Theatre: The Ugly Noo Noo
11 October 2025 at 17:00
Adam Small Auditorium
A humorous and imaginative play, The Ugly Noo Noo takes the audience back in time through the hidden parts of Johannesburg’s suburbs.
The play was written in 1988 by Andrew Buckland, which was a tumultuous time in South Africa’s history as apartheid started to dismantle.
Directed by Janet Buckland, The Ugly Noo Noo looks at how fear and power relate to each other. It is a one-man piece featuring Andrew Buckland, who plays several roles, namely humans, insects, and animals – each with their own personality.
One-man actor Andrew Buckland plays an insect, human being, and animal in The Ugly Noo Noo. PHOTO: Supplied/Gys Loubser
Fear in the suburbs
The play begins with a man’s encounter with and his terrified reaction to a cockroach, the Parktown Prawn, in his house. It is a humorous face-off between human and insect, with the human being determined to destroy the insect, but the insect refusing to back down without a battle. The insect attempts to reason with the human, but its sincere reaction to the human’s attempt to destroy it results in all the more chaos, as the insect jumps (towards the human) as a reflex.
Buckland’s acting was brilliant throughout the play, as he seamlessly switched roles from one character to the other. With no props, sets, or costumes, Buckland guides the audience through important themes, such as humanity and empathy. The play is strange and funny, while reminding the audience that even the creatures they dislike have a place in the world.
In the context of apartheid South Africa, the stage work criticises the systems of the past that resulted in many South Africans living in a brutal society. Throughout the play, the prawn is used as a symbol of fear, which is a clever way to have the conversation of how fear can be a device for controlling people and spreading hate.
The Ugly Noo Noo was the winner of the Fringe First and a Perrier Pick of the Fringe shortlisting from the Edinburgh Festival. The play is directed by Janet Buckland. PHOTO: Supplied/Gys Loubser
A relevant resource
The Ugly Noo Noo challenges the audience to see fear for what it is, and that it is the driver and enabler of prejudice and chaos. All the while, it encourages us to embrace those who are different from us and to hear them out instead of shutting them out.
After 31 years of democracy, the play remains a thought-provoking portrayal on the power dynamics that still influence society, putting emphasis on how those in positions of power have control over people, while those who are dependent on them are left vulnerable when promises are not fulfilled.
The stage of The Ugly Noo Noo had no props, no set, and no costumes. The one-man show was written in 1988 by actor Andrew Buckland. PHOTO: Supplied/Gys Loubser