Early career: music and theatre Kloppers began her professional career in theatre and music. Her early career spanned opera, musical theatre, cabaret and educational theatre. She performed in opera productions including
Die Zauberflöte,
Il matrimonio segreto,
Hänsel und Gretel, and
The Impresario, alongside a range of stage and music theatre productions. ESAT records that the production later ran internationally under the title
Spice Drum Beat: Ghoema, including a London run at the Tricycle Theatre. For her work in
Ghoema, she was nominated for a Naledi Theatre Award in the category Best Performance in a Musical (Female). In addition to stage work, Kloppers built a substantial presence in radio drama. She performed in productions for Radio Sonder Grense (RSG), including the title role in
Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena, an adaptation of Elsa Joubert’s novel. In a review of the production, Robyn Sassen wrote that "there is a magnificence in Kloppers’ interpretation" of the lead character and described the radio rendition as "devastatingly fine".
Breakthrough with Fiela se Kind Kloppers gained wider recognition for her portrayal of Fiela Komoetie in Brett Michael Innes's 2019 film adaptation of
Fiela se Kind. The film screened internationally, including at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where
Screen Daily described the film as bristling "with moral outrage" and singled out Kloppers' "dignified performance" as Fiela. For the role, she received Best Actress nominations at the 2019
Silwerskerm Film Festival, the 2020 South African Film and Television Awards, and the 2020 Africa Movie Academy Awards. Her film credits include
The Endless River,
Noem My Skollie (Call Me Thief), ''Bhai's Café
, Lucky Fish
, Finding Optel
, and Khaki Fever''.
Directing and other creative work In addition to acting, Kloppers also works as a director and screenwriter. In 2023,
The Namibian reported on her move into directing with the short films
Riel and
Helmhart.
Riel screened at the 2023 Durban International Film Festival. The film later received an Africa Movie Academy Award nomination for Best Short Film and won Best Short Film at the South African Independent Film Festival. It also won the Prix du film court musical at the Pierre Cardin Festival in 2023.
Helmhart premiered at the Silwerskerm Film Festival, which described it as the festival's "first-ever ghost story and Gothic romance". Kloppers also served as associate director on
Sara Baartman – the Opera (2022), directed by Janice Honeyman and presented at the Baxter Theatre Centre. == Selected filmography ==