Just when you think you have seen it all, something you haven’t seen before strikes you on the head to remind you that you haven’t seen anything!
At the Market Theatre for the opening of “The black circus of the republic of Bantu”. The energy and feeling is different, certainly nothing you have seen before. Before we stepped in the auditorium, our hands (the audience) was tied with a string. Something ancestral and ritualistic about the act. Soon as you entered the auditorium, the whole place reeked of incense. A solitary figure, big and heavy, dressed in all black was the source. The seating arrangement was also different. We had 3 sitting banks located against the walls, if you wanted a seat, you can sit but the majority were sitting on the floor. The set up was like a catwalk and a large screen served as the backdrop. Before the show commenced, the performer shared snuff and coarse salt with the audience and then he stripped completely naked and started interacting and dancing with the audience, instructing audience members to touch him and participate. He was in his birthday suit. It was peculiar. He was dancing completely naked, undisturbed, undeterred, balls hanging like a piñata to Maskandi music while the audience cheered him on.
The show is inclusive and encourages the audience to get involved. On the performers cue we were signaled to stand-up, sit down, echo the performers words and sing. Four participants from the crowd were selected to be in the show. They were given beastly costumes and instructed to dance, while the performer barked orders with his whip. The scene is exploitative and uncomfortable. The image of Sarah Baartman is a constant in the show. The show pays homage to figures like Sarah Baartman whose bodies where fetishized and deemed to be of a different species by colonizers. The show is about pride and empowerment.
Albert Ibokwe Khoza is the performer leading procedures. He is fearless, vivacious, colorful, creative and authentic. A lot of personality and flavor. He completely and utterly shocked me to my core, no hyperbole, I have never seen performance arts like that before!
The giant screen provided commentary and shared personal insights. The visuals are cinematic, artistic and bold.
Congratulations Princess Mhlongo and the whole team for an interesting show, certainly different and completely unapologetic.
On the square for the opening of “Master Harold… ” and the Boys. Filled to the brim, no space. Celebrities, celebrities, swimming all around, it’s a serious day for theatre, three performers at the top of their game delivering a Athol Fugard classic, RIP.
The story started off light with a comedic tone, with Willie and Sam conversing about the upcoming ballroom competition. Willie has high hopes of winning but he doesn’t have a partner. He beats his beloved Hilda, too much and too hard. Sam comes off as an expert. He teaches Willie a couple of moves. Hally, a white 17 year old, comes in and the atmosphere and relationship dynamic changes. Willie positions himself in the background, cleaning, keeping things moving. He calls Hally master. Hally even admonishes him and beats him with his ruler. Sam is more liberated, they talk about Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Charles Darwin, Kites, and Dostoevsky. They seem familiar, they are in sync, there’s an understanding and then everything switches. Racism, hate, apartheid, I am better than you Kaffer, spilling this bottle of alcohol on the floor because I can, clean it up! Also you gonna have to start calling me master Harold, Kaffer. All bridges get burned when Hally does the unthinkable and spits on Sam’s face. Everything shatters, there’s no going back, what’s done is done. The play takes place in a small tea shop on a rainy afternoon. You hear the raindrops and we have the added sensation of seeing the rain. The rain sets the mood, it’s depressing, they do their best to amuse themselves, they are trapped in one room, Hally’s father is a cripple and his mother currently at the hospital, the mask peels off.
Sello Maake ka-Ncube plays Sam, a waiter at the coffee shop.
Daniel Anderson is “Hally”, oh sorry, master Harold.
Lebohang Motaung is “Willie”, the other waiter/cleaner.
Set designer by Wilhelm Disbergen, an awesome set that evoked the 1950s.
This is such a powerful show. Hats off to Daphne Kuhn and Theatre on the square for yet another banger! It starts off nice and slow and then it hits you with a vice grip. You can’t go anymore, you are trapped, there is nowhere to go. It’s triggering. An outstanding performance from the performers who told the story masterfully. Daniel Anderson shocked me to my core today.
Congratulations to Warona Seane and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.
Spent the day as an observer for Sam, SamSays on the credits. She told me to check out the Gibson Kente lecture. I was enthused, Soweto theatre, of course, let’s go! Always wanted to come to Soweto but I hadn’t found probable cause, Sam put together content, theatre and Brenda Fassie to get me there, that my good man is an offer you can’t refuse – The Gibson Kente annual lecture. Before this I didn’t know much about Gibson Kente so I did my research and learned much about him. Legendary playwright, composer, director and producer born in the township like me 🙋🏽♂️, started a theatre in the township, collaborated with Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu on his first play titled “Manana, The Jazz Prophet” – a play that depicted gangsterism. Sello Maake ka-Ncube called him the “Godfather of theatre” and he trained more than 400 artists including Brenda Fassie and Mbongeni Ngema. Let’s not forget wrote songs for Miriam Makeba and Letta Mbulu. Oh, thank you for the great pass Sam! It was an awesome day, I learned a lot, it was supreme, the Soweto theatre is beautiful, what a design, the colors, the outdoors vibe, the modern architecture is beautiful! The place is a piece of art. A great place to lose yourself, the sound is crisp, wonderful acoustics, I felt like I was in an oven being cooked but it wasn’t hell, it was pleasurable, like closing your eyes listening to your favorite music, theatre is wonderful, performance arts, an imitation of life, art, it makes life worth living because without it it’s just boredom and death. Definitely one of the best theatres I’ve been to, spacious and comfortable, accommodative and bakes you, temperature slow burning, chilled and relaxed. There is plenty of space for parking, it’s easy to get there, outside area to chill and great art to look at. The Soweto Theatre is pretty awesome! I enjoyed the lecture, it was insightful and educative, quite specular, I am inspired, Gibson Kente is a legend, 23 plays and I want to see them all! The subject matters he explored are about everyday living and life, the black experience, township life, human nature, hope, death. He dealt with what it meant to be human and alive, fought against apartheid and believed in freedom and human dignity. It was an experience and enthusiasm reigned, people connected, energy flowed, loved beamed, the lights emitted, the sound crisp and the stream of consciousness was oscillating in a high vibration. It was a day for theatre. All the theatre people were there, I am talking about directors, actors, legends, writers and producers. I also met a friend I was first acquainted with On the Square (Theatre on the Square, Sandton) who produced a show titled “From Soweto with smiles” Mojalefa Mogagabe, a talented creative I was happy to engage with. Kente, the father of black theatre, SamSays on the credits.
I usually come in an hour before the show, to prepare my mind for the experience, take in everything, be comfortable with the scenario, acquaint yourself with the environment and it was not any different this time. I came in nice and early to Jabulani, I love the fact that the theatre is in the township. I made friends. I was home. When you travel all around you realize that people are the same, we are motivated by the same things, we all want the same things, we wear the same things and we even look alike. The faces are different but we still connected, we could still be friends. I even got myself a Kota, what I eat when I am at home. The township (Kasi) is amazing, it’s the people, the community, diverse cultures, all crammed into one, we may be different but we co-exist as one, the pulse is one because all of humanity is one. Soweto is a breeding place for stories, content and inspiration roams all around, it is the place that made Gibson Kente, he told his peoples’ stories, he brought solace to those who needed it, he reflected and made sense of reality, he was a pillar, he entertained, he made people forget, he inspired, he is forever, Kente, the father of black theatre.
Dr. Andile Xaba the lecturer of the program is a great teacher, knowledgeable, prepared, articulate, passionate and has a lot of love for the arts. He grew up in Soweto and knew Gibson Kente, he was influenced and inspired by him. I learned a lot from him. It was a great lecture that covered Kente’s whole life. It was thorough and informative. iComplete and the band were amazing, heavenly voices, sharply dressed in all black, they were the tempo of the day, smooth and sophisticated. The violinist, Tshegofasto Matabane blew me away! She is so talented, showed so much focus and attention when she was playing the violin, it sounded so beautiful. Shoutout to the Artistic Director of the show James Ngcobo, the program was wonderful, it was an incredible day. It was an experience, my taste, while we chilled outside waiting for the lecture to commence we were treated to some wonderful Jazz music, it was a treat. Counselor Lubabalo Magwentshu provided the Keynote Address. Nomathemba Matu a student of Gibson Kente was the guest speaker sharing entertaining stories about his mentor. She shared life lessons with the audience. She is an amazing storyteller and I was engaged, I took what she had to say to heart. Her perspective humanized Gibson Kente, she made him a person. She was relatable. Soweto is awesome! I enjoyed the performances, everything was masterfully executed. The whole event was well coordinated and professional. One word to describe the event, “Masterpiece”. It was honestly the best day of my life. Kente, the father of black theatre, SamSays on the credits.
I’ve never been attracted to you my whole life. I am flattered, but not in this life. You need to stop masquerading as my wife. Move along and find someone who will take you as a wife. You deterring the ladies who have a chance, so slanderous your stories and they starting to spread rife. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but you ain’t my type. Maybe the blade is in too deep but it’s only because it’s a knife. You don’t get this enough but I’ve never been attracted to you my whole life. I am a popular guy and I have some options, you’re the kid in the corner who never gets adopted. You’re a special kid but this ain’t a contest. You just don’t fit the requirements to take the test. What can I say? Okay fine, I’ll hear you out, give you the chance to work your magic, run the catwalk, the expedition don’t need to be tragic. But at the end of the day I have to be honest, I’ve never been attracted to you my whole life. You’re a good kid, pretty smile, find you a good guy who won’t mind walking the extra mile. I am looking the other way, it’s a bye. I’ve never been the guy to sustain a lie. You’re too mellow and yellow, can’t reach my level so a collaboration is a hello no! Good presentation, a wonderful try but I have to be honest, I’ve never been attracted to you my whole life. I walk naked in the gyms locker room to intimidate other guys with my massive cock, not just another Peacock. One night with me would surely rock, but you a nerd and I am a jock. Move over for the ladies who actually have a chance, I’ve never been attracted to you my whole life.
At the Market Theatre to watch “Graveland”. Social commentary, reflecting life back at us. Heartfeltingly moving, poignant, tragic. A story of love, hate, injustices, grudges that never get mended, characters who are bitter and unjustlyingly so. Two stories, two perspectives, you can emphatize with both scenarios, unhealed trauma, life goes on.
A story of a foreign national who one day gets a promotion at work. The natives are jealous, angry and offended. They won’t take orders from “ikwerekwere”. The disrespect is evident, so the foreign manager gets the natives axed from work and hires a brother. Chaos ensures, they stone his brother to death and made him watch, he begged, he pleaded, he was at their mercy, the damned South Africans didn’t care, they wrapped a tyre around his torso and set it alight. He burned to ashes. The broken man returned home with his dead brother for ashes, contained in a cup that looks like a flusk, it’s not even a proper urn. The family are heartbroken, they plan an excursion to get back their lost ones soul in South Africa.
In South Africa, Mahikeng, they encounter a disagreeable, xenophobic cop who arrests them. He demands R8000 for ‘tjo tjo” bribe money, R2000 per person. The foreign nationals can’t do anything, worse is that one of them left a pregnant wife at home. The Cops hate comes from his experiences as an officer of the law. He is pro South African, that’s who he regards, he calls foreign nationals cocroaches. Hillbrow Central, his sister was killed by a foreign national. She was used, she was abused and she died. His brother, the cop, couldn’t do anything, investigations with dead-ends. He hates foreign nationals, very stereotypical, the jobs, women, drugs, we suffering too, stay in your own country, solve your own problems, we suffering too. Towards the conclusion, he shoots a man wanting to go home to his wife and kid. Another African child will grow up without a father.
Graveland poster
The show stars Allen Cebekulu, Diane Maseko, Abongile Maurice, Dineo Sello, Thabiso Rammala, Confidence “Mamzo” Lokhele, Thokozani “zits” Maseko, Sinenhlanhla Mbeyi & Lunga Khuhlane.
Produced by: Relebohile Mabunda Written & Directed by: Thembeni Joni & Lunga Khuhlane Movement by: Sinenhlanhla Mgeyi Production Designer: Sinenhlanhla Q. Zwane Percussionist: Mongezi Yamba
Congratulations Lule Productions and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.
I never lied to the kids, the aim is to build our own banks, businesses and world. To control our own infrastructure and resources. To empower and serve my people.
Still KOSP, because black is beautiful.
Still KOSP, because black is great.
Still KOSP, because I know the history of my people before it was rewritten and we were conquered.
Still KOSP, because I know my greatness.
Still KOSP, because one day I’ll perish, I want to leave a better world for the coming generation.
Still KOSP, because I am the change I want to see.
Still KOSP, because God chose me and I will serve my people.
Still KOSP, because heroism, death haunts me and I know my time is limited.
Still KOSP, because it matters in a world where nothing really matters.
Still KOSP, because we have been surpressed for so long and we need to rise up the ashes anew.
Still KOSP, because politics isn’t practical.
Still KOSP, because I am still black.
Still KOSP, because I am the leader of my generation.
Turning face, I want to be loved, admired, to be cheered by the fans, for them to sing my song. No more giving my attention to people who don’t deserve it. No more interacting with low-vibration people, they are dragging me down, the negative energy, it’s messing with my aura and affecting the trajectory of my progress. I am turning face, I want to be a star and an inspiration to all like the Brahma Bull. I want to be the guy who opens doors for coming generations. I want to inspire, no more excuses and a life of mediocrity, I want to grace covers of major magazines and appear on the big screen. Best in the world like CM Punk, CM Punk, CM Punk! No more giving my power to people who don’t deserve it. If I stay longer then I am paid less, so let’s decrease the hours while maximizing on the quality. I am turning face, no more Mr. Bad guy, no more low-blows and you ain’t gotta acknowledge me anymore, just a fair and honest fight and if I lose, I accept. I am turning face, I am the good guy now, YEAH, I want to be cheered by the fans, I want them to sing my song. I have integrated my shadow and motherfuckers know better than to take me on, cause I don’t back down and I deliver my receipt with conviction. I am turning face, hustle, loyalty and respect like Cena, time to appeal to the broader audience, make them believe in a hero, make them believe in dreams, cause anything is possible, you just need to keep pressing. I am turning face, I want to be a role model to millions of people, instill good values, teach good morals and ethics, to be a good person. Yes, assholes still exist but I am better equipped to deal with them, I’ll kick their ass while pandering to the audience because I am a master of showmanship now. YEAH! I am turning face, because no one could displace me at the top as a heel, I’ve been carrying the show alone and I need some connection. I am turning face and that’s the bottomline cause I said so. Having beer bashes with the fans like Stone Cold Steve Austin. Turning face cause I need to be relatable to the crowd. Turning face cause I need a different crowd. Turning face, I want to be cheered by the fans, I want them to sing my song.
At the Market Theatre to watch “The Last Country”. Different set-up to what we accustomed to, talk about inclusion and intimacy. We were secluded all together, in a square-rectanglist pattern, that was the formation of the seating arrangement, that was the stage, we were literally in the play, the performers were with us! Great work by Empatheatre! The show is empathetic, we had to listen to the woman’s struggles, pains, dreams and misfortunes. The Zimbabwean woman studying for her PhD and is met with miserable stances as she navigates the world. The woman selling on the streets without permits colliding with the police resulting in the confiscation of goods, now you can’t sell anything, you are hungry. You go at it tomorrow, same place, same style, because what’s the alternative, life goes on, a permit is R900 a year, just ask the street vendors, nothing is for free. I love the street vendors dreams, she sells bead apparel, she wants to build a house.
smart
The Last Country is an immersive and deeply moving theatre piece exploring the stories of migrant women. Through the stories of Ofrah from the DRC, MaThwala from Ndwedwe in KwaZulu-Natal, Aamiina from Somalia, and Aneni from Zimbabwe, the audience is intimately immersed into experiences of leaving home and arriving in a South African city, KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. The script carefully weaves together experiences of struggle, pain, humour, hope and resilience in ways that surface our shared humanity, and how the smallest acts of kindness can support and transform the experiences of those seeking sanctuary in our cities.
The play features an all-star cast, that includes Mpume Mthombeni, Faniswa Yisa, Andile Vilakazi and Nompilo Maphumulo, it is an experience. The actors are amazing! They are talking to us directly, eye-ball to eye-ball, you feel them, you understand their pain and struggles, home affairs and their weak system, you wake up early and even that is not a guarantee of anything. They send you back to Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe sends you back.
After the show, we had a QandA session, we explored the show, we got to reflect about the show, discuss issues, deliver commentry, the audience got involved, it was a wonderful experience. I met a girl who is a writer, got short-listed for the DALRO Can Themba Merit Award for her short story, she chose sci fi for her genre, she is beautiful. I submitted “ADULTERY” they went silent, I understand.
Congratulations Neil Coppen and Empatheatre for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.
At the Market Theatre to watch the highly acclaimed play “Mantsopa” by Dr. Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha. The scenery was so cool, the majority of people had on their traditional attire, they donned blankets wrapped around their shoulders. You could feel the spirit of the Basotho people. The dialogue between people was also in Sesotho, the demographic was well represented. This is such a great show! So original and authentically African. I love the Market Theatre because it tells our stories. Last thing I said after the bow was “wow”, it was the general consensus, it induces goosebumps.
Mantsopa, whose grave lies at Modderpoort in the eastern Free State, was born in 1793 and died in 1908. A survivor of famine and subsequent cannibalism, she grew to become a trusted advisor to King Moshoeshoe I, correctly predicting victorious battle outcomes for Basotho against colonial settlers and speaking truth to power with unshaking honesty. She was a prophet, a seer with incredible foresight to predict the future accurately. This foresight led people into thinking that she was a witch with extraterrestrial powers! She lived to be a 111 years old, living across three centuries.
The story follows fictitious great granddaughter Tholoana who has inherited the gift of song. Rejecting her calling, she gets an opportunity to work at club in the city as a singer. She runs from herself. Tholoana’s attitude towards this calling and gift is one of derision. She doesn’t want the gift, she doesn’t want the fame, she’d rather be a psychologist, studying other people’s minds instead. In the city, things don’t go according to script. Despite her best efforts, she is rejected. Her suitor from her village in Lesotho who is smitten by her comes along and attempts to put her in alignment with who she really is – the great granddaughter of Mantsopa and the chosen one. Following her rejection, he succeeds and Tholoana embraces her calling, her destiny. The story features music and dance. The live band curate the story through unique instruments that produce sound effects that mimic nature, birds, rain, the band are a constant fixture of the show. They provide depth and feeling to the show. The performers were outstanding, performing with feeling and conviction. They inhabited the characters they were playing. They were relatable and the interactions between the characters was naturalistic and free-flowing. The set is just gorgeous! I loved the poetry. I loved everything.
On the square for the opening of a dolls house pt. 2. Full house, the place is buzzing and excitement is in the air. Nothing is better than a filled up theatre on the square, the energy is contagious. It’s close knit, intimate and warm. The laughs rebound and echo in the auditorium, you can hear every sound, every gasp, every comment from the audience and the view is in your face, up close and personal, no matter which seat you take. Every seat is a great seat, even the seats close to the pillars.
The show is a great one, it captivated the audience throughout. It’s humorous and explores subjects on self-identity, marriage, traditional gender roles, love and freedom. Nora Helmer comes back after 15 years to the family she abandoned in search of herself. Not much has changed except that the children have grown. The helper (Anne Marie) stepped up in her absence and raised them, neglecting her own life and children in the process. It’s not like she had a choice, she’s not from money, she had to do whatever she could to survive. Nora became a successful author in that period, writing books that serves mainly the female demographic. She questions the institution of marriage and monogamy. Is it worth it? Does it make sense? Why is one partner enough for a lifetime? Surely, I am not the person you married because I’ve changed, you have changed. I am reduced to a role and expectations and I am not myself anymore. I don’t even know who I am anymore, I am subsumed by your domineering character. When relationships start out, it’s all fresh, it’s new, it’s exciting, we go out of our way to woe the other person, we role play, we do things that we will never do again to gain access into that person’s life and once we do, we relax, we become complacent, we stop trying so hard, the relationship stales up and we lose ourselves.
It is this type of writing that gets Nora in trouble with the law. It is this type of writing that empowers her female readers to leave their families. She also finds out that she is still married with her husband, she initially thought she was divorced but her husband didn’t post the paperwork. She wants a divorce but her husband Torvald won’t give it to her. She involves her daughter, hoping that she can convince her father. Eventually he relents and gives it to her but she doesn’t want it anymore.
This is a awesome play, it had the audience laughing out loud, there were also ironic stares from the cast to the audience, breaking the fourth wall, at times it was as if they were talking to us directly. Some uncomfortable laughs from the audience because of the realism of the content. There was range and different states in the performances. The performers had chemistry and overall flow – they were outstanding! The costumes were retro, they gave a 1800 – 1900 vibe. The story is perfectly paced and the scenes clear. The set, writing and lighting – all great!
Bianca Amato plays Nora Zane Meas is Torvald Charlotte Butler is Anne Marie Simone Neethling is Emmy
Congratulations Barbara Rubin and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation!
antakalipa 