Soli Philander’s Nice Coat is about – as he puts it – HIS Cape Town.
It was born out of a desire for a narrative about Cape Town – the place of his birth, his youth, his heart – that didn’t serve a political agenda, wasn’t an exercise in attracting tourists, and did not disregard the daily, stark realities so many Capetonians in surviving must embrace.
The production was also fuelled by the desire not to defend or deflect accusations levelled at the Mother City – her detractors on the inside and out – or wallow in the praise and pride from those enamoured by her, but rather to provide another view, another ‘take’, another conversation about the place he calls home, and his experience of it.
Sound of Cape Town
Philander is adamant about the unique sound of Cape Town, that he maintains is the essence of being Capetonian. In his observations about, his criticism of, his tribute to the place he calls home, he seamlessly plays with word and intonation, idiom and phrase, rhyme and reason, to engage mind, memory and emotion in a delicately-humoured, hour-long rhyme.
When asked ‘why?’ about the rhyme, Soli responded: “I didn’t realise for a long time that the instinctive love I have for rhyming is cultural – from the games we made up as children, the secret languages we invented as teens, the delightful playing with words of the hawkers, and even organised crime’s penchant for inventing new words or new meanings for existing ones.”
In Nice Coat Philander journeys through Cape Town, with a backpack full of memories, realisations, observations, experiences and the ever-present readiness for laughter in the face of the bleak. It’s a trip around the Mother City you should not miss.
All about Soli
Soli Philander is an actor, director, comedian, radio presenter and writer who has been part of South Africa’s media world for years, going from television, to writing, to radio to share his voice with the country. Soli Philander has become a household name and is best known for his work as a presenter for Cape Talk and for hosting popular television shows such as Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, and Let’s Fix It and for hosting the Afrikaans musical game show Liriekeraai. He has played minor roles in the 1992 feature film The Road to Mecca and in 2001 made-for-TV movie Diamond Hunters. His self-penned work for the stage includes Take Two, Woeskroes, Hotnotsgot and The Passion Gap (with Christian Bennett). Soli was presenter and creative director for the popular TaxiVision on Cape Town Television and the driving force behind the online radio-station Taxi Radio for the five years of its lifespan as a hub for local broadcasting talent.
What: Nice Coat (Lekker Jas!)
Where and when: Baxter Theatre from 17 to 29 July
Book: Computicket
WS
