For Cape Town-based actor and writer David Viviers, stepping into the role of Nicholas van der Swart in MOFFIE is more than just a performance — it’s a reckoning with a history that continues to echo for many South African men who served in the SADF during the late 1970s and 1980s.
After a critically acclaimed London debut, this powerful one-man stage adaptation of André Carl van der Merwe’s autobiographical novel comes home, with Viviers leading the charge at the Baxter Flipside Theatre from 2–27 September 2025.
At just 17, Nicholas is conscripted into the South African Defence Force during the height of the Border War. He is forced to conceal his identity as a young gay man in a brutal system that equated masculinity with violence and difference with danger. For Viviers, who has long been recognised for his ability to disappear into characters with psychological depth, this role demands not only physical and emotional endurance — but empathy, restraint, and bravery.
Audiences will recognise Viviers from both stage and screen — his Fleur du Cap–winning performance in Cellist With Rabies, numerous Kanna and Fiësta nominations, and standout work in Kanarie, Binnelanders, and Black Sails. But MOFFIE may be his most raw and personal work yet. Alone on stage, Viviers embodies not only Nicholas but the shadows and ghosts of the world around him.
Directed by Greg Karvellas, with design by Niall Griffin and sound by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, the production is deliberately stripped back — just Viviers, a mountain of kitbags, an immersive soundscape and the psychological terrain of a young man at war both physically and emotionally. Every gesture, glance, or breath must do the work of ten voices.
Presented by The Common Humanity Arts Trust in association with The Baxter Theatre, this production doesn’t just reflect the past — it invites us to confront its emotional legacy. “Men like Nicholas still carry this trauma,” Viviers says. “This play is for them too.”
As MOFFIE returns to South Africa, Viviers’ performance promises to be the beating heart of a production that’s as much about memory as it is about visibility. It’s a rare theatrical event — and a perfect role for one of the country’s most magnetic performers.
MOFFIE runs from 2–27 September 2025 at The Baxter Flipside. Performances take place Tuesday to Saturday (matinees included). The show runs 85 minutes with no interval and carries a PG16 rating. Tickets are available at Webtickets.
