Woodstock residents Louis Viljoen and Nicholas Pauling have combined their talents to stage a psychological thriller at the Baxter.
Viljoen is the writer and director of The Hucksters, which will run until Saturday February 1.
This is the second year that the play is being staged. Last year, it showed at the Alexander Bar Upstairs Theatre in the CBD.
The Hucksters is about a casual sexual encounter between a man and a woman who haven’t seen each other for years. What follows is a chilling mystery where mistakes of their past and incidents of their shared history begin to surface.
Viljoen, 36, who has 10 years experience in the entertainment industry, says writing The Hucksters was intense and manic.
“I wrote the play over a weekend, gave it to the actors on a Monday, rehearsed it in 10 days and presented it to an audience,” he said.
Pauling, 38, plays the role of Fred. He is joined by Emily Child, 34, from Tamboerskloof who plays Beth.
Both actors took part in the play last year.
Pauling has over 15 years experience working in theatre, television and local and international movies.
He says he still gets a thrill when performing with world-class talent on stage.
“It’s a privilege and a joy, not only to perform this beautiful play but to do it with some of the best people and talent on the planet,” he said.
Pauling is also currently working on the film Redeeming Love, which is still in production.
Viljoen says the two leads were easy to work with.
“The benefit of working with actors like Emily Child and Nicholas Pauling is that they are true-blue professionals who leave ego and neediness at the door and they get on with the job,” he said.
The Hucksters has an age restriction of 18 years as the play contains explicit language and scenes of a sexual nature.
Tickets cost R130 and can be booked through Webtickets or Pick n Pay stores.