Monkey Nuts: A Wonderful Show!

Monkey Nuts is the story of Edgar Chambers recluse bank tellers in Boksburg with an obsession for entering competitions, comparing prices and specials at grocery stores whose only friend is Claude the monkey who originally lived in a pet store. His life is significantly transformed when he wins a massive radio competition to go an international holiday with three of his friends. The entertainment continues non-stop when he goes about making these friends. This remarkable one man show with one of my favourite actor’s Matthew Ribnick. Four shows left at Joburg Theatre which run from Thursday to Sunday. You don’t want to miss out.

Jose Domingos Testing International Waters

After dinner with Carl Beukes we ran into actor and writer Jose Domingo. He told me about Jameson Short Film competition, an initiative between Kevin Spacey’s Trigger Film Production and Jameson Irish whiskey to discover talent in America, Russia and South Africa.

With a producer, Jose has written a short film for the purposes of entering which closes 31 December. The script should include a key role that is appropriate for Kevin Spacey to perform and the film must be based on the theme of legendary, humorous or very tall tale.

All Things Carl

Carl Beukes

Before we ordered our meal at Ant Pizza, Melville I asked him to tell me about his background.  He is sizzling hot (!) and has an easily recognisable face based on acting on Isidingo; other than the number commercials he was featured in and the play Death of a Colonialist, which thoroughly enjoyed, I was curious to learning more him about personally as well as his body of work. So we started with the early years.

Born in Roodepoort Carl discovered acting when he was nine years old auditioning for the Christmas play The Jungle Book and played Baloo the bear. He got the part and resulting laughter from the audience came with the realization that nothing could be better than making people laugh. He participated in every school play thereafter.

In 1990 he went to the National School of Arts to finish his schooling. When he matriculated in 1995 he had no money for tertiary and didn’t want to take a loan to further his studies.

After a feature film that was not necessarily the best experience in his acting career, he stopped doing features for a while and got into theatre and corporate theatre which was the beginning of his career struggle. He left South Africa to go London for a 2 year stint which for the most part was unpleasant as there was a period where he slept in a park and would go without eating for weeks.

The last seven months in London became more bearable when he met an English woman. They moved from London to Dorset into a little cottage on a farm where he worked as a cook and met people from all over the world. One day walking the idyllic forest on the farm he decided it was time to come back to South Africa.

To get back into the industry he worked for free on several productions. Luckily he found the best agent and soon landed his first big break on Isidingo in 2004 as Paul McPherson. After 4 years on Isidingo, where in between he did Macbeth at the Civic Theatre (now Joburg Theatre), he decided it was time to move on; ‘If you stay in 1 place too long you get quickly get typecast. For example Christopher Beasley was in Night Drive but all people saw was Len from Isidingo in a different setting’.

Up to this point he did about 50 commercials which inevitably led to him being overexposed and taking a break from television. His mother ran a crèche from home and used this opportunity to get into children’s theatre.

For eleven months after his departure from Isidingo he couldn’t get any work. He would go to auditions and fumbled as the desperation set in.

He auditioned for Jozi and didn’t get the role initially. The director, Craig Friemond told him he didn’t feel the character was for him because Carl was dark and although the lead character was troubled he was light. Carl didn’t give up as he felt he knew the character as he overcome his heroine drug addiction and he also understood the pressures of Joburg. Craig conceded. According to Carl, Jozi is one of the funniest production he’s ever done and truly loved working with everyone. He’s quick to add that it is ‘fucking stressful’ making movies, but it is also fun.  Everyone on Jozi was very proud of the movie in that they made it happen.

After Jozi he landed a role on Binnelanders for a year and a half that allowed him the opportunity to get back into the Afrikaans community. Next he starred in a feature called ‘Stealing Time’ which for various has not been released.

Again he set idle until Death of a Colonialist earlier this year at Market Theatre, alongside master actor Jamie Barlett, whom he loves and respects.

His diary is a lot busier these days and he has a big role in an international movie starting production on 10 December in Cape Town. The Girl is an Alfred Hitchcock movie with international starlet Sienna Miller and will be filming for two months. He says he is thrilled because it is a beautiful script and the character is not too far from him. Our hunk is going international!

On top of all this he is writing a horror screenplay. South Africa needs to make more horror films because the genre invokes something that the youth are thrilled by. Thrills are what they lack because they live indoors, behind computers screens and mobile phones. Producing horror is also inexpensive as they require a simple story and a small cast. He feels this is the way forward for this country.

Overall he says he is excited about the SA film industry. A lot of people got to work, go home to watch TV and judge the world based on what is on the screen which can often be frightening. Carl has come to realize that we are all in the same boat, we feel and want the same thing, there is a lot of passion that sometimes bleeds into bullshit, however, that is what makes this an awesome place to be. The industry is growing even without the money.

Tidbits that excite and make Carl proud:

·         His older sister is world renowned ballet dancer Karen Beukes.

·         He has an 11 year old sister that his parents adopted after a 5 year struggle with the adoption agency.

·         Aside from the crèche at home, his mother also runs the SPCA

Cityscape

Love South Africa

Unfinished Business (Image Updated)

My peeps and I were invited to the opening night of Monkey Nuts at Joburg Theatre yesterday.  Matthew Ribnick came through with front row seats I found out when I opened the envelope! The creator of the show Geraldine Naidoo then came into my line of vision graciously allowing me to snap a few pictures of her before the show started. I would catch up with her later.

Geraldine Nadioo, Playwright and Director

Everything was going swell except when my colleagues arrived 10 minutes into the play. That is not correct etiquette when attending theatre. It’s a live performance in front of a live audience and this can be distracting to both actor and spectator.

As the play got under way I felt a keen appreciation for the discipline and creativity required from the husband and wife team to deliver outstanding comedic timing across a vast array of characters all acted by Matthew Ribnick.  I can’t wait to see their third production, Hoot. The performance was riveting and laughter and clapping abound in the venue.

Midway through the show I was overcome by nausea that had been building up slowly which led to me running out of the theatre. This distraction could not be helped. The seafood platter I ate earlier in the evening at Ocean Basket, Sandton had come for me in a bad way and promptly ended my outing. To think I waited nine months for this dish. It completely ruined my evening.

image source: matthew ribnick

The Rhino At Hyde Park Corner

I spotted this beauty on a flat trolley at the mall last night. I’ve deduced that it is a piece from a sculptured animal’s exhibition probably taking place at the mall during the course of the week. The other animal inspired pieces are made from clay, metal and textiles. Sorry no pictures.

 

Matthew Ribnick As 'The Chilli Boy'

Matthew Ribnick!

According to the flyer The Chilli Boy is ‘the hilarious story of an old Indian woman reincarnated as a white gangster from Boksburg’ and the description is what induced to me to invite some friends out for a theatre on Thursday. We laughed within minutes of the show beginning, so much that my friend asthmatic friend could barely breathe during certain parts of the play.

Matthew plays the protagonists of the gangster and the old Indian woman but what impressed me the most is the ease with which he transitions into all the other eight plus supporting characters, all with different mannerism, voices and characteristics.

Later he tells me he is able to execute a seamless transition into other characters because the playwright and director Geraldine Naidoo, who is also his wife of seven years, writes in rhythm and as they’ve been together fifteen years it is a rhythm he understands well.

The play demonstrates a myriad of scenarios ranging from dance-offs, emotional break downs, confrontations and of course taxi rides in South Africa, all credibly acted out by Matthew.  His ability rests in his own life experiences.  He says after the army he lived in Boksburg and also rode in taxis for ten years of his life until got his driver’s licence at age 26. He strongly encourages aspiring actors to truly experience life to enable to channel their experience and emotions. 

We spoke some more about the preparation involved of getting his various characters. Matthews struggled in the beginning and would sometimes lose his voice after a performance. He ended up taking voice lessons and finds that yoga helps him tremendously. Jedi reflexes are also utilized he says solemnly. It’s a lot of work each of the plays require about three months of development and rehearsal before being staged.  The Chilli Boy is in its tenth year run.

His next performance is in Monkey Nuts where he plays even more characters. The play starts on 9 November also at Joburg Theatre. As the play starts two days after The Chilli Boy finishes you might spot him at street intersections handing out leaflets for Monkey Nuts. I'll be there at opening night, compliment of Matthew.

Celebz In The Streets: Mbali Ntuli

Actress Mbali Ntuli

I had a brief talk to one of South Africa’s leading actresses Mbali Ntuli who was having tea with a friend at Southern Sun deck yesterday. When I asked what she is up to she replied that she is going through deep intense emotional stuff that has to do with introspection. Deep. 

At the moment she is exploring positioning herself behind the scenes but is quick to state that performance and acting is her number one passion. Mbali revealed that she feels reached the ceiling with her career in terms of appearing television and drama series and is frustrated that many good South African actors end up doing soapies in order to sustain their careers.  Going forward she would like to do movies or and to continue with TV if the script is special enough.

 

The night took us to Bassline where I saw her getting down to ragga beats and man can she move her sexy little body, screaming when her favourite tracks came on. 

Mbali taking a break