Third-year Rhodes Drama students Danielle Bowler and Michelle Beukes are debuting on the Fringe at the National Arts Festival this year with their co-written production “Eish!”-a quirky physical comedy show that pokes fun at stereotypes from a cross section of South African society.
Third-year Rhodes Drama students Danielle Bowler and Michelle Beukes are debuting on the Fringe at the National Arts Festival this year with their co-written production “Eish!”-a quirky physical comedy show that pokes fun at stereotypes from a cross section of South African society.
According to Bowler, the idea for the show developed almost by accident, and the pair discovered a rare creative synergy while acting together. “All of a sudden, we’d come up with something in political farces and satires that looked at contemporary situations and made fun of them, and it worked!”
Eish! does not claim to present answers for the questions they pose, or to try too hard to be deep and meaningful. It is an exploration of a variety of personalities that are blown up to larger than life proportions. Beukes adds, " We tried to be deep, but when we stopped, we found out that we were genuinely funny." The characters in the show are a mixed bunch, from Sandton kugels and the ‘ja, boet’ kinda guy to the Bafana bafana men. This show offers something that every South African can relate to. “It’s important to laugh at yourself sometimes” Beukes grins.
It is particularly important when playing characters of other races to come across as genuine and be true to their culture, physicality and mannerisms. The pair feel that they have subverted from the traditional notion of physical theatre into something that has its own, new voice, drawing inspiration from a wide range of other artists.They have been more than pleased with the support they have received, especially the fact that the Rhodes Drama Department have thrown their weight behind the production. Being from Rhodes is also in their favour, as it adds the homeground advantage factor to their piece.
Advertising of the show will include posters and the like, but up till now Eish! has been promoted through the popular social networking site, Facebook, and by word of mouth. Bowler is surprised at how quickly news of the show has spread. “When people say “eish!” when I walk past, I’m still surprised, but it’s a good sign.”
Eish! runs from 3 to 11 July at the Scouts Hall in African Street.
