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SCENE IT: Off-beat STACEY’S BAY an indie theatre must
Barbara Loots
STACEY’S BAY, currently onstage at the Baxter Theatre until 18 September 2026, is an off-beat absurdist comedy drama that examines the strange relationship between two neighbours who seemingly have nothing in common except the supply and demand of a parking bay.
The storyline is amusingly ordinary at first: Who in Cape Town doesn’t know (and cannot relate to) the strife of finding parking. Finding affordable CBD residential off-street parking is practically like winning the lottery. Pierre Malherbe’s script lulls you into a false sense that this is going to be an easy-going theatre experience… then suddenly you realise that you have been unexpectedly dropped into an absurdist delight! STACEY’S BAY is quintessential Malherbe, and for that reason alone an absolute independent theatre must see.
Stacey (Berenice Barbier) presents herself as the innocent neighbour that has a parking bay for rent at a very reasonable price. Jason (Malherbe) is the new resident in their block of flats and this high-flying advertising suit desperately needs to secure that parking bay to keep his girlfriend happy. The focus of their interaction soon shifts and somehow career progression in the soulless advertising industry intermingles with a debate as to the artistic value and moral standing of a fictional band, the Hunger Stripes, and their frontman, Hennessey. (The fictional musical references throughout reminding of The Smiths and their Morrisey.) If I dare explain how this all pans out in a cohesive storyline that spirals into amusing and somewhat strangely amorous madness by the end, I will be depriving you of the delight of experiencing STACEY’S BAY for the first time yourself. And how many first times are there actual in life? Why deprive yourself of this one?
Director Adrian Collins also understands that a lot of the comedy in a Malherbe play sits in the timing of the pauses – a comedic gambit that is well deployed in STACEY’S BAY. Barbier is nicely tuned into this ploy too and has a great rhythm and rapport with Malherbe in the delivery of his off-kilter script. They make a charming onstage pairing.
Ultimately, STACEY’S BAY has it all –obsession, fantasies, hero worship, and even the stress of the corporate slog– as it plays in the realm between claustrophobic comedy and restoration theatre to dish up something delightfully cerebral and ridiculous. Here the confinement is metaphysical and the sexual intrigue of a modern fetish-driven disposition; what brings it all together is pure satirical wit.
If not truly appreciated for its searing and utterly hilarious existential commentary on the seemingly mundane lives of everyone stuck in the rat race, one may mistakenly regard STACEY’S BAY as merely a superficial tale of an eclectic teacher crossing paths with a corporate suite in a rather transactional fashion. But if you look closer, STACEY'S BAY begs you, amidst the lingering laughter, to realise that the true connection at play is the built-up social tension (driven by low-key panic) that goes into overdrive to provide the sheer escapism one finds in the dark corners of human connection where few openly profess to tread. That is where you find the real wonderment that is the witty and layered STACEY’S BAY, so deftly performed by Malherbe and Barbier.
STACEYS’ BAY is tailor made for anyone who wants to indulge in (and escape through) adult-rated character-driven chaos that packs a psychological punch. It carries a high-level warning of involuntary laughter and perhaps even some held back snorts and giggles.
You can experience the off-beat delight that is Malherbe’s STACEY’S BAY at the Masambe at the Baxter Theatre until 18 September 2026. Tickets can be booked online through Webtickets. Please note the production carries an age restriction of 18.