Streets of love and greed

The cast sparkles as brightly as the storyline in the tale of love, lust and greed that is Streets of Gold. The humour and good music add to the magic.
G-DAY has come and gone: it was the day the vault holding all the world’s gold, located underneath Johannesburg, was set to be either opened or self-destruct and permanently lock itself, rendering the world a barren, goldless wasteland.

Ngudu9Show-stealer: Ngudu9Two warring groups, the Global Union of Nations (GUN) and the Gold Liberation Front (GLF), had to race against each other and the clock to be the first to get the gold. Prefect Flora von Higgins, head of the despotic GUN, plotted her way to the vault, while her nemesis, rebel leader Viddy Civille of the GLF, desperately tried to avoid capture by security forces.

The self-destruct mode on the vault was triggered by Von Higgins in an embarrassing press conference in front of an international audience. Not only that, the key meant to open the vault was stolen by rebel warrior Cassandra Prime, whose genetic code is necessary to open the crypt.

The conniving that follows by Von Higgins and her defence minister, Moro, to get the gold at any cost is something to behold. The two, who agreed to share the wealth between them, secretly scheme to get rid of the other and attempt to use their sidekicks, Jabulani Bond and Sheba, as pawns in a deadly game.

Bond, the down-and-out head of security, is enlisted to return the key to Von Higgins. Cassandra and her ex-lover, Civille, are also on the wanted list, dead or alive. The gold-digging temptress Sheba is recruited to use her feminine wiles to bring Civille out of hiding. Having also been intimate with the insurgent, Sheba views it as an easy way to get a cut of the pie.

Confused Casanova Civille is torn between his current relationship with Von Higgins’ daughter, Lily, and trying to simultaneously rescue Cassandra and the gold.

All roads inevitably lead to the vault, where the final confrontation yields explosive results. Moro’s dastardly deviousness pays off, and he gets his henchmen to kill Von Higgins while her back is turned.

Corruption pervades Streets of GoldCorruption, love and lust pervades Streets of GoldArriving just moments later are the rest of the motley crew. The conflict erupts as both sides fight to access the vault, and Moro’s ambitions are unrealised as he is mown down by the rebel forces. Freedom is restored to the people and as a sign of true democracy, the gold is distributed equally.

Woven through this story of greed and corruption is a tale of love, lust and hate, the basest of human emotions. Humour, good music and a cast of some of South Africa’s favourite stars carry the magic through from the moment the curtain goes up to the dazzling finale.

Fiona Ramsay sparkles as the conniving Flora von Higgins, and Mark Richardson is the perfect evil counterpart of defence minister Moro. Tumisho Masha is the suave security man with a conscience, Jabulani Bond; Amor Vittone plays the seductress, Sheba; and Carmen Pretorius plays Lily von Higgins. The rebel rat pack comprises Shaun V as playboy Viddy Civille, Samantha Peo as the courageous Cassandra, and Phumi Mncayi as the show-stealing Ngudu9.

Also featured is some spectacular gold jewellery, designed by finalists in a competition held specifically for the play, as well as some celebrity creations, and manufactured by Andreas Salver jewellers.

Streets of Gold is presented by AngloGold Ashanti and is playing, rather appropriately, at Gold Reef City until Sunday, 3 April. Tickets range between R125 and R175 and bookings can be made through Computicket.