About
ABOUT
LYMARI is a South African theatre maker living in Hong Kong.
She found her love of drama, theatre and art at a young age. Partly because she took part in all things dramatic at school and partly because she took part in nothing else. After school, though, she sat with a dilemma. The obvious choice was to go straight to a university with a drama school. Her mother had other plans, though, and told Lymari, in no uncertain terms, that she shouldn’t make such a rash decision before considering all other options. So, Lymari took a year off. This was the year she truly saw that her future lay in theatre.
She completed her B.A. in Drama and Theatre Arts a while later with, and not to brag, awards. During her student years, she found a bunch of new passions, including, but not limited to, set and stage design and philosophy and the application thereof in theatre. She played in a number of different productions, both amateur and professional and it was one of these shows that brought her to Johannesburg and a little theatre in Boksburg, aptly named the Live Arts Little Theatre.
After a particularly successful run, Lymari was approached by a man who told her to leave everything she knew behind and move to Johannesburg. Lymari proceeded to tilt her head to the side and politely ask, “who are you?”
It turns out that man was Jennis Williamson, agent extraordinaire, and he wanted to sign her right there and then. So, following his advice, Lymari left Bloemfontein behind and set out on an adventure. It wasn’t long before she landed her first job. She was to play a much beloved South African character, a hero to many, and a role model to many more. So it was with a light heart that she donned the heavy head of Tjaff, the big green better half of the children’s entertainment duo, Tjiff en Tjaff.
Lymari hustled and in a few short years, she had several credits to her name, on stage and behind it. One Monday morning, on her way to her job at JPD Theatre, sitting in traffic on Republic Road, she felt the first stings of the ants in her pants. She had hustled her way through Johannesburg. She needed newer, bigger pursuits. So, she typed “drama jobs” into the Google search bar, applied to a good one, packed her bags and boarded a plane heading for Hong Kong. But she did not leave without yet another newfound passion: producing.
The two years Lymari has spent in Hong Kong stand as a testament to her determination and resolve. In the short while she has lived abroad, she has not only produced her own shows, but also helped South Africans to bring their productions to an international audience. With the massive support of the South African community in Hong Kong, Lymari created a thriving South African Theatre Community in the heart of the East and she shows no signs of slowing down.
She’s also the proud owner of a writer monkey who she has trained very well to do tricks… like write bios… His name is Jan Brink. He thinks he is her right hand and confidant. But really, he is her “write” hand.
A special thanks to everyone who has contributed to Lymari’s professional growth. [1](See footnote below)
[1] Pieter Venter, Walter Strydom, De Beer Cloete, Thys Heydenrych, Masedi Godfrey Manenye, Jennis Williamson, Boniswa Holland, Juliette Jansen, Nicolaas van der Walt, Sanli Jooste, Marco Spaumer, Jan Brink, Louw Breytenbach, Vincent Warren, The South African community in Hong Kong, JP du Plessis, Jan Brink, Michelle Claase