Black White Man Woman - The show about everything in-between

SCRIPT, LYRICS, MUSIC, CONCEPT AND STAGING: Nataniël

SINGERS: Lindiwe Bungane, Nicolaas Swart

MUSICIANS and vocals: Charl du Plessis (keyboards) Juan Oosthuizen (guitar), Hugo Radyn (drums), Werner Spies (bass), Tonia Selley (percussion)

COSTUMES: Floris Louw

VENUE: Emperors Palace

UNTIL: March 31

RATING: ****

If you are not what, or who, you are thought to be, you are playing with fire. If you are not right for the place you’re in, you’d better find a place that’s right for you. In the event everything becomes too much for you, lie down, breathe deeply and find that safe place.

As this superb storyteller illustrates ways of bucking the system, it is exactly that safe place Nataniël evokes on stage as he tells wondrous stories of families with names such as Hagga, Wagga and Dagga, or Heleentjie, Hennetjie and Hannessie, all who, in spite of their circumstances, or simply defying what is accepted as normal, try to live a life unscathed. It is as if Nataniël has marched from his last show (Combat, recently screened in cinemas and now on DVD) into the next in a gentler mood as he shares his insight into the human race.

Let’s dedicate a song to those from North Korea, China, Italy, Uganda, all countries that suppress a people already in dire circumstances, he says. Who says a dress isn’t more acceptable than a casual shirt, shorts and comfortable shoes, he wants to know as he questions gender abuse. Then promptly shows off his legs in an eye-catching minidress.

While he addresses serious issues and fights for the rights of individuals who dare to be different, it is couched in his descriptive storytelling language, colourful and insightful, all the while creating fantastical pictures that are jubilantly joyous.

That’s his gift as an entertainer. From his hysterical storytelling to his gorgeously dramatic costumes, the imaginative storybook scenarios he paints with lights and lighting, the eclectic ensemble of fantastic musicians, the powerful singers and his world-infused songs, Lindiwe’s rendition of Golden Eye, the cheeky choreography, it’s an explosive culmination of extravagant, show-stopping moments that allow you to escape into a world of memories and magic.

While Nataniël’s stories will always wend their way into your soul, here it’s the music that forms the heart of the production and allows the master of pretty pictures to create images with sound, stories and song. It is as if he is paging through a book which is explained in the most delicate detail as he targets all the senses and rarely misses.

How can one not succumb?

With our hasty lives that seem to run out of control so often, this is a respite filled with mood-driven music and spectacular moviemaking, live and in pictures, and more than that, he has us chortling all the way as he reels us in.

Who could wish for anything more?