Not in her wildest dreams would she have considered a theatrical run, says actress and comedian Marion Holm ( pictured), starring in her own show Marion Holm vir Beginners at Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Studio.
When she was approached by producer Kosie Smit, she decided to try it out. “I’m not someone who can produce myself,” she says. “I can write and perform, but that’s it.”
And she’s been excited by the audiences in the tiny and intimate Studio Theatre. “I’ve never done a run like this in a formal theatre in either Joburg or Cape Town,” she says.
Those familiar with Holm will find this tough to fathom, but that’s why she is thrilled. “I’m discovering and targeting a new audience,” says this funny girl who simply tells stories about her life with herself and her family as the main players.
“I was always the one to relieve family tensions with my mimicry,” she says.
This show, as the title suggests, is an introduction to Marion.
“I’m dealing with a new audience so I’ve taken stories from my shows of the past six years,” she says. And in this way she introduces her cast of characters; her dad, her mom and her siblings.
And if you understand the taal, you want to meet them. Marion is a storyteller par excellence. While many know her just as a comedian, she is a trained actress and loves doing dramatic parts. Her work in the KYKnet TV series Vlug na Egipte followed by Terug na Egipte also introduced her to a new audience. “I was last seen in a series 30 years ago,” she explains.
Because so few are aware of her drama background, she isn’t often considered, but this should all change with her performance as Dot: “She’s one of those curt types, but has a soft side hidden from the world.”
It’s obvious this was a dream role. “When you’re on your own, you can only react to an audience. As part of an ensemble, you’re reacting to another actor. It’s the essence of acting.”
But back to her show. Holm knows her position as a woman story-teller is a unique one. Her society is patriarchal and the story-tellers in the past have always been men like PG du Plessis, and Jan Spies. What gives her such a strong voice, is that she’s truly funny. She hits you with humour and then turns to the fragility of life as she talks about her mom’s death, for example. She holds her audience close to her heart.
“They’ve all been there or know it will be coming,” she says of the empathy that follows her career from a very loyal audience.
“I’m a late bloomer,” she says of this season first in Joburg and then moving to Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town. She also knows that the appeal of her TV character was huge. Hopefully that will add to her audience numbers because when you’re working solo, new audiences are precious.
She loves sharing the stories of her life, the people she loves and making those who come to watch and listen – cry – mostly with laughter.
l Marion vir Beginners ends August 9 at Pieter Toerien’s Studio in Montecasino.