Enchanting comedy one-hander. (Review by Keith Millar)
After the success
of Clinton Marius’ delightful, award winning, production B!*ch Stole My Doek, his next offering was looked forward to
with eager anticipation. Well - he certainly has not disappointed with the
enchanting comedy one-hander, Sweetie
Darling, which premiered at the Musho! Festival at the Catalina Theatre on
Friday.
Bringing Marius’ clever,
witty and insightful script to life was a very impressive Bongani Mbatha. He
creates the lovable and vulnerable character, Jacob, whose ambition in life is
to impress Nosipho, the girl of his dreams, and to get her to fall in love with
him.
Jacob lost his
parents at a young age and has had to be the breadwinner for his family. Now,
at the age of 27 he is ready to settle down and get married. The only problem
is that he has never even had a girlfriend.
Then he meets
Nosipho who sings in the church choir. It is love at first sight – for him,
anyway. He does everything he can to impress her and to get her to notice him,
but without much luck. Finally, he finds the courage to invite her to go on a
picnic with him.
When we meet him,
he busy setting up the picnic in the local park. As he goes about this, he
relates the story of his life and the circumstances that have brought him to
this point. In the process he introduces a host of colourful characters who are
part of the story.
We meet his
mischievous younger sister, Miriam; his Gogo; the choirmaster and pastor from
the church, Nosipho herself and his rival for the girl’s affections,
intriguingly named Back Pocket.
Eventually
everything is ready for the picnic. But the question is – will Nosipho arrive?
Bongani Mbatha is a
charming and affable actor. He has lovely comedy timing and paces his
performance very well. His portrayal of all the periphery characters is
accurate, funny and perceptive.
Clinton Marius’
script is very funny. While most of the humour is situational, there are many
topical quips which are quite hilarious. His understanding of the
characteristics and nature of a culture other than his own is remarkable.
Marius’s deft hand was also apparent as the director of the production.
This enjoyable
production is one not to be missed. The
good news is that there are plans afoot to stage it at the Seabrooke’s Theatre shortly.- Keith Millar
The Musho! Festival 2016 is presented by
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. For more
information call the PANSA office on 031 201 4750 or email:
kzn@pansa.org.za
Posts
