South African actors Buhle Ngaba and David Viviers are spending a month with the RSC as the recipients of the final Brett Goldin Bursary awards.
Buhle and David, who arrived in Stratford on Saturday, will be based in our Text and Actors’ Support Department, taking part in voice and verse classes, as well as immersing themselves in the life of the RSC.
The Brett Goldin Bursary was set up immediately after the young South African actor and his friend, fashion designer Richard Bloom, were killed in April 2006, just days before Brett was due to leave for Stratford. He was to perform the role of Guildenstern in the Baxter Theatre Centre’s production of Hamlet, which launched our Complete Works Festival.
We established the Brett Goldin Bursary with the Baxter Theatre Centre and the Actors Centre in Johannesburg in his memory, to give other young actors in South Africa the opportunity Brett had missed.
Our Artistic Director Gregory Doran said: “This year marks the final Brett Goldin Bursary. In the decade of the bursary’s existence we have been delighted to host a total of 11 young South African performers here in Stratford. I hope Buhle and David enjoy their time with us in this special Shakespeare anniversary.”
Denise Goldin, Brett’s mother, who has joined Buhle and David in Stratford, unveiled a plaque in the Swan Theatre on Sunday, marking Brett’s legacy and the Bursary’s relationship with the RSC.
