Artist plays hide and seek to show, be himself
MANNEQUIN
WITH his stories and his songs, Nataniël ( always takes you to a magical world. It’s wondrous and funny, hysterical and sad, with emotions that run riot as you follow his yellow brick road to a place that he hopes to call home. There’s no easy walk
pictured)
When you’re someone like me When you’re really, really beautiful And no one is allowed to see
His story begins with a child who turns fearful at the age of 5 when his parents take him for a surprise swim. There’s a problem. He hates water. It’s something to drink. If his parents could do something this awful, what is the rest of the world out there capable of doing? And the battle begins for this fish out of water.
It’s an extraordinary 90 minutes in which he paints exquisite pictures that form a backdrop for his extraordinary tale. He weaves and wanders in and out of this hidden world where a few souls find solace as they create their own perfect place.
Sitting on a chair, covering himself with only the tip of a blanket too large for any human being, he sings his soft version of I Wanna Dance With Somebody in a setting glittering with lights, a band that quietly backs his gentle voice and for many in the auditorium, he captures their perfect world.
But in the next moment you’re hauled back into a story where he wants to rid the world of bow ties or his preferred name, propellers of conformity. He describes a PERFORMER: Nataniël VOCALS: Nicolaas Swart, Dihan Slabbert BAND: Charl du Plessis (keyboards), Juan Oosthuizen (guitars), Werner Spies (bass), Hugo Radyn (drums) VENUE: Theatre of Marcellus, Emperors Palace UNTIL: September 25 RATING: ★★★★✩ wedding drama of dresses so gigantic the women wearing them completely disappear and the bride is allowed to slip away into a life she has only dreamt of.
It is the dream quality sliding into stormy waters, the words that entangle your mind in pictures, some beautiful and others grizzly or grotesque, and the way he waves his wand for life-size figures to appear, changing into colourful clowns with lights enhancing the scene in seconds, that energise the production.
Like the performer, his audience has to keep on their toes as the stage turns dark and two video screens capture a moment of melancholy that mesmerises and underlines the meaning of what he hopes to share.
His shows are unique, they’re his own creation and they’re staged to perfection with costumes by Floris Louw that tell stories all their own. They’re simply spectacular in high-fashion storybook style.
The music, the original songs with lyrics that alone turn his programmes to gold and personal versions of iconic songs like his much-loved Purple Rain and Cry to Me backed by four spectacular musicians bathed in light which introduces another visual vignette.
It’s all in the detail from the moment the ushers dressed like working tailors escort you to your seat, the entertaining yet determined warning to anyone who dares light up their cellphone. Then the curtains rise and this madcap adventure takes on a life all its own, and your emotions and imagination take flight.
Performances: Wednesday to Saturday at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm.