(Rahul
Brijnath & Maeshni Naicker)
Strong performances create much laughter in
Ronnie Govender's play at Sibaya. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Multi award-winning playwright Ronnie
Govender has revived a production written in 1987 which is enjoying good
audiences at the iZulu Theatre at Sibaya.
Taking its title from an Urdu saying: “If you haven’t got money, even
your own dog won’t bite you,” Your
Own Dog Won't Bite You is set in the living room of transport tycoon, Jimmy Jugmohan, who works from home in an upmarket
house in Reservoir Hills.
Jimmy’s life is full of frustrations – a
nagging wife and a disrespectful son who won’t attend to his studies – not to
mention his truck drivers who don’t maintain their vehicles properly and end up
stranded on the road.
As Jimmy, Rahul Brijnath shows a major growth
in his performance ability since the days we worked together when I directed
radio productions for Lotus FM. There is a new level of maturity and a strong grasp
of comedy timing. He’s also quite an impressive
mover in the all-too-short moments when he gets to dance.
As his nagging hypochondriac wife, Madhu,
Maeshni Naicker delivers her usual solid performance with her sharp responses
and laconic comments gathering most of the laughs. Madhu is full of complaints
- some real, as in the worry over her son’s gambling, and the other imaginary
as she finds new aches and pains to stress her.
Into the mix comes a lady who deals with
the occult – a feisty and very good performance by Jayshree Parasuramen. She
has been invited by Madhu to find out whether there are evil spirits present in
the house. As Parasuramen sits cross-legged on the floor in front of her fire, making
sudden squeaky noises or shouts, these scenes offer some of the funniest
moments of the play.
Not believing a word of any of her
predictions and considering her actions linked to witchcraft, Jimmy invites
Madhu’s real doctor to attend the woman’s next visit. In his brief appearance, Yashik
Singh handles his role with aplomb and even gets involved in a dancing
sequence!
As her lounging, layabout son (Baboo),
Warwick Frank gives a good interpretation of the young man who suddenly makes a
fortune. Initially unwelcome as she is non-Indian, Lyschelle Linderboom handles
the giggling nervous new girlfriend with ease, eventually playing her trump
card which promptly changes Madhu’s mind as to her suitability as a daughter in
law.
While the iZulu Theatre is a splendid
venue – spacious with comfortable seating and good sightlines – it was not
built for the human voice but rather for music and dance presentations. The
actors were miked and audible, but this
technology restricts the dynamic cut and thrust of the dialogue of a production
like this. One also misses being able to see the facial nuances that you can
appreciate in a more intimate theatre space.
Having said that, this did not worry
the majority of the audience members who missed none of Govender’s distinctive
humour and responded with delight to the very amusing dialogue and hilarious
scenes.
Your
Own Dog Won’t Bite You is running at Sibaya’s iZulu
Theatre with two more performances: tonight (August 22) at 20h00 and tomorrow
(August 23) at 15h00. Tickets R120 at Computicket. – Caroline Smart
NB: Your Own Dog Won’t Bite You has a further season at Sibaya’s iZulu Theatre from September 24 to 27. Tickets R120 at Computicket
NB: Your Own Dog Won’t Bite You has a further season at Sibaya’s iZulu Theatre from September 24 to 27. Tickets R120 at Computicket