(TQ Zondi & Mpilo
Nzimande)
Performances are quite simply superb. (Review by Keith
Millar)
Ringing down the curtain on this year’s Musho! Festival at
the Catalina Theatre was multi award-winning playwright Greg Coetzee’s inspired
satirical two-hander, Termite!
It certainly was a case of saving the best for last – and
this is not just my opinion, as the production won the coveted Audience Choice
Award at the festival.
Termite! is
described in the Musho! Programme as “a combination of physical theatre and
satire, with a dash of lunacy.” All I can add description is that the piece is
brilliantly clever, hilariously funny and exquisitely creative.
The production features three traditional folk tales with a
modern South African twist, all told from the point of view of various animals.
They offer explanations to issues such as how animals react to minibus taxis,
Colonel Sanders and the chicken war, and why dogs sniff each other’s behinds.
The performances of TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande in the
production are quite simply superb. They are wonderfully energetic and their
timing is exquisite. They display a finely-tuned understanding of the play and
they translate this into a performance of considerable aplomb.
The production is directed by Peter Mitchell from the
Hexagon Theatre in Pietermaritzburg. He deserves huge credit for the
wonderfully frenetic, but well controlled, physical activity during the play as
well as for the overall tight and slick presentation.
The word Musho! is a call of appreciation and praise and can
be aligned with the shout of Bravo! in a theatre. Well the calls of Musho! came
thick and fast during this production, and at the end it was an uproar.
Termite! is a
wonderfully entertaining theatre work. If you ever have the opportunity to see
it, make sure you do. You won’t be disappointed.
The Musho! Festival 2016 was staged at the Catalina Theatre
at Wilson’s Wharf in Durban and was 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 –
Keith Millar
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