Paul Slabolepszy
Paul Slabolepszy (born 1948), or Paul "Slab", is a South African actor and playwright.
Slabolepszy was born in Bolton, England. His mother was English and his father was a Polish refugee. The family then emigrated to South Africa.
He grew up in Musina, Pietersburg and Witbank. Slabolepszy went to a Catholic boarding school, the College of the Little Flower in Polokwane.
His initial intention was to become a radio sports commentator. When the school played soccer, he would commentate and record the commentary for later playback. These commentaries soon became an institution. Slabolepszy then extended this to doing sports reports. The local newspaper accepted some of his contributions so he became a published sports journalist when he was 14.
Originally intending to pursue a career in radio, he majored in English and Drama at the University of Cape Town. During this period, he saw his first professional theatre and was hooked on the buzz and the sense of immediacy. He then decided to focus on acting.
In 1983, Paul received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award.
Arguably South Africa's preeminent playwright after Athol Fugard, Slabolepszy is a prolific writer and performer. He was a founder member of The Space Theatre, South Africa's first non-racial theatre company, with Athol Fugard, Yvonne Bryceland and John Kani in 1972. Also a founder member of world-renowned The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, together with Mannie Manim and Barney Simon in 1976.
His plays exploit the unease and uncertainty of lower-middle-class white South Africans.
He was a longtime friend and collaborator of the late actor Bill Flynn. Slabolepszy has won multiple awards over the years, including every Best Actor award in 1993 for the role of Eddie in his self penned The Return of Elvis Du Pisanie. This play won more awards than any other play in the history of South Africa theatre. These include the 1993 Vita, Fleur du Cap and Dalro Awards, Best New South African Play, Best Actor, Best Production, Best Director – as well as The Star Tonight IGI Life Vita Award for Comedy.
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