Stage: The Bamboozled Break-In
– Seabrooke’s Theatre, Durban High School, Berea
(Final performances at noon and 6.30pm tomorrow, Saturday, October 31)
REVIEW BY BILLY SUTER
AT A time when the arts continue to weather the probability of storms of apathy, it’s a brave but highly admirable woman who passionately ploughs on, founding a new arts company and producing, directing and marketing a new play for a run in Durban.
AfriArtsConnect was founded by Durban performing arts educator Ilana van den Berg to serve as a membership-based network that bridges the gap between local artists, academic institutions and corporate entities, to foster collaborations and drive the growth of the regional theatre community.
So, hats off, hearty back-slaps and best wishes for the greatest of success for her and her arts initiative which, launched in 2024, deserves every encouragement and strong support.
The Bamboozled Break-In marks the first production by the company – a lively two-hander comedy teaming Cara Roberts (The King of Broken Things; Sylvia, Charlotte’s Web) and Marion Loudon (Into the Woods, Elf the Musical and countless shows with tribute band The Reals and vocal trio, the Gee Jays).
The show runs for 80 minutes without an interval and marks another bright feather in Ilana’s cap because she also took on the task of translating the play into English from Jacolien Lüneburg’s Afrikaans play, Dubbeldief.
What she delivers, with hyper but fun performances from both Roberts and Loudon, is an entertaining yarn that moves at a zippy pace, makes good use of spy TV and movie themes, and offers surprises, much chaos and outpourings of boisterous comedy, much of it physical.
The tale centres on two burglars – one a rookie, salt-of-the-earth lass named Zanie (Roberts), the other a posh-voiced, seasoned pro, Vivian (Loudon) – who cross paths when they unknowingly try to rob the same Umhlanga premises at the same time. Mayhem and mirth follow…as well as a few twists and turns that involve constant reports from an unseen newsreader (voiced by Bryan Hiles) and recorded messages of phone calls left for the absent home-owner with cloud-based voice assistant, Alexa.
The Bamboozled Break-In has a very short run in Durban. Final performances at the cosy Seabrooke’s Theatre at DHS are at noon and 6.30pm tomorrow, Saturday, October 31.
Do pop along, and take some pals, too. Tickets cost only R140 each and booking is at Webtickets. Or simply rock up and get your tickets at the theatre.
*** Note that the production reflects AfriArtsConnect’s wider purpose of creating opportunities for artists and creatives to create, work, earn and grow. Bringing together performers, technical crew, a digital designer, arts administrators, a theatre venue and local businesses, the production demonstrates how a single live performance can create practical work opportunities across the creative ecosystem.
