ANDREW BUCKLAND IS a magician. Armed just with a chair, the twinkle in his eye and the energy of a cast of more than 10 unique characters, he conjures up a world that will take you from dark guffaws of self-recognition of folly to the brink of tears, which also have to do with the self-recognition of folly. Never didactic, always on the edge of what can be, his work The Fool’s Guide to Living … and Dying has a tiny season at Pop Arts Theatre in Parkwood, which ends on 25 October 2026. <<UPDATE! Please note that the season is FULLY BOOKED! Keep your eyes open for a return season!>>
And it is here where we meet Milton Yonaire. The dad of Billy Yonaire Say it all quickly, and you get something of the picture. It’s a sad story about passive income within another about lost and the taking of chances, a yarn that dances vigorously with cliché and gives a tea-cup-sized dog dressed as a sausage the ego of the devil. And thus unfolds a madcap tale of quick money, death and life, skop-skiet-en-donder, secrets under the murk of AI and a trojan horse. Lots of ‘bros’ called ‘Chad’ and a reflection on toxicity in the genders which feels deliciously vile. But don’t forget Death, who leads the way. And an understanding of what happens next – after life, that is – that will give you the kind of joy akin to what you might expect from a Milan Kundera story.
It’s a tale in which Buckland paints the landscape. Like a maker of haiku, conjoined with a watercolourist who can bring life, levity and insanity to a simple line cast across an empty stage, he performs the trees, and the road and the silly trivia that give heroic fan status to podcasters collecting hits and a vac-bot with an aspiration to clean so clean, it’s stupid. The cleanliness, that is. Not the character. He’s just trying to be the best he can be, even though he has a secret file deep in his hard drive.
But the work is not just a simple story to make you laugh. It’s a mirror which casts its reflection back at you, at the insanity of a world that’s slipping into a blind glorification of the ego, fuelled by likes and smileys, and a mindless celebration of the unskilled self, in an echo chamber of foolishness. It’s a cipher and a finger in the wind, cast in the direction of what we, as a society are losing as we toss ourselves in the path of self-driven cars and an economy driven by superficiality.
Above all, it’s a precious moment to get to see Buckland onstage and in Johannesburg, and should be mandatory on every possible level. Do whatever you can to see this one. Buckland’s a master performer in every sense. The Fool’s Guide is nuanced and detailed without feeling laboured or long and it will leave you with joy in your heart, but a whole head tweaked with uncertainty about the games the world seems to be playing on all of us.
The Fool’s Guide to Living … and Dying is directed by Janet Buckland. Written by Janet Buckland and Andrew Buckland, it is performed by Andrew Buckland and produced by Mouthpiece. It is onstage at Pop Arts Theatre in Parkwood until 25 October 2026. <<PLEASE NOTE: This season is now fully booked! Keep your eyes open for a return season soon!>>