‘Call Us Crazy’ is a legacy South African theatre show inspired by ordinary citizens

One afternoon in 1994, while a young Josias Dos Moleele was waiting for a taxi to fill up at Pretoria taxi rank, he eavesdropped on road workers discussing the country’s politics.

“Listening to these guys, one of them said ‘you know tar is black, and we must paint white lines on top of the tar’. The other replied ‘it means white people will always be above us’, and I thought wow, what an analogy – I had never thought of it that way,” Moleele tells The Citizen.

Thirty years later, that conversation remains the inspiration to the play Call Us Crazy which is currently running at the Market Theatre.

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Call Us Crazy: A returning classic

The play is a returning classic that was first introduced to theatre-goers in 1994. It tells the story of a disillusioned road construction worker, Auntie, whose mission is to tar all the roads in the world.

“I used the analogy of the road where Auntie wants to tar all the streets of the earth, meaning to bring everybody together, which was Mandela’s dream,” explained the director.

“It was written in 1994 at a time when I think it was charged, we were not sure where the country was going. Some people wanted to leave the country, some people thought it was going to be a bloodbath,” said the director.

Written and directed by Moleele, this latest version of Call Us Crazy stars Khutjo Green (Aunty), Momo Matsunyane (Half-Half) and Noko Maboya (Amper-Baas).

The roles were previously played by Sello Sebotsane, Moleele and Marietjie Bothma respectively.

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Just like South Africa’s democracy, the play is 30 years old and has built a legacy. Other thespians that have been part of Call Us Crazy include Sello Maake KaNcube and Tony Kgoroge.

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New twist

The satirical show gives humorous glimpses of South African life in the townships, urban and rural areas, unconvincing parliamentary debates, corruption in government and other uniquely South African scenarios.

But what gives the play an extra punch is it is current. Moleele said he’s always ensured it reflects the time we’re in.

For instance, there is a part of the story that saw the lead character Auntie being interviewed on MacG’s podcast and Chill.

“I used to have People of The South with Dali Tambo. But now, as I was doing it this year, Noko, who’s the youngest in the group, doesn’t know Dali Tambo,” said Moleele.

“The Gen Z group said this play spoke to us; the millennials said this spoke to us and even the Baby boomers said this play spoke to us.”

How and where Moleele conceived the idea for this story speaks to the gems one can find when around ordinary people whose lives are complex.

“Most of my plays have always been about these ordinary people and where you find amazing stories that you never thought of. I love these characters, their outlook on life is amazing,” he said.

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The importance of the play is that it speaks to and about life in South Africa and such productions need to be seen by a wider audience, not only ardent theatre-goers.

The director said he’s already started conversations with the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and other roadworks companies about it being shown to road workers too.

“With the roadworks companies and with Sanral, as I was talking to the CEO, I told them that it’s got an educational side of it.”

Moleele has also applied to get the show to the Baxter theatre, the Playhouse and the Edinburgh Festival Theatre in Scotland.

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The acting display

It’s one thing to have a great script and assertive directing, but bringing all that to life requires an actor that breathes life into the characters.

Green’s portrayal of Auntie, from her vulnerability as a disgruntled worker to being a power-mongering entrepreneur, was more than just believable.

It authentically and hilariously captured and displayed the inconsistency of South African politicians and those in power – specifically their oblivion to real issues.

In all her scenes, playing various characters, Matsunyane was present and true to whomever she was portraying.

This was most apparent when she played different audience members on a talk show.

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Whether as a disgruntled entrepreneur in the township, Auntie’s drunk friend or a damsel from Kimberley, Matsunyane was true to those people by being present throughout.

Although she was not as prominent in most scenes as her abovementioned co-stars, the young Maboya did everything that was required of her.

A sign of her consistency in performance was shown in her portrayal of a traffic officer and a medical receptionist. It was not just about how she performed the dialogue but how she used her body and the mannerisms of those she was portraying.

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Chemistry

Moleele said what made it easier, and more fun to work with the actors, is that he and Green were recently directed by Matsunyane on the play Ka Lebitso La Moya, which Matsunyane also wrote. Green was also the director on the play Unlearning, where Matsunyane was the lead.

“Our closeness and the idea that we are all writers, actors, directors, we said we must continue working together like this,” said Moleele.

He said the actors immediately jumped at the opportunity to be part of Call Us Crazy.

Matsunyane echoes Moleele’s words:

“I didn’t hesitate because I love his work and sense of humour so I knew it would be insanely fun to be in it. I’m honoured to play alongside great talents like Khutjo Green and Noko Maboya under Bra Dos’ leadership,” she said.

“In any process I’m always hyper aware of my own skills but it’s equally important to respect other people’s ways of working and trust their vision and we all did just that,” said Matsunyane.

“The great thing was that because the relationship already exists it felt like we were just picking up from where we left off, except he’s now in charge.”

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