(Right: Shika
Budhoo as the five different characters she portrays)
A Shika by any other name ... (Review by
Verne Rowin Munsamy)
Rhumbelow Theatre nestled in the heart of
Umbilo is doing a remarkable job keeping live performance going in Durban when
it seems to the arduous task getting bums on seats. I was fortunate enough to
attend two shows there this week. Friday night saw the opening of Shika Land, written and performed by
Shika Budhoo.
We live in a world where the internet
allows us access to information at the touch of a button. So imagine the
curiosity that builds when we discover people living all over the world with
the same name as you. This virtual world, reimagined on stage, presents us with
five Shikas reliving their stories in this one space.
This one-woman show is masterfully penned
in the way it reveals this emotional roller coaster. The characters are all
clearly defined through accents, a skill which Budhoo seems distinguished at.
We learn of the heartache felt by a 39 year-old Trinidadian Shika at the loss
of her husband and the strife of raising three kids alone; we anguish in the
fears felt by a young Indian bride as she is about to meet her husband for the
first time and revel in the irony of a British Shika who is have an affair with
a soon-to-be-married man. The French Shika provided a humorous take on a young
Shika trying to dump her boyfriend after he insulted her.
She also slips in and out of several other
characters to nudge the story along. This show looks at how the characters have
all given distinct meaning to the name Shika, the original quest of the show,
which was to find out the meaning of a name.
I enjoyed the pop of colour-in costumes
which add to the limited set. I would have speeded up the transitions a little,
acapella singing while she changed costumes, but I also do understand the time
it takes to get into a sari. Budhoo has earned a well-deserved break after
occupying the Rhumbelow Theatre with two shows this week. - Verne Rowin Munsamy
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