The Surprise Guest
InPlayers and Playhouse are performing The Surprise Guest, (“Les Belles Soeurs”) by Eric Assous.
Isabel and Adam are thrilled with their new home in the countryside. They are excited to show it to their family at a housewarming dinner. It’s going to be a cozy evening with Adam’s two brothers and their wives. Or is it? Things take a turn with the announcement of a surprise guest. Join us for this hilarious comedy and discover the secrets these seemingly perfect couples try to keep hidden. We're ready to spill the tea...
The show is approximately 90 minutes long and does not have an intermission.
Note from the Directors
After a successful run in 2023, InPlayers and Playhouse bring The Surprise Guest back for one last time.. For Playhouse, it’s the third production and the second time for us, working as co-directors. The Surprise Guest is a entertaining and memorable play.
Our version of this play, originally "Les Belles Soeurs", by Eric Assous, is the first one in English. We are very proud of the end result and hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed working on it!
Jon Calado & Brian Ligthart
Meet the Cast
Photography by Chadi Wehbe
Alexandra Vlaserou as Isabel
Alexandra is from Greece and has lived in the Netherlands for six years already. She lives and works in Utrecht, which has grown to be her favourite city. She has loved theater since as long as she can remember. Before joining InPlayers, she had her owner theatrical organisation in Athens. She loves “being enthusiastic about small things”, like playing bar games, reading books and travelling, and her dog and two cats. She is very excited for her reprisal of Isabel in the “Surprise Guest” and hopes you will enjoy her performance.
Britt van Klaveren as Grace
Britt is a British-Dutch classical musical producer and journalist, who spends all her spare time on stage; acting, singing or playing music. She played piano for HEA's production of Chicago and was recently part of Cinderella the musical. She is excited to work together with InPlayers and Playhouse Theater to bring back this show.
Johann M as Manu
A working professional in Amsterdam, Johann is made his stage debut in Amsterdam with 'The Surprise Guest' in 2023. Now he is excited to be back with it. Far from a novice to the stage, he has done theatre for over 20 years and has been involved as an actor / director in over 60 productions, most notably in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta (India), Paris and New York (including in professional capacity). He especially loves working on Shakespeare adaptations, satires and ‘theatre of the absurd’. While the stage is his first love, he has also acted in ad-films and the one off music video.
Lucila Carminatti as Christine
Lucila, or Luli as friends affectionately call her, is originally from Argentina. She now calls the Netherlands home. With a background in local theatre and musical comedy in her homeland and ‘Compañía de teatro en Ámsterdam’, she was thrilled to return to the stage in 2023. When not acting, she's busy traveling or working as a Student Affairs Manager at a university.
Moamen Elsawy as Ben
Moamen is an Egyptian actor who started his theatre journey in 2008, as part of independent theater groups. He joined the German University in Cairo (Theater and Cinema School) and founded the university’s theater team. His artistic profile varies between different genres of theater plays, improv shows, short films, and commercials. His latest project in the Netherlands was “Cargo H” with ZID theater. He was excited to be part of “The Surprise Guest” with InPlayers and Playhouse. And he is even more excited to perform the show again.
Nikoleta Mougkasi as Charlize
Nikoleta is a multifaceted creative from Athens. Next to being an actor, she's an accomplished architect, artist, and set designer. She recently ventured into the world of playwriting. Her diverse journey has taken her through Greece, Spain, and the Netherlands, allowing her to engage with various cultures, enriching her artistic expressions. Her journey started with dance, but her true passion emerged when she discovered acting, in both theatre productions and film. Nikoleta is thrilled to be collaborating with Playhouse for the 2nd time and with InPlayers for the third time. Join her on this captivating journey as she once again brings "The Surprise Guest" to life.
Omar Mahmoud as Adam
Omar Mahmoud, half Dutch, half Egyptian, studied computer engineering in Egypt. While at university, he started to explore the theater field and performing on stage. Since then he has participated and acted in multiple plays and branched out into small in front of camera work as well. He has acted in Arabic, Dutch and English.
With special thanks to our understudies: Teresa Fernandez & Christopher Grambski
With many thanks to our Crew
Directors: Jon Calado, Brian Ligthart
Production: Alexandra Vlaserou, Brian Ligthart
Lighting & Sound Design: Evonne Dunne
Set Design and Building: Joanna Theodorou, Ente Breed, Nikoleta Mougkasi, Diego Best, Sean Olson-Roy, Ken Kitchen, Ivana Marques, Freek Wouters, Brian Ligthart, Jon Calado
Marketing: Brian Ligthart, Alexandra Vlaserou, Sophia Frayle, Joanna Theodorou
The InPlayers are a passionate group of individuals from all over the world - a melting pot of creative minds. We vary in age, level of experience, mind-set and of course opinion. Add this to the dramatic and emotional theatre environment, and you get an explosive mix of free spirits, strong personalities, fierce ambitions, creative expression and powerful energy. We are proudly Amsterdam's oldest English language theatre group.
Playhouse is an Amsterdam-based theater company, founded in 2022. It’s an International group of people who are out to have fun and bring great productions to live!
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