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Mere 3D isn’t enough for all that Lottering

Mere 3D isn’t enough for all that Lottering

I didn’t know whether to watch the stage or the audience. A guy two rows in front was completely doubled over. The man next to me let out occasional guffaws that reverberated off the ceiling. But you grab only quick glances because you daren’t take your eyes off Marc Lottering when he’s hot. By LESLEY STONES.

The comic, whose hair has a life of its own, has written a fresh show, “Marc Lottering – Not in 3D”,  that doesn’t really have a theme, but does have an awful lot of laughs.

Lottering opens by ingratiating himself with we tough Jo’burgers by dubbing it the New York of Africa.  It’s a phrase he repeats often as he describes the characters that infest its streets.

He’s ingratiated himself with me too, and become my favourite local comic even if he does weave many of his funny stories in English then floors me with a punchline in Afrikaans.

His stories are all accompanied by a range of physical and facial actions that make this humour for your eyes as well as your ears. There’s no limit to his hyperactive bouncing and bounding, and perhaps it’s that verve and infectious enthusiasm that makes him so delightful.

Lottering is as topical as ever, chucking in sushi jokes and Schabir Shaik gags along with the more timeless comedy built up around his general observations. Then there’s a sudden change of pace as he plonks himself down at the piano, occasionally popping up like a jack-in-the-box so the people stuck in the side seats can see him.

His usual cast of alter-egos are there too – his best undoubtedly being Cape Coloured Auntie Merle. She’s as loveably caustic as ever and you don’t have to be from that culture to picture her holding court in her front room and opining about society. But she has stiff competition from Colleen, the checkout girl, who lolls across the counter keeping customers waiting while she has a hilarious “business conversation” with her colleague.

Lottering pokes fun at ordinary events and everyday situations, turning the mundane into the extraordinarily funny. He does it with charm and warmth and an empathy for his characters that make them the vehicles for his comedy, not the victims.

It’s odd that I can’t remember a single joke now, or even what subjects we raced through. Maybe that means I should go back for another dose and laugh all over again. DM


“Marc Lottering – Not in 3D” runs at the Market Theatre until 27 March.

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