Ndaba Dlamini
4 January 2008
Set to tantalise the tastebuds of audiences when it opens at Johannesburg's Market Theatre on 18 January, Curry Tales explores the spicy global history of one of the world's most versatile dishes.
Entertainer extraordinaire Rani Moorthy will give South African audiences a taste of her piquant dishes in this first-ever performance in the country in a show that promises to be as sumptuous as the dishes that Moorthy, a Malaysian-born playwright and artistic director who emigrated to the UK in 1996, prepares live on stage.
Curry Tales combines narrative story-telling, the Khutu-style theatre of South India, and actual live cooking as it transports spectators round the world in search of the tangiest curries and spiciest stories.
A wonderful range of characters are presented, from a busy socialite to a vengeful lover. The show begins and ends in a Hindustani coffee house run by a Delhi socialite and her transvestite, manic-depressive Kashmiri cook
Audiences get to participate and experience the world of chopping and tasting and also learn that bubbling pots can hold surprising secrets.
In Curry Tales, Moorthy plays a succession of larger-than-life cooks who laugh, chat and cry whilst making dishes that range from mouth-watering Trinidadian duck curry to life-saving Malaysian Laksa.
For many South African women, whose role has traditionally been the provision of food, the quality of Moorthy's curry is a source of identity and pride both in the home and within the community.
Viewing this global food phenomenon from a wide gamut of human experiences, Curry Tales explores what divides and unites us as a people, examining the role played by the British in the spread of curry via trade, the colonies and ultimately the migration and success of the South Asian Diaspora.
Directed by Linda Marlowe, Curry Tales is the latest in a ongoing series of collaborative initiatives between the Market Theatre and the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London. Both theatres have been key partners in the World Theatre Lab collaboration, where spoken word artists and writers showcased their work at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre in the US.
Moorthy has performed in a number of stage plays, including Pooja, Manchester United and the Malay Warrior, Too Close to Home and Shades of Brown.
The play is on at the Market Theatre's Main Theatre from 18 January to 17 February. For more information and bookings, contact the Market Theatre on 011 832 1641.
Source: City of Johannesburg
