both stories were excruciating - the director completely missed the dramatic suspence which is the pivot to the comedy in both pieces. I have in all honesty never seen anything so poorly staged (unimaginative and pedestrian) on Alexander stage. The Louka character in The Bear was unacceptable and transposing The Proposal into a hill-billy charade was a cop out! The male lead has imitation ability but no ability to engage with emotion and clearly should not appear on a professional stage again. The female lead obviously has ability (confident with accent) but was directed into some excrutiating ham acting which entertained the family audience but I am afraid I could not find merit in this production. But amateur theatre is alive and well in Cape Town and the community is well supported. Trust you guys did make some money. Thanks for all the other great shows.