Alumnus wins playwright award

UCT alumnus and playwright Mike van Graan has won the inaugural Theatre in Translation award from Proyecto 34ºS, an independent Cape Town-based organisation that oversees the exchange of written theatre plays between Africa and Latin America.

Van Graan's 2004 political thriller Green Man Flashing was named the South African winner - a winner from Argentina was also announced - at a ceremony held at the Magnet Theatre in Observatory on 2 May.

Started in 2011, the Theatre in Translation project invited South African and Argentine playwrights to submit written plays, in any of the national languages of these two countries, for consideration by the judging panel. Ten semifinalist plays were chosen from each country for translation into English, Spanish or both.

The plays are all available for free download in English and Spanish from the Proyecto 34ºS online library.

Van Graan graduated from UCT with a BA degree in 1980, a Higher Diploma in Education in 1981, followed by a BA honours in 1986. He recently completed a master's degree in drama, also at UCT.