He Had It Coming, a collection of sketches, poetry and songs by Mike van Graan (Pay Back the Curry, State Fracture, Land Acts), will be performed by Fleur Du Cap and SAFTA nominated actress Kim Blanche Adonis under the direction of Daniel Mpilo Richards.  Kim brings a vibrancy to the role with her acclaimed range and unique energy.  He Had It Coming picks up on themes in contemporary South African discourse – particularly around issues related to patriarchy - and seeks to provide commentary mostly in a satirical form, inviting laughter as much as critical reflection.

With Richards – Van Graan’s collaborator in his most recent one-person, multi-sketch revues – now concentrating on filmmaking and music, He Had It Coming provides a platform for a new talent to be introduced to audiences around the country, with Richards serving as an ideal mentor. 

Reviews:

Daily Maverick - Kim is…’remarkable and versatile.’

Nikki Froneman on Facebook - “Kim is brilliant.”

Theodore Lawrence on Facebook: “What an absolutely riveting acting performance by Kim Blanché Adonis in Mike Van Graan’s brilliantly written play 'He Had It Coming'! It's cutting, disturbing, thought-provoking, deeply moving & satirical.”

Audience Comments:

'Simply Brilliant'

'Powerful'

'Great performance showing so much range.  Thought provoking dialogue.'

'Outstanding performance.  Mind blowing.'

'Actress excellent"

'Captivating performance.'

Photo Credits: Photos by Newton Stanford

Creative Team: Performed by Kim Blanché Adonis, Directed by Daniel Mpilo Richards, Written by Mike Van Graan. Presented by MvG & DMR Productions.

KIM BLANCHE ADONIS - Kim is a Fleur du Cap nominated actress, writer, voice artist and presenter from Cape Town. Between theatre, film and presenting her passion lies in perfecting her craft in a variety of mediums to the best of her ability. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, specializing in bilingual acting (English and Afrikaans) from the University of Cape Town (2019). Thereafter, she worked as a presenter on Ekse on channel 263 DSTV (2019-2021) and you can currently see her in the SAFTA nominated film Barakat.

DANIEL MPILO RICHARDS - Daniel  is a writer, producer, director and award-winning actor from South Africa. He graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Theatre and Performance (2013) and with a Masters in Film and Television Producing from Met Film School (2019) in London after having received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship. Daniel serves as the Creative Director and Trustee on the Board of the Ruben Richards Foundation (NPO). He owns a production company called DMR Productions which he founded in 2014. Daniel is also a musician and loves video editing. As an actor he has performed in England, USA, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Rwanda, Botswana, Zimbabwe and all across South Africa doing a series of one-man shows written by Mike Van Graan. Now he takes on a new role as director for another Mike Van Graan show, He Had It Coming. Daniel will be based in the UK from 2023 where he will continue to produce, direct, write and act.

MIKE VAN GRAAN - Mike currently serves as the Coordinator of the Sustaining Theatre and Dance (STAND) Foundation, an initiative to support the South African dance and theatre sector through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. After the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, he was appointed as a Special Advisory to the minister responsible for arts and culture where he played an influential role in helping to develop post-apartheid cultural policies. He has extensive experience in policy formulation and advocacy and in building artists’ networks, both in South Africa and across the African continent. Mike was the founding Secretary General of Arterial Network, a pan-African organization advocating for the cultural dimension of development, human rights and democracy. He served on the expert facility of UNESCO’s 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions from 2011-2018. He is the head writer of the team that produced Breathing New Vision into Theatre and Dance: National Theatre and Dance Policy, commissioned by South Africa’s Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in 2021. As a playwright with 36 plays under his belt, he is regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost contemporary playwrights having garnered numerous awards and nominations for his work. He is the 2018 recipient of the Swedish Hiroshima Prize for Peace and Culture, the same year that he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Pretoria in recognition of his work as a playwright, and as a cultural activist.

Audience Responses

It really was a special evening.. from start to finish, we were incredibly impressed, from the spectacular performance to the care of the house. Thank you.

It really was a special evening.. from start to finish, we were incredibly impressed, from the spectacular performance to the care of the house. Thank you.