F*CK POLITICS—LET’S DORA

Review of Musho Festival production written and performed by Robert Colman, directed by Toni Morkel. (Reviewed by Samantha Daly)

Last night saw Johannesburg’s Robert Colman take to the stage in the second performance of this year’s Musho! Festival. Directed by Toni Morkel, F*ck Politics—Let’s Dora tells the tale of Daniel, a young, gay, Jewish boy and the shenanigans he gets up to on his weekend pass from the South African Army.

Drugs, homosexuality, drinking (or ‘Dora’ as it is also known) and a good dose of comedy— this show has all the makings of a fantastic piece of theatre; however it falls short somewhere along the line. The performance begins very informally, with Colman addressing the audience directly, as he self-proclaimedly “chats” and “gossips” with them. This informality sets the tone for the rest of the show, as the chatty nature extends throughout the performance. This works well when dealing with such tenuous, contested and sensitive subjects, and places the audience at ease.

Colman is very likeable on stage, cracking jokes, sipping coffee and reminiscing about “the good old, bad old days” of Johannesburg, especially Hillbrow, and to some extent, Durban too. A self-proclaimed “who could have imagined” person, Colman recalls 1970’s Hillbrow, a time when the Butterfly Bar and Anaconda nightclub were the places to be; before Hillbrow earned a reputation as the crime hotspot of Joburg. “Same place, different place”, he exclaims with nostalgia.

The performance relies mostly on Colman’s storytelling, with no more than a brown paper bag of props and a chair to assist him. The props are used representationally to indicate different characters. While Colman’s characterisation was fantastic, with each character clearly defined, the production seems to lack a real plot and purpose. The story seems to go round in circles, and appears more improvised than anything else, with Colman jumping from recalling stories and events from his day, and telling Daniel’s story. I think a more clearly defined plot would have served the performance better, avoiding the apparent lack of direction.

Nevertheless, Colman delivers some great acting, and his laid-back, likeable personality and attitude on stage goes a long way in winning over audiences, and providing some solid entertainment. – Samantha Daly