I have an odd sense of humour; most comedies don’t really tickle my fancy. Someone that makes me scream with laughter is Aaron McIlroy. Looove him! He can just do one of those silly hip moves of his and I wet myself. Ok, not really, but still. He is funny!

Went to watch Monkey Nuts earlier this week; Matthew Ribnick is seriously talented. I must admit that I didn’t laugh that much; it was more like a constant smile that eventually made my cheeks hurt. And absolute awe at his ability to transform so smoothly from one character to the other.

While others were laughing, I was doing some deep thinking:

  1. How long did it take Geraldine Naidoo to come up with this complicated storyline?
  2. Wonder how long it took him to learn the lines? And study each character in order to portray each one  in a very real way? It was obvious that he didn’t just learn the lines and then hit the stage; he seemed very settled in each role.
  3. How does he do this without getting the 20 characters confused? In the beginning of this 1-hour show the stretches between the character changes were quite long, but closer to the end he switched them quicker than Mr. President can come up with excuses.

“The brainchild of Geraldine Naidoo, Monkey Nuts made its debut at this year’s National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, where it packed the house to capacity. After the extraordinary performance by Matthew, the show was instantly booked in several of SA’s major theatres. The rib-cracking comedy sees Matthew tackling well over ten different characters and is a clever mix of situational comedy, storytelling and hilariously unforgettable characters.

Monkey Nuts tells the story of Edgar Chambers, an odd individual who is obsessed with entering all sorts of competitions. A bank teller by profession, he has flair for sniffing out freebies and special offers. Although he has this gift, he is even more obsessed with monitoring the prices of grocery items in various stores. In fact, he has become so good at it that he can name the price of any item anywhere, anytime. However, it is his obsessive competition entering that introduces us to Edgar and his wild tale. All the characters we are introduced to connect back to Edgar and throughout the events, the audience is presented with hilarious stories that leave them gasping for air.” – One Small Seed Network

His previous two shows, Hoot and Chilli Boy were both huge favourites with the public. I would definitely recommend you go see Monkey Nuts – it’s divinely South African and a great opportunity to laugh at ourselves and each other! It’s currently showing at the Elizabeth Sheddon theatre in Durban. Wait, there’s more! They have a special on, on Tuesdays and Sundays: R50-something pp.

Go see it!

Photo credit: Louis Chetty