SHOW: The Mayan Raiders - The lines of seemingly random props lined up on either side of the stage confirm that this year’s version of the long-running Raiders series is likely to include as many diversions as it is possible to fit in  –  especially given that many props are used or referred to in several different contexts.

CAST: Nicholas Ellenbogen
DIRECTOR: Andrew Brent
VENUE: PJ's, Grahamstown

Like all of its predecessors, The Mayan Raiders involves audience participation, and there’s a palpable rise in the level of nervous tension as the actors begin to pick out members of the crowd to help out on stage.

The audience’s expectations – Ellenbogen and his shows are National Arts Festival institutions – mean that everyone is very sporting, and there is none of the awkwardness that sometimes occurs when theatergoers are yanked out of their comfort zone to participate.

 In this instance, people are happy to crawl all over the stage and under tarpaulins, to perform interpretive dance and much more besides.

Atrocious puns are thrown around at will, tied into sight gags that are in turn created using the literally dozens of props the cast members have stuffed in their pockets or stashed near at hand.

The “Mayan” angle is largely an afterthought, thrust into the narrative because 2012 sees the end of that cultures calendar, something worth highlighting (especially in the event that all the cynics are wrong!). 

And not surprisingly, given the format the plot and whatever dialogue was scripted gets rather waylaid from time to time, leaving Ellenbogen and his colleagues to speedily improvise as they fill in the gaps.

Watching the volunteers/victims (it’s a matter of perspective) reacting, is very entertaining.

All are cheerful, but some are more committed to the cause than others, with one young man, whose character is called “Schalk” hilariously willing to go to whatever lengths he is instructed to go.

The staggered structure and stop-start nature of the piece means that it’s impossible to build up consistent momentum, so the show ultimately feels perhaps 10 minutes too long, but that’s a minor complaint.

It remains good value for families, while there is plenty of innuendo in the dialogue, it’s subtle enough to not offend sensitive or younger audience members.

In the end, the story doesn’t really matter – it’s the onstage antics and over- the-top silliness and costumes that drive the show.

And given that it’s styled on an Indiana Jones-style adventure epic, it seems fitting that it all ends with the smell of gunpowder filling the room, courtesy of some closing special effects.