MONKEY NUTS. Written by Geraldine Naidoo. With Matthew Ribnick. At the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio until October 1 at 8pm. ASTRID STARK reviews
IMAGINE having only two friends on Facebook. One of them being a monkey called Claude.
Imagine arriving at work an hour and 55 minutes early because you want to save fuel by not getting stuck in rush-hour traffic. Matthew Ribnick’s character, Edgar, is this kind of man.
His entire existence revolves around getting freebies and obsessively entering every imaginable competition on the radio and in the print media. Edgar, by day a bank teller, knows the best price for groceries at any given time, at any given store.
During the elections, Edgar took full advantage of Wimpy’s offer of a free coffee upon showing-off his ink stained finger.
He visited 20 different cafés in one day, “and I did not sleep for two days”, Edgar laments.
Nurturing his bizarre hobbies means that Edgar has no time for friends.
Naturally, he declares that he has no need of them, hence the monkey in a pet shop being his only friend, in real life and on Facebook.
There is something so sad and tragic about this character as he fluctuates wildly between euphoria and melancholy.
The lyrics to a Beatles song come to mind: “Eleanor Rigby, died in the church/And was buried along with her name/Nobody came/ Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands/as he walks from the grave/No one was saved.”
However, when Edgar wins a spectacularly luxurious trip to Italy, his life changes as he goes on a comical journey trying to make three friends to go with him. This is where his character becomes a bit more Forrest Gump and less Eleanor Rigby.
Ribnick who is also known for his award-winning performances in Hoot and The Chilli Boy, again tackles a string of characters in this comedy written by Geraldine Naidoo.
Among some of his characters are the funny and slightly sleazy Bollywood karaoke owner, the ruffian-turned-yoga instructor, and the gay personal banker.
There is also the wannabe actor with Tourette’s syndrome, which has him spitting out obscene words in mid-sentence.
Ribnick effortlessly slips in and out of character, dipping with glee into the diverse accents and cultures that make South Africa so interesting.
His props are mostly different hats that he flops on his head to portray the various characters. He even has a go at belting out a dash of opera and he does a winning Bollywood number, complete with the typically outrageous dance moves.
At first, Monkey Nuts’ storyline seems a bit chaotic as we are introduced to fairly random characters, but Naidoo’s clever writing soon reveals the common thread that binds all the characters together.
Critics have called his show “an engaging, laugh-a-minute comedy”, and “the funniest comedy of the year”, but I would rather call it a poignant and gently humorous story of an underdog who finally gets his day through an unexpected opportunity, which forces him to truly connect with people.
I walked out of the theatre not only impressed by his talent and skill, but also pondering the opportunities that the world holds for us if we just get one break and if we are not afraid of connecting with complete strangers.
It is beautifully written and performed with vigour and obvious passion by Ribnick who, not much unlike his character, seems obsessed with obtaining perfection in multiple disciplines.
Ribnick has set himself some serious goals: “The deadline is my 40th birthday; the 25th of August, 2014,” Ribnick writes.
“By that date I must: be ranked among the top 10 fencers in the world; be celebrating the success of my first novel; have washboard abs; be able to play the piano with the skill and brilliance of a concert pianist; do perfect splits; have an intricate understanding of musical composition; have memorised William Shakespeare’s Othello from beginning to end; be rated among the top 50 opera tenors in the world and be able to touch the top of my head to the soles of my feet in a yoga back bend known as ‘the camel’.”
Ribnick was also in the navy for about three years and he uses this experience, as well as his love for music and his passion for yoga in his various sketches.
l Shows run weekly from Tuesday to Saturday. Tickets are R100 for shows from Tuesday to Thursday, and R130 on Fridays and Saturdays. Not suitable for under 16s. To book, call Computicket at 0861 915 8000.