Expertly stitched together

TAILOR SHIFT: THE CLOTHES MAKETH THE MAN

A new show from the king of theatre.

Nataniël is a master of the gab. He spins stories at such a breakneck pace – which gets lapped up by his audience with no questions asked. Then, just as you’re in the middle of another tall tale, it all gets very, very serious.

That’s the magic of Nataniël’s residency shows at Emperors Palace: they make daunting observations about society and the seriousness of our world, without ever crossing the line into activism theatre. In the same way, these wickedly funny productions never evaporate into farce. Nataniël’s latest production,

Mannequin, is exactly what you expect: a combination of stories and songs weaved together so delicately that it’s a nearly flawless production.

Mannequin is a journey to a small town where a number of tailors set up shop to escape a world they grew weary off. The ragtag gang, led by Nataniël, escapes to a town just outside civilisation. To sustain their new life, where they dance each night in fabulous costumes in the basement of their new home, the group of tailors supply the surrounding towns with workers outfits. The group includes twins, who get orders from farmers’ wives when their husband’s aren’t around, a lesbian who breaks all the rules, and

a man, so beautiful that everyone just calls him Thank You.

His ways of storytelling aren’t mere vignettes. In Mannequin he again creates a fully realised world full of inhabitants that are deft, funny and animated. The story evolves slowly, but each new turn is a delightful journey into the psyche of people who want to change their circumstances. It’s uproariously funny, incredibly complex and quite emotive. In terms of pure spectacle,

Mannequin is scaled down from Nataniël’s more opulent productions such as last year’s After

Animals. The stage is quite bare – but that doesn’t mean the show skimps on costumes. Nataniël’s ongoing collaboration with costume designer Floris Louw shows

that these two share a remarkable synergy to convey a feeling. You can’t help but stare at each piece. At one point my eyes were frantically zigzagging over the stage, trying to figure out each costume’s construction. From what fabric used, how it’s held together and how it was fitted to Nataniël, these pieces are an exciting addi-

tion to the show about tailoring.

But the show is not without a touch of controversy. Nataniël opted to include three cover songs in the production, something he rarely does. The covers include his deconstructed rendition of Whitney Houston’s I

Wanna Dance with Somebody and a booming tribute to Prince with

Purple Rain. Both songs seems to be the real crowd pleasers in the show, but for someone like Nataniël, who consistently presents the world with highly conceptual shows, it feels lazy to include the work of others in this fashion. But hey, if that’s what his devoted audience wants, good on him for delivering.

There’s no other contemporary playwright, performer or singer who can do what Nataniël does, and that in itself is enough reason to loosen those purse strings for tickets and escape into another world dreamed up by the master of South African theatre.

The show is on until September 25, from Wednesday to Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. The show runs for 90 minutes with no intermission.

Mannequin is a journey to a small town where a number of tailors set up shop to escape a world they grew weary off