October 11, 2005
By Ndaba Dlamini
IT IS an unlikely tale, but it is hilarious nonetheless. Hoot, on at the Barney Simon Theatre in Newtown, tells the riches to rags story of a hapless wealthy white man who loses his fortune and becomes a mini-bus taxi driver.
Multi-talented Matthew Ribnick plays the white taxi driver, his wife, his Zulu taxi driver friend Distance and a host of other characters in this one-man show.
In this cross-cultural journey, Ribnick is given full rein to make use of his extensive vocal skills; he changes his accent with such dexterity that one minute he is a meddlesome Indian landlady, and the next he is a groovy township urchin.
Despite problems in his relationship with Distance, our hero finally gets accepted into the taxi driver "family" as "umfowethu" by the temperamental Zulu.
Written and directed by his spouse, Geraldine Naidoo, Hoot comes hot on the heels of another successful Ribnick comedy, Chilli Boy.
The world of mini-bus taxis is not novel to Ribnick, who grew up on the border between Boksburg and Germiston and used the mini-bus taxi as his primary mode of transport for more than 10 years.
After school he joined the navy and travelled the world, before deciding to read drama at Wits University, where he won the Marcello Pisanello Award for Best Actor at the university.
Ribnick has appeared on the controversial educational drama Yizo Yizo 2 and the SABC soapie Isidingo. He has also performed in a workshop play White Men in Buckets, which was based on his experiences in the South African Navy between 1993 and 1995.
Hoot is on at the Barney Simon Theatre at the Market Theatre Complex until 20 November on Tuesdays to Sundays. Performances start at 8.15pm; the Sunday show starts at 3.15pm.
For more information, contact the Market Theatre publicity department on 011 832 1641.
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