Oom Schalk, from The Heart heads for Durban

HAVE you told your child a story today? If not perhaps you should come and listen to Oom Schalk Lourens as he tells a few tales, short and tall, of his experiences in Groot Marico at the Seabrooke’s Theatre from 15 July.

Cape Town actor David Muller is staging his one-hander Oom Schalk, from The Heart in this intimate theatre direct from the National Arts Festival where, for two years running, he has performed Herman Charles Bosman’s best-loved short stories.” More and more people are choosing not to read,” says Muller. “This means the art of story-telling seems to be diminishing, which is why, like Percy Sieff and Patrick Mynhardt, I have chosen to keep Bosman’s brilliant work alive and in theatre.”

Muller says the delights and meaning of Bosman’s writings have been made accessible through the light style in which he conveys the feelings of human behaviour and interaction. By staging the stories with similar understatement as is found in his writings, the exploration into the depths of what first appears to be simple entertainment soon reveals, as Lionel Abrahams, a student and biographer of Bosman, puts it: that mankind is the salt, the treasure and the inexhaustible wonder of God’s universe. And Bernard Sachs, a life-long friend and biographer, wrote that Herman’s was one of the most wide-ranging and quick-witted intelligences. At the age of 15 he had already studied Shakespeare, Shaw, Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe and a host of others.

Five of Bosman’s most celebrated and superbly entertaining tales feature in Oom Schalk, from The Heart. They are: the whimsical Veld Maiden; the touching In the Withaak’s Shade; the hilarious A Bekkersdal Marathon; The Gramophone, a macabre tale centring around a hot-headed husband and Willem Prinsloo’s Peach Brandy. Dramatising these short stories of Bosman’s entertains even further. Directed by Celia Musikanth, Muller’s engaging stage one-hander enjoyed media acclaim when it was staged at the Kalk Bay Theatre in March this year.

Oom Schalk, from The Heart runs at Seabrooke’s Theatre in Musgrave from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 15 to 26 July. Performances are at 7pm. Tickets are R80 per person, with the usual discounts for block bookings, pensioners and students. To book, call Ailsa on 083 250 2690.

Your chance to win: There are three pairs of tickets to Oom Schalk, from the Heart, up for grabs. To win your pair of tickets, simply fill in the form below and click submit. The competition closes on 10 July at midnight.