‘I'm just a vessel': Sex and the sacred in South African Cape Flats theatre

This chapter explores the relationship between religion and sexuality in Cape Town, South Africa, through the theatre productions of Marc Lottering. Lottering, who identifies as gay, is well known for his stand-up comedy routines, character skits and musicals, based on the development of one his most popular characters, Aunty Merle. This chapter uses a sacred-prismatic lens to analyse the productions, ‘Aunty Merle the Musical’ (2019) and its sequels, ‘Aunty Merle, It’s a Girl’ (2019) and ‘Aunty Merle, Things Get Real’ (2022). Aunty Merle’s popular catchphrase, ‘I’m just a vessel’, is often used by Lottering for comedic effect to reference the God-inspired wisdom the character imparts. This chapter examines how Lottering and Aunty Merle become a vessel for (re)constructing the narrative of queerness in Cape Town, as Lottering uses his coloured, Pentecostal upbringing as well as his gay sexuality as mechanisms to inspire the characters in his plays and to address issues of race, class, sexuality and religion. Exploring how Lottering has managed to sidestep accusations of blasphemy and of being ‘un-Christian’ and ‘un-African’, the chapter draws attention to the ways in which his theatre performances refract the music, preaching and narratives that not only mimic but also critique familiar forms of religious practice.