CHAD JOHNSTON
Tuks Has Got Talent is an annual event held in the Aula theatre. The event allows competitors to show off their talents to a panel of judges and win cash prizes. The 2015 version of the event happened on 16 April and Perdeby was there to witness it all.
There was a bit of confusion around the starting time of the event because the poster which Stuku released said that the show began at 17:30, but to the annoyance of most audience members the show was only scheduled to begin at 18:30. The celebrity presenters were also half an hour late because they were stuck in traffic which was caused by load shedding. When the show finally began there were glimpses of talent on display, but nothing really “wowed” anyone until one man whistled his way through a medley of Avicii songs. The unusual talent had the crowd going crazy and finally set the tone for the evening.
Tina Redman, a third-year drama student, was the next act to get the crowd buzzing. Her witty yet powerful beatbox routine was a crowd favourite and was followed by two more drama students, Chante Geary and Dene Janse van Rensburg, whose sultry singing earned them a well-deserved second place. One or two technical issues reared their heads and at one point there was a performer who seemed to not want to take to the stage and deliver her rendition of Sia’s Chandelier.
First place went to “Chavs” who showed off remarkable freestyle soccer skills and deservedly walked away with a substantial cash prize. Third place belonged to dancer Mpumi whose performance resembled something out of a Beyoncé video.
When the audience was given their turn to perform, many believed that some of them were even better than the talented contestants. From amazing dancers to inspiring spoken word artists, the chosen audience members gave the rest of the crowd something to shout about.
After the winners were announced, there were a few comments made about the organisation of the event. Many were disgruntled by the fact that there were no refreshments sold before the show or during the interval. Some people were even questioning the credibility of the final results as there were murmurs that the judges weren’t entirely fair. However, there can be no doubt that there is a vast range of talented individuals walking around campus.
While students were only able to see a few students at Tuks Has Got Talent, students can look forward to seeing who the new superstars will be at next year’s instalment of the show.
Photo: Shen Scott
