Lara van Huyssteen

South African theatre practitioner and performer. I moved to London in 2018 to study contemporary theatre and performance. In my practice, I follow a holistic approach to making with scenography underpinning all my work. Previously, I have drawn on my Afrikaans identity to write and perform autobiographical work which presents the scenography of South African history and politics. Currently, I am challenging myself to create work in forms which excite me. I have devised and co-directed an original medieval morality play with masks, co-written a libretto about Cleopatra's daughter with a composer and most recently, I devised and performed in Jeté!, a 10-hour durational performance about ballet and stage labour. I am a company member of Et al. and we are currently devising a long-form durational performance interrogating the aesthetics of abundance in relation to gender and materiality.
My pronouns are she/her.

Credits

CREATOR/PERFORMER, Jeté! by Et al., Camden People's Theatre, 10-hour durational, 2023
WRITER, Born To Be Queen, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, 2023
CREATOR/PERFORMER, This Is The Way To The Exit, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, 2023
CREATOR/PERFORMER, Unqualified Attempt Vol. 1, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, 2022
DIRECTOR, Til Death Do We Part, Wimbledon College of Arts, 1 week, 2022
CREATOR/PERFORMER, That Boy Has No Shoes, Wimbledon College of Arts, 2022
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, Attempts on Her Life, Wimbledon College of Arts, 1 week, 2021
DIRECTOR, All Men Are Bad (An adaptation Othello), Online - Interactive Video, 2021
CREATOR/PERFORMER, White/African, Wimbledon College of Arts, 2020
SOUND DESIGNER, Forgetting How to Fly, Online - Radio Play, 2020
MRS TULLIVER/ENSEMBLE, The Mill on the Floss, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, 2019

Training

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, MA Advanced Theatre Practice (Distinction), 2022 - 2023
Euripides Laskaridis, Devising Workshop, 2022
Caroline Steinbeis, Directing Workshop/R&D, 2022
People Show, Devising Workshop/R&D, 2022
Wimbledon College of Arts, BA (Hons) Contemporary Theatre and Performance (First), 2019 - 2022
The Pappy Show, Movement Workshop, 2019
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, CertHE in Acting, 2018 - 2019