(Shona
Johnson)
An undeniable triumph for writer, director
and performer! (Review by Caroline Smart)
Well-known for his children’s productions
such as the award-winning The Fantastical
Flea Circus and The Calf With No Name,
as well as the well-known Lollipop Lane series, Marius has turned
his focus onto more adult humour with
B!#ch Stole My Doek.
The production was inspired by young
actress Shona Johnson, who was recently seen in the revival of The Fantastical Flea Circus at Catalina.
Recognising her special gifts as a comedienne, Marius was motivated to create this
one-woman show for her.
While this diminutive powerhouse has
appeared in numerous theatre productions, this is the first time she has gone
solo. To hold an audience’s attention for close on an hour with very few props
is a major test of a performer’s acting ability. Johnson rises to the challenge
as if she had been doing this for years.
She plays a feisty mother of two who lives
in Wentworth. Salome (not pronounced like the sausage!) is a housewife who
collects crochet swans and is married to a fairly unprepossessing man called
Dennis. However, Dennis proves to have more strength that he’s given credit
for. We meet Salome as she is taking down her washing. With her hair in curlers
and dressed in her nightwear and a dressing gown, she is chatting to an
(unseen) neighbour over the fence.
She is shuddering with fury as her new
neighbour, a lady called Chelsea, insists on taking up space on the communal
washing line to hang her scanty lingerie. By some chance, Salome’s much-loved apple
green doek with the polka dots disappeared when Chelsea collected her washing
and Salome is absolutely convinced that she has stolen it.
In between explaining her efforts to find
ways to retrieve the doek, she shouts instructions to her son Travis and
daughter Laverne to help get supper on the way.
Whether she’s playing the gawky Travis, the
gum-chewing ditsy Laverne, her unruffled husband or the quietly-spoken Chelsea,
Johnson gives a spirited performance that never wanes. With the only props
being the washing line and various garments hanging on it, a washing basket and
some curled up chicken wire at the side of the stage, the focus is entirely on her
and she ensures that it stays there. Normally, a comedy takes a little while to
gain response from an audience but the laughs here ring out right from the
start.
All in all, an undeniable triumph for
writer, director and performer!
Presented by Copy Dog Productions, B!#ch Stole My Doek runs at Catalina
Theatre until December 21 with performances at 19h30 from Wednesdays to
Saturdays and on Sundays at 14h30. Tickets R100 booked at Computicket on 0861
915 8000 or www.computicket.com, Shoprite Checkers Computicket or at the
Catalina Theatre box office on the night should there be seats available. –
Caroline Smart
The production runs in tandem with
Hamish Kyd’s “Knowing You ... Knowing Me” which has performances from
Wednesdays to Saturdays at 21h00, and on Sundays at 16h00.
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