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Saturday, January 16, 2016

MUSHO!: NO SWEARING (DIRECTORS CUT)

(Carvin Goldstone)
A very funny and fabulously entertaining comedian. (Review by Keith Millar)
Durban’s annual Musho! Festival which is currently running at the Catalina Theatre at Wilson’s Wharf can be relied on to dish up a mixed bag of productions. This year’s 11th addition of the festival which is currently underway is no different. Everything from drama and comedy to a musical and children’s theatre is on offer over the duration of the event.
Thursday evening was the turn of Stand-Up Comedy – and the festival organisers could not have chosen better than the very popular Durban comic Carvin H Goldstone to entertain the audience.
Goldstone’s act is billed as a family show and is entitled No Swearing. It is exactly that. Good clean, non-offensive fun without repetitive swear words, crudity and a reliance on mocking audience members for cheap laughs.
This in no way distracts from the humour of the act. In fact, Goldstone is a very funny and fabulously entertaining comedian.
He displays excellent observational skills as he highlights the differences and similarities between all the peoples of South Africa with perfect comedy timing and delectable accents. He relates hilarious stories about his life growing up in Newlands East, neighbours, evangelism, gangsters, the national anthem, courting his wife in Wentworth, his move to the Bluff, visiting a bank and deciding which school his kids should go too, along with many other funny events. In the process, he reflects the South African conundrum in all its diversity with skill and talent. Goldstone is a large imposing man. However, his style is easygoing, friendly and non-offensive. His presentation is colloquial and relentlessly funny and his audience members are kept in stitches from the beginning to the end of his act. He is certainly one of the best stand-up comics I have seen. Try to see this artist in action if you can. Only expect to leave with sore ribs from laughing.
The Musho! Festival which is on until January 17 is presented by the Performing Arts Network of South Africa (PANSA) with support from The KZN Performing Arts Trust, Pro-Helvetia and The Swiss Development Council, The KZN Department of Arts and Culture, The Daily News, Catalina Theatre and Twist Theatre Development Projects.
Ticket prices R50 per show (R30 students, pensioners and PANSA paid-up members) booked through Computicket outlets, telephonically at 0861 915 8000, or online at www.computicket.com
All 10h00, 12h00, 14h00 and 16h00 shows on Saturday / Sunday: Pay What You Can.
For more information call the PANSA office on 031 201 4750 or email: kzn@pansa.org.za or call the Catalina Theatre on 031 837 7400. – Keith Millar