actor
I have acted in the following plays. The most recent appear first.
FATHER'S DAY
APRIL 2024 (COMING SOON!)
Written in 2007 by Eric Chappell, the comedy ‘Father’s Day’ sees Henry Willows receive an unexpected visit from his estranged son, Matthew, who has run away from his mum’s home with his pregnant girlfriend, Christine. When his ex-wife, Sue arrives they recall their past as Matthew engenders a family reunion. Silvia will play Sue.
CHARLIE'S COMEUPPANCE
NOVEMBER 2023
Silvia’s first appearance on stage with RADA – Riviera Association of Dramatic Arts – was in Cannes, in November of 2023. Silvia told a true story about her school days and the comeuppance that Charlie, a school boy, received at the hands of the fearsome Mr. Ewan.
PEPONI'S GOT TALENT
JULY 2018
After several months of collaboration during the co-writing of Peponi's Got Talent, the 5th and final Revue, Silvia took on the roles of Nurse and Magician's Helper.
CONSTELLATIONS
JULY 2018
Can a single word, let alone a decision, really alter the course of your life? In his play 'Constellations', Nick Payne would have us believe so. As the relationship between Marianne; a university academic specializing in 'theoretical early universe cosmology' and Roland; a beekeeper, unfolds across time and space, an even miniscule variation in intent and intention, sends the characters spinning into entirely new universes. Science and romance collide in this poignant love story that’s delighted audiences around the world. Silvia played Marianne.
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
MARCH 2018
Following Silvia's baptism by fire into The Vagina Monologues in 2017, in 2018 I got a monologue to myself - a wonderful one that required a lot of 'enunciation'!
Read a review of VM by Margaretta Wa Gacheru in Business Daily here.
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
MARCH 2017
My first time! Ah so sweet. The Vagina Monologues takes performers and audience alike on a roller-coaster of emotions, as women narrate stories about themselves, AT LAST! What an experience. What a privilege!
Read a review of VM by Tessy Cherono Maritim in The Arena Kenya Blog here.
RETURN OF THE REVUE - THE EXODUS
JUNE 2016
Following the success of ‘The Parents Revue’ and ‘Baldilocks and the Three Hairs’, ‘The Return of the Revue – The Exodus’ hit the stage in 2016. Another play, devised and written by the Peponi Parent Players, with the aim of poking fun at our world. In this, the second revue, we held a mirror up to ourselves; our fears, foibles and eccentricities as our children left Prep school for wider pastures. The Revue supported Happy Nairobi Kids in Makuyu and The RAE Clinic in Baringo in 2016.
BALDILOCKS AND THREE HAIRS
JUNE 2015
When Baldilocks, high King of Saturn-Uranus, loses one of his last three tentacles, he sends his son, the Prince, on an intergalactic quest for the remedy. Hearing that rhino horn counters hair loss, the Prince lands in the Masai Mara, where the carnivores and the herbivores teach him some fast truths about animal hierarchy. An environmentalist named Wendy persuades him that as rhino horn is keratin, the audiences toenails will do as well! But will King Baldilocks be satisfied? In this ambitious musical pantomime, written by Ben Watkins - himself a Peponi parent - spectacular costumes brought the animals to life and saw the dads in high heels and tights. Again, proceeds went to Happy Nairobi Kids in Makuyu.
MISS BROWN
MARCH 2015
'The first of the segments was from a colonial school drama called Ms. Brown. The play is a careful examination of systemic racial politics and the individuals shuffled aside by history. The showing had some high moments, but in the end the segment served as a mere appetizer to the next two offerings to come onto the stage. Actress Silvia Cassini was exceptional as the head teacher whose misfortunes turns her temper outwards.'
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Read a Review here.
THE PARENTS' REVUE
JULY 2014
In mid-2014, a handful of Peponi parents who couldn’t sing or act created ‘The Parents’ Revue’, revealing what amazing talent lurked in the Peponi parking-lot. Devised and written by the current parents to give prospective parents an idea of life at Peponi, the day began with the formula one race that is The School Drop-off, moved via The Assembly to lessons before and after lunch, and finished with The Netball Match and Tea-Time torture. Featuring a quiz, a game show, a film and an iconic strip-tease, the revue set the stage for further charity shows by the Peponi Parent Players. The proceeds of which benefitted Happy Nairobi Kids in Makuyu.
OLD TIME MUSIC HALL
JANUARY 2014
For her return to the stage after 23 years Silvia joined Nairobi City Players in their final performance; a musical evening set in London directed by the inimitable Jacqui Mason.
AN INSPECTOR CALLS
1988
Written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls is a mid-20th century classic of drawing-room theatre. On a night in 1912, Inspector Goole visits the Birling family home and questions those present on the suicide of a working-class woman in her mid-twenties. The play is a scathing criticism of the hypocrisies of Edwardian English society. Silvia played the maid.
LOOK BACK IN ANGER
1988
Written in 1956 by John Osborne, Look Back in Anger - one of the first examples of kitchen sink drama - depicts the struggles of Jimmy Porter, a disaffected working-class man and his middle-class wife Alison. Helena, Alison’s upper-class friend has an affair with Jimmy, but gives in to middle class morals that force her to leave him. The ‘angry young man’ came to describe Osborne and those of his generation who repudiated escapist theatre in favour of realism. Silvia played Helena.
GHOSTS
1988
Written in 1881 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts generated controversy for its fearless commentary on 19th century morality, tackling religion, venereal disease, incest and euthanasia. Tragedy traditionally dealt with the consequences of breaking the moral code. Ghosts dealt with the consequences of not breaking it. Silvia played Mrs. Alving.
CAN'T PAY, WON'T PAY!
1986
Written in 1974 by Italian controversial playwright, Dario Fo, Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay! is a farce that tells the story of Margherita and Antonia, who lead a revolt in the local supermarket, as inflation reaches an all-time high. Fo employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell’arte, a theatrical style popular with the proletarian classes. Silvia played Margherita.
YERMA
1986
Written in 1934 by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca, Yerma, described as a ‘tragic poem’, tells the story of a childless woman living in rural Spain whose desire for motherhood drives her to commit a horrific crime. In the role of Yerma, this was Silvia’s first treading of the boards of the National Theatre.
THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE
1984
This farce by the English playwright John Dighton depicts the complications that arise when, thanks to a bureaucratic error, a girls’ school must share their premises with a boys’ school. Directed by Silvia and Davendra Manek, this was the first time the students of Hillcrest Secondary School were given free rein to produce, direct and act in a play of their choice. What happy days they were!
macbeth
1984
William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, first performed in 1606, dramatizes the scourge of political ambition. A trio of witches prophesizes that Macbeth, a Scottish general, will become King. Spurred on by his wife, Lady Macbeth, he murders the King and takes the throne. As Lady Macbeth, Silvia embodied one of Shakespeare’s most powerful female characters, ruthlessly manipulating her husband before descending into madness.
a midsummer night's dream
1983
Written in 1596, A Midsummer Night’s Dream depicts the marital intrigue between fairy King Theseus and his wife Hippolyta. Silvia played Helena, one of a quartet of Athenian lovers, who, lovesick for Demetrius, is left out of the love triangle between him, Lysander and Hermia. The lovers, along with a group of amateur actors rehearsing a play, find themselves in a forest, where the fairies manipulate them, whilst engaging in their own intrigue.
the tempest
1982
Written in 1610–1611 by William Shakespeare, The Tempest is listed in the First Folio as the first of Shakespeare’s comedies. On a remote island, Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda, and his two servants: Caliban, a savage monster, and Ariel, an airy spirit. Its themes, both tragic and comic, include magic, betrayal, revenge, and family. The play has been interpreted by some as a fable, with Prospero representing Shakespeare, and his renunciation of magic signaling Shakespeare’s farewell to the stage.
oh what a lovely war
1981
Oh, What a Lovely War is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and war in general, it’s title derived from the satirical music hall song ‘Oh! It's a Lovely War!’, which is one of the major numbers in the production.
