Samantha Carlisle - Actor & Writer

Dara Beth - Director

Cailyb Prinsloo - Stage Manager

Kamogelo Mhlantla - Voiceovers

Produced by Spark in the Dark

Writer & Performer - Samantha Carlisle

Samantha Carlisle wants to be a Love Island contestant but until that happens she is a full-time actress, writer, and producer. While she was born in the Makhanda, her work has travelled to places with far fewer potholes and maybe also fewer donkeys (she doesn’t currently have the research to back up that claim). Most notably she played the role of Renee in Some Mothers’ Sons, the film adaptation of Mike van Graan’s renowned play by the same name. Some Mothers’ Sons travelled to film festivals all over Africa, America, the UK, and Europe, and is currently available to watch on Showmax. She then went on to play Amelia in Joanna Evans' hit play The Year of the Bicycle, a piece she produced alongside her co-star Kamogelo Mhlantla. Most recently, she had a role in an Afrikaans TV series called Wyfie, despite her inability to praat die taal. When she is not partaking in the anxiety-inducing, debilitating, Sisyphean task of writing and performing her solo show Messy, she can be found working on a myriad of projects that aim to rejuvenate the South African theatre scene and make it more accessible for women and gender-diverse theatre-makers. She works as a producer for Spark in the Dark and also oversees daily operations and communications for Kgokelo, a sustainable network for women and gender-diverse playwrights in South Africa.

Director - Dara Beth

Dara Beth is an angry Jewish queer feminist and award-winning director and writer. Their main focus is to provide an audience with a language and vocabulary to explore new worlds. Through tales that are raunchy, witty, tongue-in-cheek, high-energy, bubblegum pop, biting, quirky, honest, unflinching, and occasionally self-indulgent and overly romantic, Dara aims to evoke a sense of joy, inspire connections, and instigate pleasurable introspection.

Dara has written and staged multiple original works for various festivals and theatres such as Nasty Womxn, Just A Song And A Dance, Lolly, and all my ex-lovers are dead to name a few. Dara has been nominated for Fleur du Cap, BroadwayWorld, and Kanna awards. When not producing their own work, Dara often works as a facilitator, director, designer, and producer.

In 2023, Dara was awarded a grant from South Africa’s National Arts Council with which they founded Kgokelo, the South African Women and Gender-Diverse Playwrights Network and Database. In 2024, Dara joined forces with Spark in the Dark–a South African production company dedicated to making space and opportunities for artists to share their voices.

In 2025, Dara is set to direct their first feature film and a host of new theatre productions.

Stage Manager - Cailyb Prinsloo

Cailyb Prinsloo is a writer, director, and producer. Originally from the Eastern Cape, Cailyb studied at Rhodes University where she obtained her Master’s degree in Drama, and has since moved to Cape Town in search of fame and fortune. If you have any leads as to where to find it, please let her know. Cailyb’s previous accolades include a Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award for an earlier, less polished version of What Do You Think the Birds are Doing? in 2022. Since then, Cailyb has obtained a Master's degree, and spends her days writing plays, producing independent theatre, and looking for paying work. Cailyb works as a producer and social media manager for Spark in the Dark and is part of the team that brings Play Things to live audiences on a monthly basis. Did we mention that Cailyb has a Master’s degree?  When not faffing about with Play Things, Cailyb is a regular attendee of Clown Town (Cape Town’s latest clowning troupe), enjoys performing in clowning showcases, and wrangling the uber-driver-cum-comedian Ricky Strazz. If there is any free time left after all this, Cailyb occasionally dabbles in oil painting, specialising in portraits of tin cans.

Producer - Spark in the Dark

Spark in the Dark is a production company based in Cape Town, South Africa, committed to creating spaces for creative connections. We produce award-winning plays, as well as host new material nights for theatre-makers and writers to try new work, and creative workshops covering a variety of performance skills from writing and directing to clowning and improv.