By BRUCE DENNILL
Namaste Bae: Blessings And Kombucha / Directed by Louw Venter / Hilton Arts Festival: Memorial Hall, Hilton College
Namaste Bae is one of several characters comedian and actor Rob Van Vuuren has developed after a (probably) improvised skit in one of the three minutes of free time he enjoys annually between his endless gigs, film projects and other work. Obviously and hilariously satirical –Van Vuuren channels the manifesting and self-healing and cleansing and mantra-chanting tendencies of many of his fellow Capetonians as well as yoga and other wellness trends, exaggerating the accompanying attitudes and perspectives to knowingly ridiculous effect – this shirtless, kombucha-wielding invention quickly went viral.
One of the consequences of the ubiquity that followed is that this full-length stage production features a character that many audiences will feel they know; a persona they’re expecting to engage with more than they will with Van Vuuren himself. While that can no doubt have its challenges – some less perceptive audience members may note Namaste Bae’s utterly bonkers behaviour and assume their own is supposed to reflect it in the stalls – it also gives Van Vuuren complete licence to interact with audience members as an unhinged weirdo, and have them love it (or at least eventually consent to give him permission to do so)!
The combination of Van Vuuren’s rugged looks and finely-honed physical comedy makes it look like a mixture of Willem Dafoe and Michael McIntyre is prancing about onstage. In a loincloth. Throw in extravagant gestures, postures and mouth-generated sound effects, plus a profound comfort with causing discomfort in others, and the scene is set for a funny but potentially edgy show. So it soon proves to be, with the audience interaction part of the overall production being especially funny if you are not one of the individuals picked out by Van Vuuren to be part of a skit or the focus of a joke. Certain touchpoints are clearly set – they will happen in every show – with the effectiveness (or magic) of a particular performance resulting from the way that audience responds to Namaste Bae’s needling or joking or very close physical presence.
Where audience members don’t respond, Van Vuuren has room in the script to re-try elsewhere in the room or to use his renowned improvisational skills to elevate the impact of the shortfall in expectations. Impressively, among all the madness, there is a clear and clearly respected focus in consent – if you’re not comfortable with becoming part of the Blessings And Kombucha narrative, you don’t need to and won’t ruin the show for the rest of the audience if you don’t step up when called upon.
An aspect that balances the character’s concentrated mania is Van Vuuren’s palpable enjoyment of proceedings, with regular corpsing allowed (on his side) and relished (by the audience) as it shows that the person on stage or weaving through the crowd is not mad, as well as having the effect of perpetuating even more mirth as the amusement of both performer and audience ramp up the hilarity of the situation.
There is a lot of laughter involved when watching this show. If you connect at all with the material, much of it will be of the belly-hurting, tear-inducing, possibly gasping for air variety. That’s due to a combination of smart satire, deranged clowning, distilled delight on Van Vuuren’s part and a sense of wild unpredictability, even as it becomes clear that the show has a structure and something akin to a storyline. You absolutely want to be in the room for this performance, but the man on stage is always going to be more relaxed about getting riotously weird than you are, which is both compelling and comforting.