Rehane Abrahams
Encyclopedia
Rehane Abrahams is a performance artist from Cape Town
, South Africa
. She has performed several works, from Shakespeare to contemporary productions in South Africa and in the America
. She was a recipient of the FNB Vita Award for Best Actress in 2001. She is a co-founder of The Mothertongue Project, a collective of women artists. She has written and performed a number of plays that have appeared in South Africa, San Francisco and London
. She has also appeared in numerous television shows, including SOS on e.tv
and as Zelda in Hotnotsgode on the South African Broadcasting Corporation
.
. She went to Livingston High School, and later graduated from the University of Cape Town
's (UCT) School of Drama. As a teenager, she was involved in the anti-apartheid
Struggle
, but gave up this role to become an actor. While at UCT, she started writing plays, including Adam's Apple, in which she played the part of Lilith
. This character was to haunt her for years as she took on a variety of erotic forms, crossing gender boundaries, and generally upsetting the South African establishment.
From her work in the femme fatale Marathon of Shots in the Dark performed at the Black Sun, to the grunge queen of Wider Than This and post-porn overtones of Fresh Wounds (Abrahams/Braham). Abrahams work is affected by her having grown up in a "colored" group area, and her experience of segregation
-- the system of apartheid that kept people of all races, apart. She was classified Cape Malay by the government, a label she still uses in her writing.
Stage name: Rehane Hurtzner
(an act of...) sabotage, extreme bisexuality and mud sports.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. She has performed several works, from Shakespeare to contemporary productions in South Africa and in the America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She was a recipient of the FNB Vita Award for Best Actress in 2001. She is a co-founder of The Mothertongue Project, a collective of women artists. She has written and performed a number of plays that have appeared in South Africa, San Francisco and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She has also appeared in numerous television shows, including SOS on e.tv
E.tv
e.tv is the fifth terrestrial television channel in South Africa, following three channels operated by the state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation and the privately owned subscription-funded M-Net, operated by Multichoice...
and as Zelda in Hotnotsgode on the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
.
Early life
Rehane Abrahams grew up in the suburb of Retreat, Cape TownCape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. She went to Livingston High School, and later graduated from the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
's (UCT) School of Drama. As a teenager, she was involved in the anti-apartheid
Internal resistance to South African apartheid
Internal resistance to the apartheid system in South Africa came from several sectors of society and saw the creation of organisations dedicated variously to peaceful protests, passive resistance and armed insurrection. It came from both black activists like Steve Biko and Desmond Tutu as well as...
Struggle
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
, but gave up this role to become an actor. While at UCT, she started writing plays, including Adam's Apple, in which she played the part of Lilith
Lilith
Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...
. This character was to haunt her for years as she took on a variety of erotic forms, crossing gender boundaries, and generally upsetting the South African establishment.
From her work in the femme fatale Marathon of Shots in the Dark performed at the Black Sun, to the grunge queen of Wider Than This and post-porn overtones of Fresh Wounds (Abrahams/Braham). Abrahams work is affected by her having grown up in a "colored" group area, and her experience of segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
-- the system of apartheid that kept people of all races, apart. She was classified Cape Malay by the government, a label she still uses in her writing.
Stagework
- Shots in the Dark (Abrahams/McCarthy) Marathon, Black Sun Theatre, JohannesburgJohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
S.A. - Wild South (Wayne Robbins) Topsy, Nico Malan Theatre, Cape Town S.A.
- Wider Than This (Abrahams) Solo Performance, Cafe Bijou, Johannesburg S.A.
- Fresh Wounds (Abrahams/Braham) Brenda, Duke of Cambridge Theatre, London
- Rites Dance Theatre (workshopped)
- The Sacrifice, Arena Theatre, Cape Town S.A
- Macbeth (Shakespeare) Lady Macbeth, Arena Theatre, Cape Town S.A.
- Adam's Apple (Abrahams) Lillith, Monument Theatre, GrahamstownGrahamstownGrahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
S.A. - The Crucible (Arthur Miller) Abigail Williams, Little Theatre, Cape Town S.A..
- Venus Goes Vulgar (Abrahams/Hardie) Zerelda, Arena Theatre, Cape Town S.A..
- The Last Trek (Stopford) Holly, Hiddingh Theatre Cape Town S.A.
- Dankie Auntie (Zakes Mda) Pearly Heavens, Umanyano Theatre, Grahamstown S.A.
- House of Bernada Alba (Lorca) Mourner, Arena Theatre, Cape Town S.A.
- High School Musical - Stage version (Stage manager), Bali, ID
- A Midsummer Nights Dream - Director, Arma Museum and Resort, Bali, ID
Film & Television
- The Shattered Mirror (drama) Thelma, Ronny Watt Prod. for C.C.V, South Africa.
- Die Allemans (family drama) Dalene, C films for S.A.B.C. South Africa
XXX-rated Films
- Desirs Noir/Dark Desires:Anna (feature) played Marie a dominatrix, Le Sabre for Canal 6, Paris France
Stage name: Rehane Hurtzner
(an act of...) sabotage, extreme bisexuality and mud sports.
Other performances
- Queen Guru, The Base, 1989.
- Rainbow Nation Peace Ritual, Feb 3, 1990.
- "New Body" Fetish art collaboration with Julia Raynham and James Taylor. 2008