(Renaldo Moodley &Vern Rowin Munsamy in one of the amusing scenes)
Strong social message gets across through a fun and
interactive show. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Presented by Scruffy Sessions Productions, No Contest?! is anything but scruffy in
the social message it gets across through a fun and interactive show.
No Contest?! is written
and directed by Vern Rowin Munsamy who appears in the show with Renaldo Moodley.
I first saw this production at the Musho! Festival earlier
this year in Durban and my original review can be found at http://news.artsmart.co.za/2015/01/no-contest.html
The scenario is the finals of a TV reality dance show.
Having reached this point in the competition, Dharshan and Direshen – two hopefuls
from Chatsworth outside Durban – are being given the opportunity to showcase
their talents and to give the judges their opinion on what talent South Africa
should have.
Along the way, through the medium of a televised presenter
on a screen placed centre stage, we meet grandmothers and friends as well as a
whole band of whacky twosomes with their own ideas of what South Africa should
strive for.
The production has grown considerably and is much tighter
since its first presentation and there are some hilarious sequences. The show
progresses in a fast-moving cavalcade of characters allowing the performers to
showcase their versatility and movement skills.
The actors use no more than about ten props which range from
caps to buckets. A memorable scene sees two zonked “dudes” from Laudium
discussing ... well, “dude” stuff. Which means that it’s not much of a
conversation!
The various messages that come across for South Africa’s
future are to encourage prosperity, tolerance and self-worth. - Caroline Smart
This production’s appearance on the 2015 National Arts Festival was supported by the Libraries and Heritage Department of eThekwini Municipality.
This production’s appearance on the 2015 National Arts Festival was supported by the Libraries and Heritage Department of eThekwini Municipality.
(For more information on the National Arts Festival click
on the banner advert at the top of this page or visit www.nationalartsfestival.co.za)
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