Engaging romp
contains pertinent messages. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Created and
performed by Verne Rowin Munsamy and Sashin Kandhai, No Contest is among the one-off productions featured in this year’s
anniversary Musho! Festival.
The problem with
one-offs is that no sooner are you “on” - ie on stage – than you’re off, and
that’s it. There’s no time to allow the show to settle in, become familiar with
audience response and iron out technical glitches. Also, a major storm erupted
in the late afternoon which threw the tight Musho! Festival schedule awry with
people arriving late. So, all credit to Munsamy and Kandhai for handling their
show with professionalism.
Using audiovisual
images to fill out the action with popular Lotus FM personality Varshan Sookun on film acting as the host, No
Contest is set at the finals of a reality game show called South Africa Should Have Talent. Two
young men - Dharshan and Direshan - from Chatsworth want to build a rehabilitation centre in the
community if they win. Their challenge
for the finals is to present three dance routines.
In between these
sections, the two actors don various guises as the camera crew go out into the
communities to pick up feedback on the show, especially from those who are fans
of the Chatsworth boys.
This sees Munsamy
and Kandhai playing a considerable range of characters and using different
accents from ageing Indian women and KFC kitchen workers to bitchy beauty stars
and township youths from Grahamstown. Munsamy’s scripts always feature a thought-provoking
or social undertone. Containing some clever and satirical lines, No Contest is an engaging romp that contains
pertinent messages.
While there is no
doubt about Kandhai’s considerable dance skills, it was interesting to see his
development on the acting front and his capacity for comedy. There’s even a
cameo performance on film from Shona Johnson.
This production has much potential and I wish the actors
well in continuing its development.
Musho! runs until Sunday evening (January 18) offering a
variety of one-off performances. For the full Musho! Festival programme visit www.mushofestival.co.za
Tickets R50. (R30 students, OAP and PANSA members) booked via
Computicket or by phoning 031 837 5999.
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