Have you ever believed in someone so much that you tattooed their name across your forearm? And it doesn’t matter that the object of your affection is not even a real person? If you answered no to both of these questions, you are not Marc Lottering.
Cape Town and, arguably, South Africa’s king of comedy, has so much respect for the imaginary character that brought him stardom, he tattooed her name across his forearm.
“I was going to go with Make Every Moment Count, in Xhosa,” joked Lottering when Weekend Argus caught up with him at the Woodstock Lounge on Roodebloem Road earlier this week.
Lottering had a blank space on his arm and for the past two years he had been thinking of another meaningful tattoo to add to the other ones he sports. “I thought, what means a lot to me? I also know that you must never put your partner’s name or the names of your children because as history has taught us, people fall out. So it seems fitting that I dedicate that vacant spot on my arm to the woman who has been part of my life for 20 years.”
The tattoo forms part of the tribute and return of Aunty Merle, The Musical, which opened at the Baxter theatre last night. The show is back by popular demand for a record-breaking third run. Lottering admits that some of his one-man shows have made triumphant returns but that a third time has been unprecedented in his career.
“When I decided to write a musical, I went into a room with a box of Sauvignon Blanc and I came out of that room with Aunty Merle,” he quips.
Lottering admits it was daunting to write for other people, but the production and the cast brought him much joy. Very different from his one-man shows, Aunty Merle The Musical, has a cast of 14 characters and eight musicians. “This was such a gamble. My fans and followers are very clear as to what they like about me. They’ve told me numerous time what they like. It took some warming up but in the end they loved it.”
The comedian said he’d never tire of doing one-man shows, but he has now fulfilled his dream of writing for and starring across other actors.
“I wanted to do something very different and challenging. I never thought it would be this big.”
And while he is no stranger to sharing the stage with other accomplished comedians like Nik Rabinowitz and Riaad Moosa in Three Wise Men, Lottering admits that there was something very special about sharing the nerves and tension of opening with a cast who shared the same elation and fears.
“The seed for Aunty Merle was planted after Three Wise Men.”
Another reason he decided to write Aunty Merle, The Musical was to satisfy people’s curiosity as to what Aunty Merle’s husband Dennis looks like and, of course, her famous domestic, Lydia.
“When the show started the first time, there was something supernatural at play. You could sense the joy in the audience,” said Lottering.
He shared that he always wanted to work with singer Tarryn Lamb, who was cast as Aunty Merle’s daughter and now he can tick that off his bucket list.
But behind all the laughs, Lottering also wanted the people of Cape Town to be portrayed in the right light. “Many people get it wrong. We don’t all have missing teeth.”
But soon the mood changed to comedy again with Lottering admitting he still gets butterflies in his stomach, five minutes before curtains rise.
“I stand there and I think, ‘Marc, why didn’t you just take that job at Dis-Chem?’”
Suddenly, he remembers the reaction of the tattoo artists - “tattoo artists are very masculine, so I walk in with my ’fro and I say I want Aunty Merle tattooed on my arm, not a dragon or a tiger. The look on the guy’s face was priceless. Halfway through, I asked the guy how far he was and he answered: I am only at the y of Aunty. Then there was no going back.”
And the reaction? “You are a very weird man,” said Lottering, roaring with laughter.
Aunty Merle, The Musical will run at the Baxter until January 5 with a further extension until January 12.