In “Mafeking Road”, Andrew Laubscher and Mathew Lewis, under the direction of Tara Notcutt, brought Bosman to life in a way that had never been seen before. Using nothing but their bodies, they took the audience on a comic-book style whirlwind trip through the Groot Marico – and found, on its way, a new and younger audience for the stories. The show won a Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award, and went on to perform for three years all the way from Cape Town to Grahamstown to Joburg, and finally, to the Groot Marico itself. They were praised by many, and criticized by some.
Many were delighted by the style and found a renewed joy for the stories they had loved while growing up. The show was hailed as “physical theatre at its best…. a world of imagination, perfect timing and offbeat humour ….a brilliant piece of entertainment” (The Cape Times) and “one of the funniest things I’ve seen on stage in a long time” (The Witness).
Some people, however, were not fans. The show was also described as “a desecration of Bosman” (some lady in the queue to buy tickets at NAF 2011) and “Bosman would be rolling in his grave” (some lady in the front row of a show who took Hate Notes on kitty notepaper and handed them to Tara afterwards). All of this only fueled the fire to continue touring the show and bringing a new appreciation of Bosman and his beautiful stories to a wider, younger audience.
This year, Andrew and Tara bring you “After Dark in the Groot Marico” and have invited Fleur du Cap winner for Most Promising Student Sive Gubangxa along for the ride. Using physical theatre, and little else, Andrew and Sive will weave a world of wonder and magic, as they take you on a journey into the Marico’s dark side…

Audience Responses

My comments are very subjective. I have a long history with Oom Schalk. Until now, I have experienced him only as a plain, old-fashioned story-teller, leaving it to my own (vivid) imagination to picture the stories he tells. My attention last night was occupied full-time on trying (mostly successfully I hope) to interpret the meaning of the mime, facial expressions, supposed gender of the characters depicted, rapid delivery of dialogue, in contrast to the rural, relaxed atmosphere created by the stories when related. My imagination was therefore not fired. I was disappointed and would avoid this mutation of Groot Marico, but younger people seeing/hearing the stories for the first time probably relate better to them in this form than in the old. Excellent mime, superb acting (especially by Andrew, easily one of our best actors) and an excellent director. While my companion and I, with our strong Afrikaner/Dutch connections and familiarity with the traditional stories, were impressed by the wizardry, we ended up disappointed, our expectations dashed and imagination lying fallow. But bravo to everybody concerned for their imagination, which our own almost redundant. Objectively, I think they deserve at least 3.5 - 4 stars. Sorry about the length of this review. I've tried to be fair.

lovely - as always ! Many thanks once again :)

Breathtaking and beautiful.

Loved it. Both actors were superb. Fresh, physical, lively theatre yet retaining the mystery of the Groot Marico stories. Wonderful show.

After dark in the Groot Marico is pipe-smoking hot storytelling in the best Oom Schalk Lourens tradition!

So great to see Andrew back on stage at Alexander Bar. Another great rendition of HCB with great director and actors. I want to see it again!

4/5.

Dark, eerie, scary. Superb acting. A most enjoyable theatre experience.

Great stories, well delivered in a fantastic venue.

An enjoyable show with poignant moments. Brilliant cast!