February 1 2011 at 08:53am
By Billy Suter
ALL SOAPED UP
RHUMBELOW THEATRE, UMBILO
FROM Shakespeare to soapies is the course followed over the years by colourful Cape Town-born actor Terence Bridgett, who is a most welcome newcomer on a local cabaret scene that is constantly crying out for some fresh faces.
He is in Durban for only a very short season of weekend performances, presenting All Soaped Up, which loosely, and very deftly, chronicles his career path. And he is well worth seeing.
A household name among fans of such soapies as Isidingo and Binneland Sub Judice, and also seen in The Lab, Snitch and Erfsondes, Bridgett is also a writer, food fundi and the owner of a fine singing voice which has been put to good use in stage hits such as Joseph and Saturday Night Fever (for which he shed 15kg).
For his first stab at intimate cabaret, Bridgett is accompanied by pianist and musical director Coenraad Rall – a very good foil for his flamboyance – and he captivates with both personal and professional anecdotes, a good mix of songs and loads of charm and camp humour. He also displays moments of true poignancy, further emphasising his versatility as a performer.
Directed by Cape Town-born actor and director Kurt Wustmann, the production crackles with good pace and has an amusing script, Bridgett, clad in black, first arriving on stage to stand on a small bathroom scale. He exhales and laments a longtime battle of the bulge. (He is currently slim and trim, although admits – and shows old soapie video footage, to prove – that he has been labelled more than chubby over the years).
Musical
His range of songs including fun, lyrically reworked renditions of There Are Worse Things I Could Do from Grease, Stuff Like That There from the Bette Midler movie musical For the Boys, and also the pop hit The Boy From Ipanema, Bridgett gets the crowd eating out of his hands quickly. And he maintains his grip throughout the 80-minute-plus show, which he presents without an interval.
Schooled with the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir and classically trained as an actor at the University of Cape Town, Bridgett was performing the Bard in Joburg when he stumbled upon a television audition and, out of some 700 or so hopefuls, was chosen to scoop his big breakthrough role as Chico Booysens in Isidingo.
He recalls his fascination over the initial allure, and lure, of fame and relative fortune (soap acting paid more than working in Shakespeare on stage), and goes on to offer some revealing and amusing tales of celebrity, fans, auditions, and the general buzz of the world of soaps. Not to forget film – Bridgett’s description of auditioning for a movie as a horse-riding Mexican, but having no horse-riding experience, is an absolute hoot.
A nice touch is the use of some of Bridgett’s soap co-stars putting in special appearances on a television screen on stage, Bridgett acting out his lines alongside them. They include Isidingo co-stars Karin van der Laag (Maggie), Ilse Klink (Vanessa) and Kim Cloete (Bianca).
Final performances of All Soaped Up are at 8pm on Friday and Saturday and, finally, 6.30pm on Sunday. For tickets (R100 each) call Roland at 082 499 8636.
http://www.iol.co.za/tonight/what-s-on/kwazulu-natal/songs-smiles-and-soap-suds-1.1019597
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