I never gave much thought to Nataniël’s live talk shows but, because they had become so popular, it was time to investigate. DIANE DE BEER gives her feedback:
So I went to last year’s Fairtree Atterbury Theatre show in Pretoria, and was so impressed that I forgot to take notes. There was little chance of reporting or writing without having a single note and when he announced the 2024 (he changes topic every year) I was ready to go – which happened a few weeks ago.
It’s always packed, no room for a single late-comer, and while last year’s topic was Pain, this year he focused on our chaotic world and the urge to achieve excellence. “What are we busy doing?” he asked. “What is going on?”
All of this chatter happens at breakneck speed and what I had forgotten was that the auditorium is pitch dark, like in a theatre show. Taking notes would be quite a challenge, but I was determined.
What I hoped to capture would perhaps not be the most accurate version of his magical monologue, but I was hopeful that I would capture the essence and encourage fans to attend future talks.
First off, it’s all in Afrikaans. But that’s always part of his charm. He often complains about a show or a talk which is too serious and not really funny. What escapes him is the way he speaks, his vocabulary and the way he constructs a sentence are unusual and often hysterically funny.
With the focus on the times we live in, he began his talk with one of his irresistible stories which set the tone for the rest of his talk. He can’t but be funny even when he is having a serious conversation. It’s his special formula and what makes you listen while forgetting that you’re actually part of a masterful sermon.
He has always had the gift of the gab. That’s how he makes a living. People hang on his every word. Why not impart some wisdom while making them laugh? And that’s exactly what he does. Not many can make you smile while telling you how to behave. But he does, and gets paid to do exactly that.
And again, it’s because he knows how to tell a story: whether these are true or fabricated, the life lessons come from the heart – and experience. Being Nataniël, he has an unusual life and people share their secrets. He will juggle and jiggle them around so that even those involved will probably not recognise themselves, and then he will douse it with wit as well as wisdom – and the audience will lap it up.
In the current talk he investigates the need to succeed and sparkle (“prestasie” in Afrikaans, but he was unsure of the English translation as achievement doesn’t quite hit the mark!)
And while fame and celebrity seem to be the hallmark of success in today’s world, he believes there’s more to it than that. Legacy is something that is often talked about yet the individual in question doesn’t experience that, it only comes once they’re dead. “A career is also an achievement,” he suggests. And at least then, you can share in the satisfaction of having achieved something.
While at school – something he hated with his whole being – he was often charged by a teacher or someone in authority to participate in a competition of some kind. His response was always, but why? To what end? Who benefits? And what does any of this achieve?
Others again will equate success with money, but having raced through a spectacular career himself, he has had the chance to reflect. For him it has always been the process of getting from beginning to end – whatever the journey might entail. Once you have travelled from one point to another, you can look back, and perhaps make sense of it.
“Success changes your perspective,” he reasons. And for him, 114 productions on (all self-written, music composed, directed and performed), the pain and anxiety have remained. It has never been easy and he still questions the damage accumulated through the years. “It has to impact my health, surely,” he says. “I seem to be in constant pain.”
In his world, he only recognises five iconic individuals: Van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci, neither of whom lived fabulous lives; Shakespeare, who had to act in his own plays to make a living; Einstein whose famous equation explains the energy released in an atomic bomb; and his grandmother who is the individual most often featured in his stories and the one he credits with influencing his life the most.
“I have tried everything but could never recreate the magic she created in her home and on others.” That’s what he refers to as a natural achievement – not something one tries to do, it simply happens.
Go and listen when you can. Nataniël is one of those people who lives an interesting life because of who he is. It’s not so much the celebrity status, rather the way he views the world that comes through in his talks.
He is naturally wise, more witty than anyone I know or have encountered, and he knows how to tell stories. More than anything, that has probably most endeared him to audiences.
His spectacular shows are something to witness and experience, I never miss those. These latest talk sessions are something completely different yet no less entertaining. As with his shows, you leave the theatre feeling you have gained something – and for everyone it will be different.
And you will die laughing…
He can’t help himself. Even when serious, his inner clown escapes.
29 June 2024
GESELS 2024
11am + 3pm
Fairtree Atterbury Theatre, Pretoria
No children under 15
Book at: seatme.co.za
De Beer Necessities 