Theatre Thrill: Nipples, laughs, drama and a sequel t

26 June 2015 - 02:08 By Sylvia McKeown

A sequel is often a diluted version of its predecessor, showcasing only a hint of the magic that made the audience want to come back for seconds in the first place. But every so often we're lucky enough to happen upon a sequel that not only still holds the wonder of the original but surpasses it.Back to the Future 2 is a case in point, and now we have We Didn't Come to Hell for the Croissants: Seven Deadly New Stories for Consenting Adults, the sequel to The Epicene Butcher.Director Lindiwe Matshikiza and actors Jemma Kahn and Roberto Pombo give us more physicality, more drama, more laughs, more skin and a lot more nipple than the first show.Kahn says: "I t's weird that actors only expose the skin from elbow to wrist and from neck to crown to use as our expressive surface area. Roberto, Lindiwe and I were all very amenable to the idea of skin."Just like its tour-de-force predecessor, there are seven stories told in the style of kamishibai - a form of ''paper drama" storytelling that originated in Japanese Buddhist temples in the 12th century, during which monks used emakimono (picture scrolls) to convey stories with moral lessons.But this time each lesson showcases a different writer and illustrator and is an elaboration of one of the seven deadly sins.The stories are then woven together by Kahn's expressive voice and Pombo's bondage underwear to form an emotional roller-coaster piece that takes you from the high comedy of Enemies and How to Love Them to the quiet dark places of humanity in The Tradgedians.You can see all the glory of awkward stripteases and learn a few lessons in this must-see piece at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown from Thursday.The piece returns to POPArt in Maboneng, Johannesburg, in August.On in GrahamstownSTUART LIGHTBODY: DEVILISHA show exploring the truth behind Stuart's origins as a magician.MISSINGChester Missing and his sidekick, South Africa's top ventriloquist, Conrad Koch, are asking questions.BLACK, WHITE & COLOUREDAl Prodgers, Nqoba Ngcobo and Stuart Taylor bring you the only truly racially balanced comedy show...

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