This double-bill by multiple award-winning playwright Mike van Graan comprises two compelling performances: Helen of Troyeville and Pet-Friendly.

Helen of Troyeville is a poetic drama in the vein of Van Graan’s acclaimed works like To Life, With Love and Pet-Friendly. Inspired by one of Van Graan’s real-life theatre angels—though not a direct telling of her life story—this solo show raises profound questions about the interplay between collective history and individual agency, and the juxtaposition of personal goodness and societal injustice. Played by Zolie Markey, the 70-something character Helen Jennings, a former Black Sash member who once protested apartheid, now finds herself entangled in an opportunistic crime when all she wanted was to do good. When first performed at the National Arts Festival Fringe in 2018, it was described by the Cue reviewer as a play “…told through the eyes of Helen, a privileged woman trapped both physically and emotionally, who reflects on the life she has lived. We share in her journey of uncomfortable truths, parallel worlds, unwilling sacrifices, human desperation and waves of hope…a remarkable script.”

Pet-Friendly is a new script featuring the charming Ugandan-born actor Marty Kintu. This solo show blends stand-up and sketch comedy techniques to deliver social commentary through the lens of pet ownership. Using pets as metaphors, it explores themes in our national and global lives with the satirical wit Van Graan displayed in his long-running My Fellow South Africans.

Each piece runs for 55-60 minutes, with a 20-minute interval between the two shows. The double-bill season runs from 19-30 May at the Kloof Street Hotel in Gardens, Cape Town. The venue’s Sanctuary Restaurant and bar offer excellent refreshment options before, after, and during the interval.