South African Director Gets Tony Awards Nomination
A South African director is taking the US theatre scene by storm this year with her direction of Broadway production, Eclipsed. Liesl Tommy has been lauded for her work, and has just earned herself a TONY Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play.
The production stars Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and was written by Danai Gurira, from the popular show, The Walking Dead.
The play takes place in the year 2003, and highlights the story of five Liberian women and their survival during the second Liberian civil war.
Liesl and the play made Broadway history being the first Broadway production to feature an all-female cast, writer and director and has received rave reviews.
Eclipsed opened in October 2015 at an Off-Broadway theatre, and transferred to the John Golden Theatre in March this year.
Liesl Tommy was born in Cape Town, and grew up there, until she moved to Boston, Massachusetts when she was 15 years old.
She’s worked on numerous productions including Les Miserables, Ruined, Party People and The Good Negro, and has won many awards for her work.
Future shows include a theatrical adaptation of the hit movie, Frozen, which opens May 27 at the Disney California Adventure Park’s Hyperion Theatre.
