Company: Erik de Waal, Cape Town

Genre: Storytelling

Venue: 9 — Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, University of Winnipeg

"I grew up in the nicest country in the world," says master storyteller Erik de Waal.

That country, of course, was Apartheid-era South Africa — a place that was "nice" for white people like him, an entirely different reality for others.

That discovery — and the changes his country saw over the course of his formative years — form the spine for this sometimes meandering, but fascinating, autobiographical show.

De Waal has an expert command of story, pacing his coming-of-age anecdotes deliberately, drawing his audience in with a voice sometimes barely above a whisper. He provides just the right amount of historical and political context — enough to convey the appalling injustice of Apartheid, not so much that he bogs his story down.

While the elements of his story might not all quite tie together seamlessly, this monologue is filled with passion, heartbreak and — ultimately — hope.

A powerful story, by a powerful storyteller.