We have an unfortunate national habit of considering ourselves uniquely dreadful when it comes to bad news. Corruption, incompetence, hypocritical diplomacy, political bullying, the undermining of the judiciary etcetera – these afflictions are alive and well in almost every country. Yet when it comes to those things that do make us as a nation truly special, we don’t seem to see it.
We owe director David Kramer a big thank you, for this is the overriding thought one comes away with from Three Wise Men. In a clever piece of secular, but meaningful meta-textual referencing of the Christmas story, we are reminded with humour of the diversity, tolerance and common humanity of our nation. At the risk of not fulfilling the review brief, it’s worth dwelling on the fact that there are very few countries where an openly gay imam lives at peace within his community, Israeli visitors comment on how little security surrounds the synagogues, and many respected Christian leaders embrace evolution. And so we can have a comic trio from three different perspectives making fun of prejudice to rapturous applause and unselfconscious laughter.
The three wise men bringing seasonal cheer are well known stand-up comedians, Marc Lottering (gay son of a Pentecostal minister), Riaad Moosa (Muslim and a doctor) and Nik Rabinowitz (a Xhosa speaking Jewish comedian), all at their best and never having looked better, especially when they drag up. Each takes a turn, and using a format that might have been suggested by Jay Leno or the Saturday Night Live show, solos and group sketches are interspersed with musical entertainment by Donvino Prins’s live onstage band.
First-rate production values, a healthy balance of broadly appealing material and more poignant moments, the compatibility and measured delivery from the three stand-ups, makes this a soul nourishing entertainment to welcome in the new year.
Share on Facebook
“Success took me to her bosom like a maternal boa constrictor”, Noël Coward once quipped. A prolific playwright (over 50 works), composer, librettist, songwriter, letter writer, poet and what is perhaps less known, a painter, Coward’s prodigious output is daunting. He has had innumerable imitators, camp copycats and sundry raiders of his songbook too. Selecting an appropriate balance of material for a 60 minute cabaret is not an easy task. Making it work, without becoming another ham mimic or producing yet another ersatz cabaret of popular covers, is tricky.
Godfrey Johnson, assisted by director Sanjin Muuftic, gets it right in Flirting with Coward. As the title implies, Johnson is not attempting to imitate The Master. Rather, he playfully summons the spirit. With his poignant interpretations and phrasing, and his own arrangements, Johnson creates the distinct impression that each of the Coward songs has a specific personal meaning for him. One hears them all anew, allowing Coward’s lyrics to show off their artful brilliance.
Full of wit and lyricism, the songs range from the 1920s to the 50s, from the celebrated Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Mrs Worthington (“. . .don’t put your daughter on the stage”) and Mad About the Boy, to the satirical Twentieth Century Blues and the mischievous Don’t Lets Be Beastly To the Germans.
Share on Facebook
I was appalled recently to find on a USA website selling sniper rifles, sniper’s paradise (and no, I was not planning a trip to Zimbabwe), a banner advert running along the top of their homepage with the slogan “just in time for Christmas” with a photo next to it of President-elect Obama wearing a Father Christmas hat! As Meryle Secrest remarks in her biography of Stephen Sondheim, there never seems to be an appropriate time to stage Assassins.
With music and lyrics by Sondheim and book by John Weidman, this is a searingly subversive work, a theatrical séance using portraits of presidential assassins to scrutinize how the American dream so easily turns into nightmare. There is much to celebrate here: the inaugural production of the NewSpace theatre, the genius of Sondheim’s lyrics, and the admirable production values. Director Fred Abrahamse has pulled out all the stops for this one and kept in good faith with the original stagings. Musical director Stefan Lombard has managed a superb re-orchestration of Sondheim’s often satirical score.
Add to this, great performances from Andre Jacobs, David Dennis, Anthea Thompson, Marcel Meyer, and Tammy Meyer, and Assassins is not-to-be missed. We are indeed fortunate to have a brand new independent theatre and a Sondheim musical production of this calibre right on our doorstep. Do take advantage.
Share on Facebook
