Cape Town - When Oscar Petersen and David Isaacs launched the first Joe Barber show in 1999, the dynamic duo never imagined that it would evolve into a big part of their legacy.
Now, with seven on-stage shows under their belts and a new production coming up in November, the pair have reflected on their journey through the years.
Petersen and Isaacs introduced audiences to Boeta Gamat and Boeta Joe with their debut production, Meet Joe Barber, 23 years ago.
Next came Joe Barber and Boeta Gamat Too, Joe Barber 3: The Family Affair, Joe Barber 4 The People and Joe Barber 5: School Cuts.
The sixth and seventh instalments formed part of their 15th and 20th anniversary of the inaugural production.
Their latest offering, Joe Barber’s Family Reunion, will see them bringing fan-favourite characters back to the stage in a post-pandemic setting.
Isaacs said Joe Barber has always been a reflection of their personal lives.
“Oscar and I have had a friendship that has gone through an evolutionary process, and so have the characters of our show in turn,” he said.
Petersen said the minute one steps into an acting role, the character “lives in a room in your head”.
“As life happens, you fill that room with new things. When we catch up with them, it’s like we are catching up with ourselves because those characters never left us,” he said.
“We always get excited in everyday life when something happens to us and ask each other how Washiela or Outjie would have handled the situation.”
For their first show, they recall doing everything themselves, from the writing, designing and distributing the posters to doing their lighting and sourcing their own costumes.
“Boeta Gamat’s cap was in the back of Oscar’s Renault. Joe’s glasses were my prescription glasses at the time,” Isaacs said.
He continued: “There was no way we could ever have anticipated this success.”
Petersen said that over the years they’ve learnt to speak on current issues without removing the entertainment value of their shows.
“We dip our feet in the water of touching the topics while keeping the element of humour,” he said.
Isaacs added: “When we did ‘School Cuts’, the show was about how the outcome-based education system failed our kids. We didn’t hit the audience over the head with it but made it all part of the experience.”
Numerous lovers of the show have made it their mission to own recorded disks of the stage productions over the years, but Petersen and Isaacs shared a fun fact with the Weekend Argus.
“We only ever produced 1 000 VHS copies of the first show. That was copied and pirated everywhere. That cost us R26 000 in 2000,” Isaacs said.
Petersen added: “Thanks to pirating, we ended up getting more than R1 million worth of marketing.”
Their secret to perfectly re-enacting life on the Cape Flats is their love for people-watching.
“I’ve always been intrigued by people and their mannerisms,” Isaacs said.
“When you say a name, you get a very specific image of a person. Interacting with someone means you are instantly calibrated towards them,” Petersen added.
Isaacs said the two of them have always been aligned in a way that allows them to produce a quality show, which contributed to their success.
“The stage is big and can be terrifying, but overcoming it is (a) high that we’ve always sought after,” he said.
“We came from UCT drama school where it was a very Eurocentric background. Going on stage in 1999 meant finding our voice,” Isaacs said.
“That voice was rooted in who we are. We chose back then that we were not going to adjust our voice and who we are,” he added.
Petersen: “We were taught to be unapologetic about our work and not shrink it down to make it digestible to a certain demographic.”
Petersen said when their characters started gaining die-hard supporters, it reaffirmed their work.
“We had someone come and tell us that she wouldn’t mind kissing Outjie. On another occasion, a man came backstage looking for Washiela,” he said.
He added: “I told him I was going to call David and he said no, he wasn’t looking for David, he was looking for Washiela.”
More recently, people have started using Joe Barber audio on their TikTok videos to re-enact their most-popular scenes.
Fans of Joe Barber can look forward to them moving their content to their Facebook and Instagram accounts soon.
The duo said they will also be launching the Joe Barber Foundation focusing on education and empowering men and boys.
“When we tackle serious issues and believe this is the facet through which we can explore that,” Petersen added.