After a three-year hiatus, Joe Barber Family Reunion returned for six nights in GrandWest and in so doing, became the first event with the most consecutive sold-out capacity shows at the Grand Arena.
More than 30 000 Capetonians packed the venue over six nights from November 7 to 12 to enjoy the much-loved characters of Boeta Joe, Outjie, Boeta Gamat and Washiela, played by the legendary Oscar Petersen and David Isaacs and featured musician Early B.
Petersen says that the news of their success is overwhelming. “It is always surprising how much the people enjoy what it is that we do and this time was no different, I don’t know why we are always surprised,” he laughs.
“Running the show for six nights has just reminded us once again why we do this and why we have loved it for so long, and also encapsulating all the elements that always surprise us like the audience giving us so much love while we perform.
“Remembering what we enjoy about performing, such as our material we give to the audience, and how lucky we are in terms of expressing ourselves creatively means that Cape Town loves it and they show their appreciation in the way that they do.”
The jam-packed show had mense laughing from start to finish, which speaks to why they have been around for 23 successful years.
“Twenty-three years ago when we first started establishing the show, it started with the idea of stripping a man, meaning a human being in this world. Starting with everything that you assume about a person and then stripping it down like an onion,” Petersen says.
“So that you come to the bits that make it human, surprising and relatable. We got a version of that but we didn’t know it was going to become so funny but that’s what it’s become.
“I think how we kept things fresh was to keep observing and the freshness will show itself up. As we live things happen and we see new things, technology changes and that is what we do, we keep observing and carry on enjoying what we enjoy and carry on like every other human being and keep growing.
“We get our takes from what we see out there in the world and use what we see around us and bring that to the stage.”
Producer Ian Bredenkamp adds: “Our team is extremely grateful for the support of the fans. Breaking an attendance record speaks to the love for the work created by David and Oscar, and the feedback from the Joe Barber family has been glowing.”