Naughty Forty

He is as likeable as ever, but Marc Lottering is not taking it from anybody. That’s what happens when you become a quadragenerian and you’re “half-way” through your life. Clearly, there’s no longer time to listen to people, tolerate troublesome acquaintances and put up with stupid people. Nor should one spoil the precious little time one has left getting into a state about things beyond your control. The message of naughty forty is that life is short and needs to be lived to the full. The show opens with Lottering in full drag as local hero Aunty Merle Abrahams giving an embarrassing speech at a birthday party. This is the only skit in the current show. From there on, it is Lottering stand-up. He is in top form. For one hour, Lottering delivers an almost seamless stream of consciousness, never coming up for air, often with his eyes pinched closed. Every third word is a four letter word or one of its many phrasal verbs and bilingual derivatives, but it’s inoffensively part and parcel of his feisty comic patois. His targets include everyday recognisable dislikeables, black vegetarians and television presenters – Oprah, Debora Patta, e-TV weatherman Derek van Dam. There are also, and this is fairly new territory for Lottering, a number of political asides aimed at current favourites – Mugabe, Zuma, Rasool and Julius Malema. Lottering is riding high at forty – his comic timing precise, his material and observations clever, and very funny. Venue: Theatre on the Square, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton. Date: Tuesday, 3rd of March, 2009 to Saturday, 28th of March, 2009. For further information please follow the links alongside.