DELELA. Written and directed by Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni. With Daniel Barney Newton, Katlego Lebogang, Frances Sholto-Douglas, Fadzai Simango. Baxter Golden Arrow Studio.
MEGAN CHORITZ reviews
Set in the swish grey office of a massive ‘charity’ organisation, Delela is a cringingly hilarious continual stab at corporate racism, nepotism, family, and the state of South Africa, and judging from the opening night audience, possibly the most necessary stuff to appear on stage in a very long time. We need to see this everyday bullshit for ourselves. Hear it put out there. Realise the idiocy of what people think is okay to do and say. It’s so completely horrible and unacceptable that it is hilarious. Uncomfortably hilarious. Gaspingly embarrassingly hilarious.
Sebastian ‘Bash’ Straus Smith and his sister Stephanie ‘Steph/Apple’ Smith are in a corporate conundrum that is part power struggle, part outrageous ego, part blind sexism, part insidious racism as they try and jostle for leadership positions in the charity organisation. Bash is the president and he, without any hint of irony, suggests that having his twin sister as deputy looks like nepotism, and makes top management too white. I know. Steph has a solution, offering the job of deputy to her old varsity connection Letsatsi ‘Lee’ Letseka.
The triangle of main characters is being interviewed for a TV show, and we see what took place in a series of flashbacks that shift with each retelling, depending on the character’s point of view. It’s very clever, and very effective. And very exposing. The twins Bash and Steph are not clever or magnetic enough to be a Succession style family, but their self-interest, lack of awareness, white privilege, and total access to everything, make them seriously unpleasant. Added into the mix is Letsatsi, trapped between calling these two out, and being utterly ineffectual because they refuse to listen.
Original, hilarious, cheeky
Tiisetso has written an original, hilarious, cheeky, and provocative script, and she has directed her vision with great clarity. Everything about this production is excellent. The performances, the staging, the tech, the set are all great, (although I hope Daniel gets a pair of less irritating trousers) and the subject matter totally, absolutely needs to be out there for everyone to see. My only tiny niggle was that it was a bit long. A little edit of the more repetitive stuff, even though I love the repetition device, would make the play pack more of a punch.
And those fake potplants! And the photograph of the starving African child. And the summit in Denmark. And the art centre in a township. And daddy and granddaddy who sit on the board. And Scarlet the virtual assistant. I am cringing all over again just thinking about it.
I really hope an unsuspecting audience gets to see Delela. People are going to love it, or freak the f out and I can’t wait.
What: Delela Baxter
Where and when: Baxter Golden Arrow Studio from 6 to 16 September 2023
Tickets: Webtickets
WS
