NAMASTE BAE. Rob van Vuuren. Directed by Louw Venter. Kalk Bay Theatre, KKNK and beyond.
MEGAN CHORITZ reviews
Rob’s Namaste Bae character was birthed in a series of tiny, ridiculous sketches on Instagram and I was dubious about it being the inspiration for a whole, full length show, but I should have trusted that if there was one person who could pull it off it would be the unbelievably insane, 1000% committed, utterly hilarious and totally gifted Rob van Vuuren.
A guru of kombucha, a man of the many mantras of modern healing, an almost nude nappy’ed, sayer of self-help and soothing, Rob’s Namaste Bae gets stuck in from the get-go as he silently scouts the audience and gets to know us, to pick on us later.
Then, blessing us with kombucha he takes us on a (almost) five step journey to the sweet spot, the womb of mother Scobie.
This is a layered show. It is almost, but not ever stand-up comedy, with Rob choosing to be weird, physical and character driven, and getting the audience to agree to go on this outrageous, insane, yet totally credible hour of hilariousness. It is almost what it pretends to be, a cathartic self-help session, where laughter is the real medicine and connection with us is genuine. It is improvisation at its most inspired and dangerous as Rob works with the audience in general, singles others out, supports them, insults them, and knows just when to have boundaries. It is truly masterful.
Magnificent language
This is a show with magnificent language. Words that describe our world and its many madnesses and idiosyncratic trends and hocus pocuses. Words that criticise and poke fun at who we are, and what the hell we think we are doing here. Words that gently reminded last night’s audience of their whiteness and privilege, if you were listening for it.
This is a show with Rob at his physical extreme and it is beyond impressive. He is mercurial, fey, bullish, natural, whimsical and completely manic. Suddenly. All at once.
The same goes for his voice. His totally deep South Cape Town drawl, birthed in Dalebrook, becomes a stoned lunatic voice, a howling madman on the verge of total collapse and then a gentle coaxer of an audience member to do something so ridiculous it hurt us from laughing.
Mindblowing
I have no idea if he knows what is happening every single second of this show or if he is totally in the moment, downloading from the mother Scobie and letting things happen. Either way, the Corné and Twakkieness is there with Louw in the director’s seat, but this show is so much more. It is mindblowing, and mine was blown.
I am so glad I got offered a ticket to see it. I haven’t been down South for a show in a while, and the weird locals at the upstairs bar of the Brass Bell set the scene for the mayhem that happened next.
There are two shows left at the Kalk Bay Theatre, early next week, and if you can get a ticket, I suggest you grab the opportunity. You will never experience anything like it, and who knows, you and your actual bellybutton may be exposed.
What: Namaste Bae
Where: Kalk Bay Theatre, Tuesday 28 March and Wednesday 29 March 2023, plus other venues.
Book: Kalk Bay Theatre
WS
