(Bryan Hiles, Philisiwe
Ntintili, Darren King & Thomie Holtzhausen)
(“031 Temptations” is
highly entertaining from start to finish but you need to go with an open mind. (Review
by Caroline Smart)
Christmas is usually associated with pantomime and
some 20 years ago, Durban added its bit with the creation of the Durban adult
panto. These involve a complete send-up of the traditional style, adding humour
only suitable for adult audiences and loaded with sexual innuendo!
When productions were in danger of coming to an end
through the closure of the regular venue, actor and director Thomie Holtzhausen
created a small intimate 80-seater space at Club Altitude in Silver Road which
runs between Stamford Hill and Umgeni Roads.
This year, Holtzhausen has moved away from the adult pantomime
fairy-tale norm. “The script has been captured by the fairy tale of the Rainbow
Nation,” he explains. This allows him to poke outrageous fun at politicians,
politics and news-breaking stories. The title 031 Temptations can be interpreted any way you like!
(Right: Anthony Stonier)
Apart from appearing in the show himself, he has
assembled a great cast headed by well-known performers Darren King and Bryan
Hiles who are making their debut at OnStage@Altitude, supported by Philisiwe
Ntintili (who appeared in the last two adult pantos) and adult panto stalwart Anthony
Stonier who makes a special appearance.
The show is set in the jungle kingdom of Azania. Surrounded
by full-length curtains, the tiny stage is adorned with a comfortable couch and
very little else.
The extravagant Queer Illa De Lill (King) is all out
to discourage mixed race relationships and grabs the support of the young
Afrikaner farmer Frik (Hiles) to pursue her cause. However, Frik throws the cat
among the pigeons when he falls in love with Adele (Ntintili) and the
relationship becomes serious. Inspector Paul Hawks (Holtzhausen) is on a
mission to uncover crime and corruption in the kingdom and to discover who is
dealing in fur … and to round off the show, the missing person (Stonier) makes
his appearance.
The ever-youthful Hiles opens the show with his
characteristic energy and magnetism, quickly getting the audience in the mood
and giving a hilarious rundown of the story. His dance abilities are seen to
great effect as is his capacity to change moods and accents.
Next we meet the lovely and excitable young Adele,
played with charm by Ntintili, who is desperately looking for somebody to love
and marry. She’s lost Anthony, the one person she has in mind and nobody seems
to know where he is.
Making an impressive entrance in a striking costume,
impossibly high heels and an even higher headdress, King controls the action
with his usual command, strongly indicating that his character is not afraid of
criticism with I Don’t Care. He
handles the major number of the songs and my favourite was his rendition of Maybe This Time from Cabaret.
Apart from the Inspector, Holtzhausen also appears as
the priest at the marriage ceremony and was delightful as the bored Cupid trying
to aim his love arrows at the young couple. He brings his popular Indian
auntie, Tiger Lily, back to the show presenting an amusing dining experience
which required the assistance of two helpful audience members.
The missing Anthony finally arrives and has the stage
to himself as Stonier belts out numbers that he does so well, such as It’s My Life, Don’t Rain on My Parade
and I Am What I Am.
The section of musical numbers includes I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Some Girls Will,
You Can’t Hurry Love and the amusing pantomime regular, If I Were Not Upon The Stage …
031 Temptations is highly
entertaining from start to finish but you need to go with an open mind. Sometimes
the humour gets very crude but the cast members handle it with such aplomb that
the audience doesn’t take offence.
031 Temptations runs
until January 11 with performances from Wednesday to Saturday at 19h30. (Check Christmas and New Year dates closer
to the time as there may be schedule changes)
Gather friends, family, colleagues and cronies – bring
along a picnic basket (there is no restriction on the food being brought into
the venue) and support the venue’s bar. Tables seat 8 and arrangements for
bigger groups/tables can be made.
Tickets R150. Bookings or enquiries through Thomie
Holtzhausen on 064 476 9533 or Quicket at https://www.quicket.co.za/events/88579-2019-adult-panto-031-temptations/#/schedules
OnStage@Altitude is situated in Silver Avenue,
Stamford Hill. – Caroline Smart
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