Dame Janet Suzman and Professor David Peimer
A Discussion of Dame Janet Suzman’s Work at The Royal Shakespeare Company and South African Productions of Shakespeare

Janet Guzman, DBE, is a South African/British actress who enjoyed a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). She has always kept strong links with the country of her birth, South Africa, where she began her directing career with a production of Othello with John Kani, seen as a protest play, in 1987 at the Market Theatre. Her films include Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982), and A Dry White Season (1989). Her television series include Clayhanger (1976), Lord Mountbatten: The Viceroy (1986), and The Singing Detective (1986). Janet was made a Dame in 2011. She has honorary doctorates from among others, Cape Town, Warwick, and London (QMW) Universities.

David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing in New York, UK, Berlin, EU Parliament (Brussels), Athens, Budapest, Zululand and more. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published widely with books including: Armed Response: Plays from South Africa, the digital book, Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.