Norma Jeane Baker of Troy
Spoken word performance piece
Written by Anne CARSON | Directed by Ben ALBERTYN | Performed by Keely SHINNERS and Ben ALBERTYN.
PG 13 | Language
Norma Jeane Baker of Troy is a spoken word performance piece by the Canadian poet and classicist Anne Carson that interweaves the lives of Helen of Troy and Marilyn Monroe.
CREATIVE TEAM
BEN ALBERTYN
Ben Albertyn is an actor, writer and director based in Cape Town. Since graduating from the University of Cape Town, his performances in work by the likes of Neil Coppen (Die Dag is Bros), Tara Notcutt (Albatros), Tinarie Van Wyk-Loots (Dinge Van ‘n Kind), Marí Borstlap (Neon Smoel) and Nico Scheepers (Donkerbos) have drawn focus. For his part in Droomwerk, which debuted on the main slate of the National Arts Festival in 2023 under the direction of Kanya Viljoen and Lwanda Sindaphi, he received a Fleur du Cap nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He also won the award for Best Actor at the 2024 Silwerskermfees for his performance in Die Skynwerper. In Nico Scheepers’ recent adaptation of The Glass Menagerie, his work was honoured with nominations at the Woordtrofee, Kanna and Fiesta theatre awards in the categories of Best Ensemble and Best Supporting Actor. Most recently he was seen in Marthinus Basson’s revival of Breyten Breytenbach’s celebrated play, Boklied, at Woordfees 2025.
KEELY SHINNERS
Keely Shinners is a writer, editor and performer based in Cape Town. She is the author of the novel How to Build a Home for the End of the World (2022) and the chapbook The Agonies and Ecstasies of Saint Marguerite (2025). Previously, she served as the editor of ArtThrob and the Chairperson of the Association for Visual Arts. She is the front woman of Ugly Baby and DJs under the pseudonym Baby Lunatic. In 2022, together with Dominic Pretorius, she co-wrote and directed the play Green Room, which starred Ben Albertyn and Ydalie Turk.