A sprinkling of honesty and a touch of Sondheim

The show is performed by David Plank, and according to him, it follows a young man who does not fit in with the expectations of his South African community. While others watch rugby, the young man secretly listens to Broadway musicals. He also said that the young man is still discovering himself in terms of “what works for him and what he likes” and that “instead of rugby matches, he listens to Sondheim.” 

Throughout the show, Plank plays every character himself: his gentle mother, his strict father, and his loud auntie. Plank said that it was not hard for him to play different characters because “The main character is very close to me. It’s basically my story, very broadly.”

Plank said that the performance was built around the music of Stephen Sondheim, using songs like “Send in the Clowns”, “Being Alive”, and “Giants in the Sky” to show the character’s emotions and struggles. “Sondheim really helps you feel what the character is going through,” said Plank. He added that “the lyrics, the music, they bring those feelings out.” 

According to Plank, many parts of the story are inspired by his life. “I am myself an out and proud gay man,” he said. He added that he had a religious upbringing and that there were moments where being himself as a gay person was difficult. “Even the set has personal meaning to me. Most of the set pieces are my own,” he said, “I collect clocks, and time is a big theme in the show.”

Plank highlights that making his performance debut at the National Arts Festival is a dream come true, and he is “incredibly grateful.” He added that, “There is nothing more rewarding than hearing the clapping, it means people understand and feel something.” In preparing for the National Arts Festival, in terms of how they chose the specific songs such as “Send in the Clowns”, “Being Alive”, and “Giants in the Sky”, Luke Holder, the writer and director of Home in Time for Lunch, said that “realising this Festival is going to be like 55 to 60 minutes, we started to cut away the things that were very similar.” 

By day Plank works as an anaesthetist in a state hospital in Pietermaritzburg, but in his free time, he performs in an orchestra, bakes, and collects Star Wars Lego. “My day job pays for my hobbies,” said Plank, “And I try not to take work home with me. It’s all about balance.”