THE OFF-SIDE RULE!

(Sashin Kandhai, Christiaan du Plessis Verne Munsamy & (hidden) Arno Wagenaar)

Opening on March 13, ScruffySession Productions in association with Catalina Theatre will present, The Off-side Rule! written by Christiaan du Plessis and directed by Verne Munsamy.

“It questions the behaviour of local and international sports stars and heroes of today,” explains Munsamy. “From an everyday hero to a total zero. The ones who have given us so many great victories are then looked at under the microscope. How do we cope with the lies after some unsettling behaviour and media coverage? The play makes use of comedy skits and slam poetry to satirize the politics at play in sport. We as spectators see every day by day, every play by play as these so-called heroes play life in the off-side position, and it’s not fiction or a so-called story made up to our satisfaction. We are done with standing by watching how they take advantage of not only the sport but of us. So we look at the everyday hero that falls to a total zero!”

This new work represents the views of ordinary spectators, frustrated with the lies and deception. It stars Arno Wagenaar, Sashin Kandhai, Christiaan du Plessis and Verne Munsamy.

“Being sports fanatics and having played sport all our lives, we thought it best to write a play about something that interests us,” Munsamy adds. “Not just sport, but our love for the comic (satirical) form of theatre. Watching our fallen sports heroes in the media, we found ourselves growing angry at what we were witnessing. Sports stars killing, raping and abusing drugs seems to be a way for our heroes to demonstrate their power over the masses.

“The aim of this play is to show that sport is a big part of South African culture and as an influential component in our lives, we shouldn't allow our heroes to spoil the image that we have constructed of them. Just like politics or religion, sport has just as much right to be questioned and challenged by us artists, given its influence on spectators and men in particular.”

This being a comedy and of a satirical nature, the sports stars have been disguised to adhere to comic standards but there are clear references to Oscar Pistorius, Caster Semenya, The Beast, Natalie du Toit and many others.

The Off-side Rule! runs at Catalina Theatre from March 13 to 30 at 19h30 for the first two weeks (Thursday-Sunday) and 21h30 the last week (no show on March 28). Tickets R100 booked through Computicket. For more information, email: scruffyaugust@yahoo.com or call 083 763 6292 (between 09h00 and 17h00).