Citizen 30^th May 2006

Reviewer – Christina Kennedy

 

Nothing and no one is immune to being skewered, drawn and quartered in Black Mamba, Ben Voss and John van de Ruits savagely funny follow-up to the award winning Green Mamba.

 

The hilarious Green Mamba was indeed “Green”  compared to their latest darkly comic stage outing, which is more audatiously satirical and bitingly clever than its predecessor.

 

 

The serpentine wit that informs the Durban duo’s collection of comedy sketches proves that they have their finger on the pulse of the countries collective consciousness, taking our shortcomings and foibles and mercilessly lampooning them with a mischevious twinkle in their eye.

 

Black mamba shows a maturity in the writing – perhaps their experiences being caught in the Indian ocean tsunami, as well as van de Ruits runaway success with his bestselling novel “Spud”, have infused their comedy with a more cogent focus and a sharper eye.

 

And of course with the brilliant Greig Coetzee also lending his considerable talents to the show, it can only be a winner.

 

Black Mamba features a series of rip-snortingly funny sketches, poking fun at South African’s socio-political landscape. You may initially gasp at their chutzpah until you realize that they don’t discriminate as to who they send up: Whiteys, darkies, Indians, coloureds are all fair game. These boys are equal opportunity insulters, that’s for sure.

 

But their satire is not characterized by malice or deliberate shock tactics; rather, it is merely holding up a mirror to our quirky society and saying “Hey guys, this is us, warts and all – lets laugh at ourselves instead of being so serious all the time.”

 

And laugh you certainly will, not to mention shriek, chuckle and gaffaw with mirth. I had tears rolling down my cheeks in some places. We spotted some snooty intellectual types in the audience who were also chortling along merrily almost despite themselves…

 

Sure, some of the humour is risqué (this is not a show for children), and all of it is decidedly un-pc, but it really is refreshing to see young guys not being constrained by convention or sensorship in what they say.

 

There is a possibility that some groups may be offended, but if they watch the show in context  and observe that no one is sparred from the funnymen’s barbs, they should be able to laugh along too.

 

You will crack up in varying degrees as they mock politicians (look out for “Manto Tshabalala Missing-her-mango”), white paranoia, technobabble, metrosexuals, the “Rednecked Klipdrifter (a typical rugby fan) and a quiz show called “The Missing Link”.

 

As before, Van de Ruit plays the “straight” comic foil to Voss’s over-the-top ham, with the pair feeding off each other with razor sharp exchanges. Here, Murray McGibbons zippy direction enhances the comedy.

 

These two lads deserve a smack on the bottom for their bare-faced cheek, but deserve a pat on the back even more for coming up with another fiendishly clever show. This winter, Black Mamba, is likely to be the most fun you’ll have sitting down!