By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla
Patrick Kenny walks on stage. Toto’s ‘Africa’ plays in the background. A desk is placed centre stage with a telephone, papers, and a few stationary essentials strewn atop. Posters are positioned on either side, and at the back stands a coat hanger with various clothing items. Seems like this could be a pretty standard show, right?
Well, Yesterday’s Hero, directed by Aaron Mcllroy (a.k.a Spud’s dad), sees Kenny play a haphazard soap opera doctor who accidentally kills a local crime boss. He also takes on the task of narrator and multiple character personas. This Mcllroy and Kenny collaboration has seen a series of hit one-man plays at the National Arts Festival.
Kenny flawlessly shifts between characters, gaining a few chuckles here and there from the audience with his witty words. However as the play continues, it ventures further and further from the central plot.
Originally, Yesterday’s Hero is a piece meant to be about Kenny and his accidental crime. Instead, we are presented with a one-man show of Kenny switching between various characters in the retelling of the doctor’s life. The point may be to build up the plot to the accidental murder, however, it strays so far from the storyline that it seems the ordeal is an added comedic skit and not the production’s primary focus.
Overall, Yesterday’s Hero is entertaining but loses its way. One may leave the theatre with a feeling of being misled, but at least you may have had a chuckle or two along the way.
