A Review of David Kramer's Danger In The Dark - drugs, drama & death!

On Saturday 26 October 2019 (a day after arriving back from our playwright’s residency programme!), Cultsha Kennis finally had the opportunity to see Danger in the Dark at the Baxter Theatre, a David Kramer musical, featuring music by his late and well-loved theatre partner, Taliep Petersen – but with a new libretto!   

Danger in the Dark is a remake of the Kramer/Petersen hit of the 90’s, Poison, an upbeat musical that tells the story, through 8 lead characters and a 14 member chorus, of the atrocities of drug abuse on the Cape Flats, as well as the hope and dream for its inhabitants to overcome it all.  

The story’s protagonist, Pamela (Alexis Petersen), is a young social worker who is encouraged by a housewife, Mrs Joseph (Edith Plaatjies), to take to the streets and challenge the status quo. Aware of the impossible cause before her, Pamela’s motivation increases once she discovers that her friend Juanita (Rushney Ferguson), a young rebellion and aspiring singer, is in an abusive relationship with Michael (Loukmaan Adams), a drug lord. Jealousy, greed, a stolen silk scarf and a hidden cooler bag with drug merchandise later, Chicco (Eldon Van Der Merwe), Pamela’s love interest, gets innocently caught up in a battle with some gang members, which leads to the death of both Juanita and Michael.   

Its been 15 years since Cultsha Kennis had first seen the original version of this show, and still our stomach opened up in excitement just as it did in 2004! And while we celebrate the whole cast and team of this musical, the craft of the lead actress and the chorus is what Cultsha Kennis would like to congratulate today.

The show began with a captivating opening number titled Danger in the Dark, with the chorus dressed in black and grey, blending in with a set that resembled a Cape Flats township. The part-purpose of the chorus may have been to provide support to the leads, but they surely brought more than just that to the stage! They also were entities in their own light, and through powerful and convincing hip-hop choreography and movement, represented the fearlessness and invisibility of the youth on the streets.  

In the 2^nd half of the musical, these representations was significantly captured through a song performed by the chorus alongside Pamela as she types the profiles of countless drug addicted youth onto her typewriter: “you can’t make the right choice if there aren’t many options to choose from.” Once again the choreography in this performance, alluding to Pamela’s typewriter, was symbolic – so many youth’s lives are at the fingertips of government authority figures like Pamela.  

The last song before interval – Down With Drugs – was a clever trick on the part of the directors to call back its audience! Pamela presents a moving speech to the Cape Flats community to get them to protest in the street, after which she steps to the foot of the stage and addresses the audience with a reminder that the Down With Drugs battle is ours too. Upon the closing of the 1^st half, each of the 8 main characters also present their closing thoughts to the audience, challenging us to return and witness their resolution.   

The score of the show also beautifully complimented the libretto of the musical – the country-reggae like number, Friday Night was a hit in the 2^nd half! The sets of the show were just as impressive, and the stage easily reimagines itself from the streets to the recording studio, Pamela’s office and Juanita’s dressing table at home. We were also pleased to see 2 familiar faces on stage, Loukmaan Adams (Michael) Elton Landrew (Poison) and Chad Baai (Shawn). After years of taking to stage as a young charming male lead, it was interesting to see Loukmaan take up the role of a villain. Elton Landrew’s versatility was equally entertaining as it was astonishing – who would think that Archie, a gay hairdresser from District Six the Musical, could manifest himself into a drug dealer! Chad Baai has a young but memorable stage presence, and after seeing him previously in Spring Awakening, we look forward to seeing where he will appear next.  

Cultsha Kennis would like to thank The Baxter Theatre for giving us the opportunity to attend and review this show. We remember and miss the late Taliep Petersen, who passed on in 2006, the co-maker of this show. We would also like to commend the director, David Kramer, not just for an unsurprisingly outstanding remake of this show, but also for facilitating us in the How To Construct A Musical course in June 2019 with the Baxter Theatre, and giving the author of Cultsha Kennis new ways of producing and reviewing theatre. Now, 3 days before the closing of this show, we sit in wild wonder as to what a version 3 of this show would look like, with each of the lead characters singing and speaking in Afrikaaps!     

Book your tickets before it closes on 2 November: http://www.baxter.co.za/shows/danger-in-the-dark/