(Clive Scott)
A hugely
entertaining, amusing and erudite story-teller. (Review by Keith Millar)
An old man, bent
nearly double, makes his doddering way onto the stage of the Rhumbelow Theatre.
He looks taken aback when he spots the audience. But then he breaks into a huge
mischievous grin and asks “So - how many of you thought I was dead?”
This is the
introduction to the charming and witty autobiographical one-man show, Warts and All presented by veteran South
African stage, television, movie and radio actor Clive Scott.
Scott, or perhaps
Ted Dixon if you were a fan of The
Villagers, the massively popular television series of the 1970’s, is far
from being dead or doddering. He is, in fact, a dapper and sprightly 79 year-old
and a hugely entertaining, amusing and erudite story-teller.
He has the audience
in stitches as he tells stories of his childhood, his youth, the years he spent
in England learning his craft, his hilarious experiences as an actor and the
many larger than life characters he has met along the way.
Scott was born in
Johannesburg and spent his formative years in both that city and in Cape Town.
He was an impish child and got involved in all sorts of scrapes such as setting
fire to the local golf course and, along with his sister, tipping out a can of
green paint in the family home, and then rolling about in it.
He also had his
first acting role at this point. As a jam tin in a school play. He also played a
weasel in Toad of Toad Hall.
After school, Scott
worked in a bank before moving to England where he spent the next 12 years.
During this time, he attended drama school. He gives a hilarious demonstration
of how he was taught to walk, laugh and cry on stage. Thereafter, he spent
years in repertory theatre. He also had a stint in the world’s longest running
play The Mousetrap.
Scott then returned
to South Africa where he made a big name for himself as the previously-mentioned
Ted Dixon, the village fool in TV series, The
Villagers, as well as in many other roles on stage, television and radio.
He also recalls
many pranks played along with his great friend and legendary actor Gordon
Mulholland.
Scott refers to
himself as a drawing room comic and his easy and affable style affirms this. He
is a master of many accents and he puts this skill to good use in his storytelling.
The hour and quarter that this accomplished raconteur spent with his audience
passed in a flash and all would have enjoyed him to carry on with more of his
hilarious anecdotes. The old broadcasters and entertainers in the audience, and
there were several, could have listened to his stories all night.
The good news is
that Roland Stansell of the Rhumbelow Theatre in Umbilo intends bringing Warts and All back for another season
soon. Keep your eyes open for this and don’t miss the opportunity to see this master
storyteller at work. – Keith Millar
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