JUST FOR YOU

(Clockwise from top left: Sandile Menze, Boy Ngema, Thami Sikhosana, Samkelisiwe Hlophe and Ndumiso Dlamini. Missing from photograph: S’busiso Shozi)

Written and directed by Thami Sikhosana, Just for You is an original musical theatre work with a cast of six, all of them fine performers who have firmly established themselves on the Durban theatre scene. - Review by Caroline Smart

Apart from Sikhosana, the cast includes Samukelisiwe Hlophe, Boy Ngema, Ndumiso Dlamini, S’busiso Shozi and Sandile Menze.

Sikhosana’s effective set evokes a derelict downtown area with walls covered with graffiti; For Sale and Closed signs on the Just 4 You Night Club entrance (behind which are the backing musicians) and a ripped fencing barrier. In one corner there is a muddle of papers and cardboard. This is the domain of Little Bit (played with compelling consistency by Shozi), a lost soul abandoned at birth who has grown up on the streets and survives thanks to the generosity of the people around him.

These include Mom Snowy (Hlophe), a religious kindly woman who sells fruit from a plank atop some beer crates. There’s also the volatile medicine man Shake-Shake (Ngema), and the fast-talking gambling addict Pick Six (Dlamini) as well as the gentle-hearted Ntaka (Menze). They are all controlled by the loan shark Dlangamandla (Sikhosana).

There are some well-played scenes, many of them involving Samukelisiwe Hlophe and Boy Ngema. Hlophe also plays a frail blind old woman and an enchanting young girl. Ngema imbues Shake Shake with a formidable physical power when required. I was impressed with Dlamini’s performance, particularly with the small nuances that he brought to the character. Menze and Sikhosana carry the most roles and Menze is a delight as the stammering Ntaka.

Just for You focuses on those who left their homes and loved ones to migrate to the city, despite the almost overwhelming challenges it offers. The play is an anthem to survival bringing into focus the various relationships, deceptions, dreams and disappointments – and the humour that binds us all in seemingly-hopeless situations.

Providing live musical backing are musical director Lindelani Mathonsi on keyboards, Elias Sdumo Ngidi on bass guitar and Lucky Thango on drums.

My main concern with this production is that it is reminiscent of a past formula – a pattern of song/dance/drama - that could so easily be updated. Sikhosana has created a thought-provoking and interesting piece with some clever and very funny lines but often the attention to offering humour overshadows the seriousness or poignancy of the storyline.

Told in both English and isiZulu, Just For You has three more performances in the Playhouse Loft: December 14 and 15 at 19h00 with a final performance on December 17 at 18h00.

The duration is 80 minutes (no interval). Tickets R70 at Computicket on 0861 915 8000 or online at www.computicket.com. Alternatively call Playhouse Box Office on 031 369 9540 (office hours). – Caroline Smart