Basil Rubin's production of Fiona Coyne's Glass Roots opened at Pieter Toerien's Montecasino theatre in Johannesburg this week. If you saw Glass Roots in Grahamstown or Cape Town you'll remember the snappy script and Mona - the mum from hell played with uncanny reality by Diane Wilson. Glass Roots is still great fun. The updated script makes it current while the complexities of a cross-racial relationship are ever more rife now that the political pressure has dissipated. Nazli George as Verity Stevens is outstanding and Duke Motlanthe delivers a solid performance as a black ad exec dealing with Mona's racism. Tessa Jubber unconvincingly plays Mona's daughter - a highly-strung copywriter with a coke habit. Roy Sargeant's able direction keeps the pace going. He uses the small stage well by managing alternate realities - intercom, kitchen, phone and TV.
Basil Rubin is much more than just a friend. We were once in business together when I had dreams of life as an impresario but I got cold feet when it came time to lay money as well as conviction on the line. By his admission this production is his swansong and I am so grateful to have been invited to attend opening night. A big night. I was with Basil's grandson Jason Touy and directly in front of me sat TV director Matthew Mulholland (son of Gordon who was looking a little frail with a stick) and Diane Wilson. Fiona Coyne looked smashing in a black see-through. Basil's family had come up from Cape Town. Tycoon son Michael his friend Mark, daughter Janice and gorgeous granddaughter Lisa. Aileen, the matriarch and Basil's ex wife was there too. She is a grande dame of the stature of Marlene Dietrich. I wished I knew them 30 years ago.
All the theatrical who's who were there: Rex Garner and Paddy Canavan were spied leaving while Peter Feldsman seemed to be having a good time.
Glass Roots deserves to have a good run. I hope it will.
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