Andrew Buckland

I will attempt a brief, inaccurate description of Andrew Buckland through the glass of my impressions.

You would probably have seen him in the tv advertisements for Edgars over the 1999 Christmas season; and the Toyota Rav4 ad a few years ago. He and Lionel Newton, together as Mouthpeace, offered many excellent productions to appreciative South African audiences, such as Feedback and the recent The Well Being. They are renowned for their physical abilities, their mime and comic talents spectacular. Andrew's solo performances include Bloodstream, The Ugly Noo Noo, Noisy Walk, and The Water Juggler. He performed in a European tour in April 2000, and is frequently invited to international festivals. He is also involved in the First Physical Theatre Company, performing in works including The Unspeakable Story, which will stay in the minds of many witnesses, especially the matrics of 1995, for years to come.

Andrew is a professor in the Drama Department of Rhodes University. Together with Gary Gordon, professor and Head of Deparment, they developed and pushed the boundaries for physicality in performance investigations and education since the 1990s. I count my fortunes for having trained under both of them. Andrew, in particular, projects an unyielding force of excellence and discipline while making you believe you can do it.

Of current young performers who are rising in stature and respect in South African theatre, Bevan Cullinan (of Liverspread fame, and on etv's the Toasty Show) and Rob Jansen van Vuuren (recently in Birdy and Mung) both trained with Andrew and acknowledge their roots. No surprise, he is a sturdy root to have grown from.

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