Haines takes new show to her roots

Play explores KZN farm girl journey, will resonate with many.

- Citizen reporter

Jessica Haines is delighted that the South African premiere of her latest show Once Upon a Teacup will be at the Hilton Arts Festival this August. The actor — best known for her leading role opposite John Malkovich in Disgrace, based on the novel by John Maxwell Coetzee — has an impressive association with Hilton College, where the festival takes place, and the area.

"I grew up in KwaZulu-Natal and I have a long family history specifically with Hilton College. My grandparents were teachers at the school, my father and all his brothers went there," she says.

"My brother, my husband Richard Walker, all his brothers, my father-in-law and my nephew all attended Hilton so I will feel very much at home."

Haines — who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from the University of Cape Town and a qualification in Cecchetti Ballet from UCT Ballet Institute — is looking forward to taking to the boards again.

After many years in the film and television industry, Haines — who has appeared in Home Affairs, Isidingo, Gaz'lam and Reyke — returns to the stage with Once Upon a Teacup, a story that she wrote while studying shadow theatre under Norbet Gotz at the Theatre der Schatten in Bamberg, Germany last year.