KICKSTART, in association with Pieter Toerien, presents the South African premiere of the smash hit West End comedy Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on the UKZN campus from 4 to 15 February.
When a country house weekend takes a turn for the worse, Bertie Wooster (Jonathan Roxmouth) is unwittingly called on to play matchmaker, but also to steal a silver cow creamer from Totleigh Towers. Naturally, the ever-dependable Jeeves (Graham Hopkins) is there to prevent Bertie from making a complete fool of himself in front of a cast of PG Wodehouse’s finest characters.
Enjoy an evening of raucous comedy in the company of Gussie Fink-Nottle, Madeline Bassett, Sir Watkin Bassett, Stiffy Bing, Dahlia Travers, Roderick Spode and Constable Oates.
Directed and designed by Durban’s own theatrical dream team, Steven Stead and Greg King, this riotous romp is guaranteed to tickle the funny bone and bring a smile to even the most cynical theatre-goer. This is ideal theatre fare for anyone aged eight to 80.
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr. Mulliner, PG Wodehouse was born in 1881 and educated at Dulwich College. He contributed to a variety of periodicals including Punch and The Globe. As well as his novels and short stories, he wrote lyrics for musical comedies with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern, and at one time had five musicals running simultaneously on Broadway. His time in Hollywood also provided much source material for fiction. At the age of 93, in the New Year’s Honours List of 1975, he received a long-overdue knighthood, only to die on St Valentine’s Day 45 days later.
Performances are scheduled for 7.30pm Tuesday to Friday, 2.30pm on Saturday and 6pm on Sunday. Tickets can be booked at Computicket (www.computicket.co.za or 0861 915 8000).
For sold performances, group bookings or early bird special offers (buy eight tickets and get two free), contact Ailsa Windsor of Going Places via email editor.goingplacessa@gmail.com or 083 250 2690.
There is a Valentine’s Day gala performance on Saturday, 14 February at 7.30pm, with welcoming glasses of sparkling wine included in the ticket price.
