(Above: Logan Byrne, Mandla
Matsha; Pat Pillai & Melvin Peters)
The play is a triumph,
a celebration of the human spirit and a fine work of art that weaves together
who and what we are as humans. (Review by Shannon Kenny)
My Cape Town - Written by Pat Pillai; Musical Direction by Melvin Peters. Performed by Pat Pillai (Storyteller), Melvin Peters (pianist), Mandla Matsha (percussionist) and Logan Byrne (double bassist) - Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
Pat Pillai is a fine actor and raconteur. In My Cape Town he joins forces with Melvin Peters, Mandla Matsha and Logan Byrne to tell a big story through the eyes and lives and loves of ordinary people.
In this epic tale that spans decades and generations, Pillai, Peters, Matsha and Byrne give voice to the people who were dispossessed and displaced to the Cape Flats from what was District Six and other locales around Cape Town. This is all done through the most exquisite melange of instruments - the body, spoken and sung voice, acoustic instruments playing new and familiar pieces and moments of silence that render the work transcendent.
Donovan Selveraj, our narrator, is summoned by his mum to edit the celebratory 40th anniversary edition of community newspaper, My Cape Town, founded by his parents. We encounter him at his family home in Rylands, Athlone in Cape Town, reminiscing about the people who populated the neighbourhoods and pages of My Cape Town. Through the course of the play, Pillai becomes - really - a host of characters, seamlessly transforming from one to another with the tilt of a head, the flick of a hand, the rise and fall of the voice, the pursing of lips or some dance moves that perfectly capture the person.
We are introduced to June Buick-Selveraj dispensing pearls of wisdom to her son, and Jivan, her husband. There’s Ouma and Oupa Apollis, the most romantic couple in Bridgetown, Athlone, swaying to Nat King Cole; Gatiep practicing for his Kaapse Klopse performance; Balasubrahmaniam Varsan Murgudas, determined to usher his grandson, Kreesan, to his destiny; Mr Matthews, music teacher to the piano prodigy Lionel and his band, the Lanky Lads, relentless in his pursuit of excellence and opportunity for his young charges; hilarious Aunty Ghadija, with her opinions on koe’sters; Vikram Singh, the romantic mechanic who recites Shakespeare in the style of Om Puri delivering a monologue in a Bollywood movie; and Ihsaan, a proper Old Gangster who invokes fear and inspires a community - and the audience. These are just some of the truly endearing characters, the writers of the histories that we carry in our families and communities, that Pillai brings to life.
Pillai is masterful in his characterisation and storytelling, drawing in the audience on a journey that is at once relatable precisely because it is human - you need not have been raised in Cape Town or been displaced to connect with any of the characters or their stories. They spring from the stage and straight into your heart and memory.
Melvin Peters takes these stories further through the music which is neither merely incidental nor ‘show-tunesy’. The ghoema-tinged Bohemian Rhapsody, Brubeck’s Take 5, Earth Wind and Fire’s September, Peters’ Cape Town Jive and KJ Pillai’s I’d like to be an Island and Bernstein’s Magnificent Seven all speak of and through hardship, endurance, triumph and joy. Our musicians and Pillai became Lionel and the Lanky Lads with Mr Matthews at Cape Town City Hall, sticking it to the Man with their musical sophistication, talent and skill.
The play is a triumph, a celebration of the human spirit and a fine work of art that weaves together who and what we are as humans - corporeal, spiritual, makers of art and destiny, and followers of dreams. It is a reminder that moral victories are won and societies are changed through everyday kindnesses, dogged determination and love, above all. In its recounting of a time in history that people were demeaned and brutalised, and a present climate that can easily leave one in despair, it succeeds at every turn to lift one’s vision and remind us of the best of who and what we can be.
I was truly blown away. It was just what I needed to see. Every aspect of the entire production was just so beautifully crafted.
Everyone who calls this country home should see this play. And even if it isn’t home, you still should. It is hilarious (The Wheels on the Bus belong forever to Chubby Singh) and heartwarming, tragic and hope-filled in the most wonderfully transportive way! – Shannon Kenny
The play now moves to Johannesburg where they will perform at the Roodepoort Theatre from August 20 to 23, 2026.
Book at www.webtickets.co.za
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