Review: BECOMING BENNO is a Fun Look at The Truth Behind Emigrating from South Africa

Ben Voss has come home with his show about moving away - BECOMING BENNO. This one-man show, directed by Michael Richard and dramaturgy by John van de Ruit, is full of heart and humour - and definitely worth catching as Voss tours around SA with it.

It's a big question in South Africa - should you emigrate if you have the opportunity? And if you do decide to leave, where would you go? In BECOMING BENNO, our main character has chosen Australia (as many do) for himself and his family. However, getting into the country is not the easiest - and this is where the comedy comes in.

Ben is stuck in a small, unwelcoming room at Sydney Airport as the officials look into his Permanent Residency Visa. His wife and young son are both already on the other side, having come over on a separate visa before Ben. As our hero sits and waits, with little to no feedback from the officials, he contemplates what might happen if he doesn't get let out. He also meets some interesting characters (all played by Voss as well) - an official who doesn't give away any information, a janitor who reckons he knows all about the system, and another traveller who is also having her visa checked.

This setting for the piece gives the actor great heightened stakes to play against - will he make it through to his family or will he get put on a plane straight back to SA? It also allowed for some great physical comedy as Voss morphs into the other characters and holds conversations with himself, essentially. The poor cellphone signal as he tries to stay in touch with his wife is another great touch to add to the chaos and uncertainty of the whole affair.

My only bugbear is that I felt the piece didn't sit long enough in the moment where Ben confronts the question of running away from something versus running towards something. Emigration from South Africa is fueled by so much debate around historical attitudes and that only the priviledged have the opportunity to choose to stay or leave. It's such a big topic and I personally wanted more from that moment in the play - it went by too quickly for me.

Voss, however, is excellent in his physicality and voices for the various characters he plays. I also really felt for Ben as he became more and more concerned about whether or not he would be let through passport control. It also really hit home when he had to regularly explain that he is a theatre performer and that people at the airport in Australia wouldn't know him from anything... I've been there many times when explaining my career to people. A lot of this piece is truly relatable and clearly comes from the heart.

BECOMING BENNO is touring South Africa at the moment, with performances scheduled at Hilton Arts Festival, in Durban and in Joburg. You can catch all the information on Voss' website - https://www.benvoss.co.za/