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| the company | company biographies |
James is South African and trained initially at The University of Natal, South Africa with a strong emphasis on dance and movement theatre. After working as an actor for a year with The Natal Performing Arts Council, he trained further with Keith Johnstone at The Loose Moose Theatre in Canada, before traveling to France to specialise in mime and movement theatre at The Jacques Lecoq School. Helen is English and first became interested in performing when she joined the Birmingham Rep Youth Theatre as a teenager. She later studied a degree of Performing Arts with John Wright at Middlesex University in London, whose specialisation in mask, clown and physical theatre drew her to continue her training at the Jacques Lecoq School in France.
Their first production together was performing in The Three Musketeers with Theatre Sans Frontieres. Here they discovered the beginning of a wonderful working relationship, which led to many more combined projects. They wrote a number of theatre projects which they performed for Shoestring Productions in South Africa, wrote and performed The Mime commercial for South Africa’s national radio station, SAfm (nominated for a prestigious Loerie Advertising Award in 2000), and were later asked to jointly direct the clown show Fortunately (Fortune Cookie Theatre Co) which they did at The Market Theatre, Johannesburg in 2001. “When you find someone who you really click with artistically, someone who you can not only bounce ideas off, but really construct with and bring different elements to the same vision, you know you’ve found a rare and special working partnership.“ says Helen. “We knew it was time to start our own company”. In August 2002, Fresco Theatre was nominated for The Stage Award for Acting Excellence for Best Ensemble (Edinburgh fringe Festival 2002) and it is perhaps the extraordinary on-stage chemistry between Cuningham and Iskander, amongst other things, that sets this company apart from others.
“the chemistry between the players is electric… The passion between the two varies between hand grenade and supernova and their performances are wonderfully spirited and dazzlingly physical.” 
When the two formed Fresco Theatre, they asked leading South African director and actor Sylvaine Strike to take part in the devising process and direct them in Fresco Theatre’s first project, Baobabs Don’t Grow Here. Sylvaine has much expertise in theatre, television and film (credits include film ALI with Will Smith, lead roles in Sitcoms Suburban Bliss and Isidingo, as well as being a Vita Award winner for her role in Shopping and F***ing at The Market Theatre, Johannesburg).
“They keep you there – laughing out loud and silently breaking your heart – until the curtain call reminds you that you’re in a theatre.” Since then Fresco Theatre has produced and/or directed a number of highly successful productions, including ‘Black and Blue’, ‘Wood for the Trees’, ‘De Wet’s Dream’, and ‘2 for the Price of 1’.
“Black and Blue is undoubtedly another creative triumph for Fresco Theatre…” Fresco Theatre has worked on a number of development projects in South Africa, and regularly run performance workshops, as well as teach at The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance and The Actors’ Centre, Johannesburg. As well as touring productions to the UK, Ireland, Europe, Israel and many African countries, they are dedicated to making theatre accessible to the underprivileged, as well as training young actors. The company is committed to providing audiences with entertaining, quality theatre that is fresh, visual, nourishing and vital.
“The two performers take you on a journey that convinces you that theatres can and will be filled to maximum capacity again.” |
ames Cuningham and Helen Iskander met at the Jacques Lecoq School in France and later married and moved to South Africa. Fresco Theatre was formed in Johannesburg in 2001. 