(Kaseran
Pillay & Leeanda Reddy)
Bringing Durban Poison to the stage...
(Review by Verne Rowin Munsamy)
This festive season at the Playhouse has
unearthed some novice theatre gems along with some veteran, stalwart
performances. With most of the theatres operating with a full festive line-up,
audiences of all ages are spoilt for choice.
Joker
Is Queen, which had two performances in the
Playhouse Drama, featured two of Durban's most popular and influential Indian
theatre and screen personalities, Leeanda Reddy and Kaseran Pillay. Both boast
an array of accolades and shows under their belts, gaining fame on and off
screen. This time the duo pair up to show off their theatre roots and passion
for political satire and humour.
The situational comedy strikes a key note
with Indian audiences as much of the humour is derived from Indian stereotypes,
dialects and anecdotes. The show comprised 10 vignettes held together with
projections and voice-overs and spans the entire history of Indian settlers in
South Africa. Beginning with a quirky history of indentured slaves and ending
with a typical Indian funeral, lost guests, over-the-top crying and all, with
myriad references to local trends, politics and issues.
Reddy and Pillay emit great stage presence
but I am always in awe of Leeanda Reddy who commands attention with her
versatile characters and noticeable details embedded into the voice and body of
every character she discovers. Both handle the multiple costume changes with
ease to show us some off-beat characters that keep you entertained for the full
two hours. They fill the space with several accents and dialects and have
audiences eager to join in the fun. There is even reference to Reddy's
departure from Isidingo.
The music choices are nostalgic and
reminiscent of the 80s and 90s which suited the characters who could be placed
in any suburb in Chatsworth or Phoenix. The first half is smooth and compact
with edgy political bite while the second half lost some of the fiery impact of
its counterpart. I felt that some scenes, especially the Palace interaction,
was too drawn-out and took away from the themes of the show. My favourite
characters were displayed by Reddy, the Coloured nurse who was delightfully
astute and Terrific Eric.
That said, this show is bound to entertain
all audiences. Catch it if it comes your way! - Verne Rowin Munsamy
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