Amy Jephta is a South African playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, and teacher.

Early life and education

Amy Jephta is from

Mitchells Plain Mitchells Plain is a large census designated sub-place located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains multi ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. She has a BA in theatre and performance (2009) and an MA in theatre and performance (2013) from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

(UCT).

Career

Creative career

Jephta is a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, screenwriter, and theatre director. Her work has been published in South Africa, and performed internationally. As a new graduate, Jephta won the inaugural Emerging Theatre Director's Bursary, established and run by the Theatre Arts Admin Collective (TAAC) in partnership with the

Baxter Theatre Centre The Baxter Theatre Centre is a performing arts complex in Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The Baxter, as it is often known, is part of the University of Cape Town; it is also the second largest performing arts complex in Cape ...

and Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA). This enabled her to produce and direct her original work, ''Kitchen''. She had presented a shorter version of the play during her final year at drama school, but it was extended to an hour and ran from 18 to 22 May 2010. Her works include 'the plays ''Kristalvlakte'' and ''Other People's Lives'', and the films '' Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story'' (2018), ''Sonskyn Beperk'', and ''While You Weren't Looking''. Her monologue ''Shoes'' was performed by

James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor and director. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his film career began. His notable television work inclu ...

and directed by

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

as part of ''

The Children's Monologues ''The Children's Monologues'' is a theatrical performance featuring the adapted stories of children's first-hand experiences in South Africa. It was directed by Danny Boyle and first produced as a one-off charity performance in November 2010 at ...

'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and in 2017 at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. As well as the Royal Court, her work has been performed at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an Off West End studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghet ...

and

Theatre503 Theatre503 is a theatre based at 503 Battersea Park Road in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, above The Latchmere pub. The venue is known for promoting the work of new writers. History The theatre was founded in 1982 as the La ...

in London, as part of the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, and at the

Riksteatern The National Swedish Touring Theatre () is the largest touring theatre company in Sweden. It serves as Sweden's national stage on tour. The company is owned and funded by 240 local economic associations spread throughout the country. Their mai ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. Jephta was a storyliner and scriptwriter on the drama series ''Nkululeko'', a coming-of-age story set in

Khayelitsha Khayelitsha () is a township (South Africa), township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town, City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa language, Xhosa for ''New Home''. It is reputed to ...

, for South Africa's Mzansi Magic Channel. She has also written on Cape Town-based soap opera, ''Suidooster''.

Teaching

Jeptha has mentored community theatre groups in

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, was part of the South African New Plays Writing Programme at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, and taught acting and voice at

CityVarsity CityVarsity School of Media and Creative Arts is a private higher education institution in South Africa with a campus in Cape Town. It falls under Educor and offers full-time, short, and online degrees, diplomas, and certificates in the creative ...

in Cape Town and the

Simon Fraser University's School for Contemporary Arts The Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology (FCAT) is a faculty at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in British Columbia, Canada. It comprises five schools and programs, over three SFU campuses: Burnaby, Vancouver, and Surrey. History The Fa ...

( Woodward's Building) in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. She was also invited to lecture at the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

. Jephta is a lecturer at the

, teaching bilingual acting.

Other activities

In 2015, Jephta co-founded the African Women Playwrights Network, a digital networking project funded by the UK

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts a ...

for two years. In 2017–8, she ran a mentorship project for emerging female playwrights at the

Baxter Theatre The Baxter Theatre Centre is a performing arts complex in Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The Baxter, as it is often known, is part of the University of Cape Town; it is also the second largest performing arts complex in Cape ...

in Cape Town. She served as chair of

Women Playwrights International A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

, an international non-profit that helps to create opportunities and space for women playwrights. serves on the advisory panel for CASA, an annual award that facilitates connections between women writers in Canada and South Africa Jephta is co-founder and producer at PaperJet Productions.

Recognition

Jephta was the recipient of the inaugural

/TAAC Emerging Theatre Director's Bursary in 2010. She is an alumnus of the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

Theatre Directors Lab and was one of the

Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans The ''Mail & Guardian'' 200 Young South Africans is a list of individuals the ''Mail & Guardian'' considers to be the most influential 200 Young South Africans for the year. It was first published in 2006 by then editor-in-chief Ferial Haffajee, ...

in 2013. Jephta won the 2017

Eugène Marais Prize The Eugène Marais Prize is a South African literary prize awarded by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns for a first or early publication in Afrikaans. In 1971 it was renamed after the Afrikaans poet and researcher Eugène Marais. T ...

for drama for ''Krystalvlakte'' and the 2019 Standard Bank Young Artist award for Theatre She was listed in ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' magazine's "Power of 40" list. She is an alumnus of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's

Imagine Entertainment Imagine Entertainment, formerly Imagine Films Entertainment, also known simply as Imagine (stylized in all caps as IMAGINE), is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron ...

Impact Lab.

Plays

* ''This Liquid Earth: A Eulogy in Verse'' * ''Kristalvlakte'' * ''Other People's Lives'' * ''All Who Pass'' * ''Flight Lessons'' * ''Free Falling Bird '' * ''Damage Control'' * ''Kitchen'' * ''Interiors'' * ''Pornography'' * ''A Good House''

Films and television

* ''

While You Weren't Looking ''While You Weren't Looking'' is a 2015 South African drama film directed by Catherine Stewart. The film examines the struggles experienced by lesbians living in suburban South Africa compared to those living in townships. Plot synopsis 20 yea ...

'' (co-writer; 2015) * ''Sonskyn Beperk'' (screenwriter; 2016) *''Soldaat'' (screenwriter/director; short film, 2017) * '' Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story'' (screenwriter; 2018) * '' Trackers'' (screenwriter; TV Series 2019) * ''Barakat'' (director; 2020 feature film) * '' Catch Me a Killer'' (screenwriter, TV series, 2024–)

Publications

* ''Kristalvlakte'' (Tafelberg Publishers) * ''Other People's Lives'' (Junkets Publishers) * ''Contemporary Plays by African Women'' (editor)

References

External links

* * , 18 Mar March 2016 on

News24 News 24 may refer to: * News 24 (Albania), a 24-hour news television channel in Albania *News24 (website), a South Africa-based news website * Rai News24, a 24-hour news television channel in Italy *BBC News 24, now known as BBC News, a UK 24-hour n ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jephta, Amy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people South African dramatists and playwrights South African women dramatists and playwrights South African theatre directors South African women theatre directors South African screenwriters South African women screenwriters University of Cape Town alumni