A Mouthful of Sizzling Comedy
18 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Gaetan Schmidt, The Intimate Theatre
One man. Eighteen characters. No props. That’s a trio that would be a mouthful for most performers. Enter Gaetan Schmidt. Enter Rumpsteak.
Rumpsteak is a tasty offing of physical theatre from Belgian-born Gaetan Schmidt which takes audiences on a whirlwind trip behind the scenes at a French restaurant. The start is a gentle entree, with a run through of typical menu items on a French restaurant. Part linguistics lecture, part culinary expose, this – at times slow – beginning soon warms up, Indeed, for the rest of the performance Schmidt keeps up a blistering pace, doing the work of eighteen characters at the restaurant, all on a platform of about one square meter. All the action is impeccably timed to a soundscape of whisking, frying and slicing that Schmidt “prepared earlier.”
Smidt is a charmer – so likable and open you can’t help but smile; so focused and talented, you have no reason not to.
It’s a blast of energy, a breath of spicy air. For those looking for a meatier tale, an evening of restaurant vignettes may not quite hit the spot, but anyone who enjoys physical theatre from a seasoned performer will find Rumpsteak decidedly satisfying.
Although there will be a Grahamstown festival run soon, the tasty added incentive of a R300 voucher to Societi Bistro every night makes this a Cape treat not to be missed. So gorge on great theatre with Gaetan, at the Intimate until May 29.
‘Rumpsteak’ runs from Tuesday 11 May to Saturday 29 May (bar Mondays) at 8pm. Bookings can be made by calling 072 367 6878, or emailing thepinkcouch@gmail.com.
