Sally Burkett is in disgrace! Suspended from Littleman Junior School amidst a scandal unlike any other. Sally thought that her 30 years of teaching had given her immunity to scandal, but the “much loved” Ms Burkett rocked the small school and town, and now she awaits her fate. She has worked hard to navigate changing policies, updated learning styles, and new age parents–what could she possibly have done to send her into this purgatory, and can she recover? Laugh along with Sally as she ponders her fate, and unpacks what brought her to the particular hell of Zoom teaching online!
Ms. B-haved is performed as a solo show featuring Sue Diepeveen and is directed by Natasha Sutherland in her directorial debut. The play made its debut at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda. It is a look at the extremes expected from educators, parents, and learners in an ever-changing world and the reaches of cancel culture that have become the norm.
Natasha has been in the storytelling business for over 30 years. Kicking her professional career off with two years at NAPAC’s Loft repertory theatre company, she has been acting, writing, directing, and producing for stage, screen, and print ever since. Her diverse body of work—from talking to a donkey for a living as a presenter (and writer) in SABC’s iconic children’s TV series ‘Kideo’ to directing EMI-commissioned live show DVDs at Emperors Palace and Carnival City to creating and co-producing the GBV documentary ‘That’s What She Said—a Social Inquiry,’ streamed on MNet & Showmax and showcased at Ford Foundation’s Film & Art Festival (the doccie also earned a 2024 SAFTA nomination)—showcases her versatility.
Natasha’s most recent creative projects include performing opposite Pamela Nomvete in ‘Meet Me at Dawn’ for The Market Theatre, playing the delicious Starla in Brett Michaal Innes’ mockumentary film ‘Daryn’s Gym,’ adapting Tracy Going’s memoir ‘Brutal Legacy’ into a stage play directed by Lesedi Job, performing in Willy Russell’s iconic one-woman show ‘Shirley Valentine’ for VR Theatrical with sold-out runs across the country, portraying the complex Megan in M-Net/Showmax’s TV drama ‘Lioness,’ for which she received a SAFTA award, and writing a South African bestselling memoir, ‘Bittersweet—Confessions of a Freshly Single.’
Natasha is a Naledi-nominated actress, has received two SAFTA awards, was voted ‘Readers Choice Finesse - Inspirasie Vrou’ for her monthly magazine column, and received the Mbokodo Award for her contribution to theater, but she claims her best triumphs are her sons Sebastian and Benjamin, who have grown up with her running lines whilst making dinner, speaking in different accents during school drop-offs, and writing furiously throughout the night, and have never, ever tried to trade her in for a ‘normal’ mom.
Sue is a Cape Town-based film, television, and theater actress, writer, director, and producer. Her camera work includes Hony 3, Killer Instinct, DPO Training, American Monster, Cultured, The Deprived, Signal High 2, Projek Dina, and Dream Dinner. Sue is an accomplished voice actor who relishes the challenge of accent-based work. Her self-written solo show, So You Want To Be A Trophy Wife?, has toured nationally and has resonated strongly with audiences. Sue’s theatre performances include 2019’s V-Day performance of The Vagina Monologues; Dario Fo’s A Woman Alone, directed by Margot Wood; as well as Mike Van Graan’s Two To Tango, which had successful runs at the National Arts Festival and The Hilton Arts Festival. Sue is currently debuting a new show called Ms. B-haved, which opens at The National Arts Festival 2025.
Sue directed Your Perfect Life for F Creations, which won two Standard Bank Ovation Awards at The National Arts Festival—for its live debut in 2019 and for its online presentation in 2021. In addition to directing Thirst for the Cape Town Fringe (2016) under the Sugar-Daddy Production house, she has directed the acclaimed Blueberry Toast (2018), which completed two successful Cape Town runs.
As a writer, she has written five plays for large casts for children. Sue has produced a series of puppet theatre plays for children called What Did The Fox Say? which has toured the Western Cape and is played in both English and Afrikaans. Sue’s latest children’s project is a new work for children called The Emperor’s New Clothes which toured nationally to the delight of audiences. The piece is written, directed and produced by Diepeveen. The Afrikaans version, Die Keiser Se Nuwe Klere was nominated for a Woordtrofees following a successful sold-out run at Woordfees 2024.