(Pic: A fun moment from “Fairy Follies”)Family Players can be relied upon to present enjoyable and polished fun shows. (Review by Maurice Kort)
An amateur group they may be but The Family Players, a group of comedy drag mime artists (Greg Baptie, John Cavalheir, Derek Pearce, Alan Quihampton and Roland Stansell), can be relied upon to present most enjoyable and polished fun shows, and their latest offering, Fairy Follies at the Rhumbelow Theatre is no exception. Adding further enjoyment, and eye candy, they are joined by “Friends” in the form of singers Gino Veronie and Stefan Oosthuysen, and dancers Kirsty Randall and Desré Bingham.
The fun starts with the men dressed only in shorts and donning their costumes, so simple initially but becoming fancier and more outrageous as the show progresses, and wigs – also progressively more imaginative – in an opening medley which ends in a frenetic rendition of We Are Family. Their lip syncing to excellent backing tracks is well done and the sound is at just the right level with only one or two exceptions but that would be quibbling.
The mimed songs were performed as solo items, most enjoyable being Ship Ahoy (Allan Quihampton), My Life (Greg Baptie), Burlington Bertie (John Cavalheir), It’s Three o’clock in the Morning (a very tipsy Roland Stansell) and You Came a Long Way from St Louis (Derek Pearce) or as duets or ensemble numbers – all very polished with good scenic lighting effects.
Interspersed with these were dance numbers - for example, a delightful rendition of One from A Chorus Line by Kirsty Randall and Desré Bingham and songs by Gino Veronie and Stefan Oosthuysen, as duets which included When a Child is Born or World on a String by the former and Pale Moon Rising by the latter in a well-balanced programme. No stops are pulled and expect a grand finale to the first half replete with soap bubbles.
Fairy Follies by The Family Players and Friends can be seen at the Rhumbelow Theatre, Cunningham Ave off Bartle Road, on Friday and Saturday December 4 and 5 at 20h00 and on December 6 at 18h30. The venue opens 90 minutes before the show for a picnic dinner with braai facilities being available. As there is a bar available, no alcohol may be brought onto the premises. Tickets R80 booked through Computicket or phone Roland on 031 205 7602 or 082 499 8636 or email roland@stansell.za.net – Maurice Kort
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