IT’S not that often that men get their chance on the soapbox when it comes to addressing matters of pregnancy and raising kids.
Well, multi-award-winning actor and soapie star, Paul du Toit (Malan in Binnelanders) has decided now is the time.
Yes he can! And he has in his one man play, Are you kidding? which stages at the Witness Hilton Arts Festival this weekend, fresh off its premier at the National Arts Festival (NAF) in Grahamstown earlier this year.
The production attempts to take the audience on a journey through pregnancy and parenting as seen from a dad’s perspective, and told through comedy.
Directed by Fleur du Cap Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Chris Weare, the show played to sold-out houses at the NAF.
In an interview with Tonight, Du Toit explains what led him to pen his experience.
“Going through the whole pregnancy and birthing process, I was very hands-on in both our children’s births. In fact I practically delivered Joshua (7) in my bakkie… We were 300km away from the hospital. My wife went into labour early, on Christmas morning. So we had 300km of unexpected travelling to do that morning and, err, she’s pretty quick at giving birth,” he joked. “… we made it to the hospital and a half-an-hour after we got there that baby was out. It was all old school, no pain killers, no drugs, no nothing, it was quite an exciting event!
“They say the difference between a mom and dad’s role in pregnancy is like a chicken’s and a pig’s contribution to a plate of bacon and eggs – a chicken’s involved, the pig’s committed… Dad’s are always kind of on the outside, so this is one for the dads out there. This is our perspective. This is us wanting to be involved as well. Books are never written for us, it’s always about the moms… she’s the one giving birth! But this is a kind of humorous take on what our side of the story is.”
In the show he goes through the trials and tribulations that all parents experience and recognise, but through the lens of humour.
“Like trying to get your kids up in the morning and get them ready for school, get their lunch boxes packed, get breakfast down their throats…
“At the end of the day what this play is about, is that this pregnancy thing is very difficult to go through, and raising kids can be incredibly trying and difficult, but it is also one of the most beautiful things you can be lucky enough to go through.”
Du Toit was pleased with how the play was received at the NAF, especially among the guys, who “saw themselves in that entire process… in like the little moments when the one kid comes to me and says ‘dad, why is mom getting so fat?’… and how you have to diplomatically answer because the moment you say, ‘well, she has a baby in her tummy’, the next question is going to be ‘how did the baby get there?’…
“And I think both parents identify with that moment, and things like the absurdity of sitting in prenatal classes with that cheerful woman sitting on a pilates ball, explaining how you don’t need to worry because it’s possible to have a completely natural, pain free, childbirth, with just breathing techniques… and we all believed that, up until the actual moment… That’s the attraction of this play.”
Du Toit added that Are you kidding? is for people who’ve gone through having kids, who want to have kids and those who feel they can just go around gloating about having the foresight to remain child free.
“They will all identify with what is a normal situation, but really is also an incredibly difficult situation, of just being a parent.”
• The Witness Hilton Arts Festival runs from September 18 to 21. For booking information and the full programme visit www.hiltonfestival.co.za