Review: DELELA is Cheeky and Disrespectful in The Best Way

The word "delela" means cheeky, rude, disrespectful or out of line - and I couldn't think of a more fitting title for this production and the subject matter. It's a brilliant piece of satire that points the finger and pokes fun at the world of vanity philanthropy. While the setting is very definitely South African, I could see it making audiences simultaneously laugh and feel uncomfortable around the world. The themes of privilege, race relations and power plays are quite universal.

DELELA is a new work from award-winning writer/director Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni. The setting is the rehearsal for a live television interview that will be given by the heads of the Strauss-Smith Foundation - Sebastian and Stephanie Strauss-Smith (played by Daniel Barney Newton and Frances Sholto-Douglas), and their diversity hire, Letsatsi Letseka (Katlego Lebogang). This narrative device of the characters being interviewed is great because it gives each of them the chance to tell the story of what went wrong from their own perspective. As the audience, you need to decide where the truth lies and which one of them (if any) are telling the actual truth.

What I love about this style of storytelling is that you can really see the flaws of each character. You're also heavily confronted by the fact that no story presented to you is the whole truth. We're consistently given a version of events - one that will paint the teller of the story in the best possible light. It's a brilliant narrative device for a satire and the cast pulls it off exceptionally.

Speaking of the performances - it's not easy to retell the same story three different ways, playing slightly different versions of your same character. The three leads were great. They kept the pace going, switching into the different character versions with ease. The interjections from the journalist (Fadzai Simango) gave some great comic moments and reminded the audience that we were only seeing a version of events.

I do have to say something about the costumes in this play. The performances were so slick and so was the direction and script - so I felt like the costumes let the production down. The Strauss-Smith twins had ill-fitting costumes, which was so wrong for the characters. And I'm not sure why the journalist was wearing tuxedo pants. I really feel like a bit more careful attention to this sort of detail will elevate such a strong play to truly great heights.

Of course, this is not a reason to not watch DELELA. It is a fantastic piece of theatre that will have you laughing, and sitting a little bit uncomfortably in your seat - exactly what you want from a good satire.

Catch DELELA at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio until 16 September. Tickets are available from Webtickets.

Photo credit: Supplied

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