I DON’T WORK ON SUNDAYS!
CAST: Marc Lottering
VENUE: Baxter Concert Hall
UNTIL: January 5
RATING: ****
STEPPING into the Baxter Concert Hall for this stand-up comedy show is like stepping back in time because you are greeted by the strains of 1990s club music. It’s like being back at the Gal, back in the day, so it is funny to be brought back to the present by Marc Lottering coming out swinging in a shiny green suit to the strains of Psy’s Gangnam Style.
He takes the howls of laughter that greet his grand entrance and moulds them, throwing the love back at the crowd, and continues in this vein, non-stop, for two hours.
As is his wont when doing stand-up Lottering meanders from topic to topic, doing a quick change when the audience’s attention starts to wane, or milking it for all it’s worth when the going is good.
While he doesn’t do sarcastic or political, he does do newsy and topical, so expect the day’s headlines to creep into his patter.
Mostly Lottering’s comedy is observational and he notices details other people simply gloss over, but when he points it out it suddenly becomes glaringly obvious that people are just too funny for words and are hung up on the strangest of things.
But, it is his spot-on descriptions and characterisation that really get the laughs. The accents and physical comedy are where he really excels. While he doesn’t bring out the obvious Aunty Merle or Shmiley characters, he easily slips under the skin of the archetypes we meet every day, whether it is a neighbour or a random stranger.
His version of how Galatia Geduld would have written 50 Shades of Grey if it hadn’t been done first by a Wasp is priceless, as is the creepy way he manages to imitate Joanne Strauss.
He also reminds us of how far he has come in the industry – how his comedy subjects and style have changed over the past 15 years – and yet, he always manages to find the funny in something without breaking down someone. His positive attitude creeps in no matter how serious he tries to be and it is a welcome ray of sunshine on what can be a doom-and- gloom circuit.
Lottering never goes so far off a topic that he loses you – despite interrupting himself all the time – and you leave the hall with a spring in your step.
• This show is not suitable for children under the age of 16.