Bambi’s sexcapades raise hearty laughs and make you think
50 SHADES OF BAMBI written and performed by Pieter Dirk Uys Musical director Godfrey Johnson at The Fugard Theatre until August 24. TRACEY SAUNDERS reviews
BAMBI Kellerman is the sister of that well-known South African, Evita Bezuidenhout. While both grew up in the relatively quiet town of Bethlehem that is essentially all they have in common.
Evita went on to an illustrious political career, while Kellerman escaped to Europe and earned a living in slightly less salubrious circumstances.
Uys is so utterly convincing in his transformation to the weatherworn stripper that one doesn’t doubt that you are listening to the weary and slightly tragic tale of a melancholic woman recollecting her past .
The reference to the best-seller 50 Shades of Grey is parodied in the production with Kellerman’s retelling of her sexual debut and subsequent sexual escapades. The set contains a washing line filled with an unusual mix of purchases from a toy store, a pet store and an adult entertainment store.
The similar- ity between several of the items is cause for much mirth when recounted by the jaded cabaret star.
Uys is well known for laughing in the face of fear. In the same way that Bezuidenhout made a generation face the realities of apartheid, Kellerman exposes the ravages of the HIV pandemic and the consequences of a generation’s reluctance to discuss sex openly with their children.
The cabaret is not entirely comedic and the serious and lifethreatening threat posed by drugs in the Western Cape in particular is dealt with in a cynical burlesque number which lingers after the final curtain call.
Politicians are not given a free pass, however, and the donning of a pink beret and a heartfelt and scathing rendition of Weil and Gershwin’s Jenny from the musical Lady in the Dark are examples of Uys at the top of his satirical game.
Johnson is a musical maestro and works in absolute synchronicity with Uys. In addition to playing the role of musical director he sings and plays a keyboard and a piano with dazzling talent.
50 Shades of Bambi will give you pause for thought as well as hearty laughs.
To book, call Computicket at 0861 915 8000, or see www.computicket.co.za or book at any Shoprite Checkers outlet.