Piano

Marabi

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Marabi

At the Market Theatre for the opening of “Marabi”. Piano, Kasi, Stocko, Doornfontein! A full house, everyone in full attendance. The energy palpable, everyone is just excited! It’s the first show of the year!

Marabi is a South African musical theatre classic adapted from Modikwe Dikobe’s novel The Marabi Dance and originally developed through Junction Avenue Theatre Company workshops. It’s set in the Doornfontein slumpyards, rusted corrugated sheets is the feeling and tone, 1930s – the show tells a powerful story of family, music and change.

The play opens with the Mabongo family, first-generation Black migrants who have come to Johannesburg in search of opportunity but instead face the harsh realities of urban poverty and crowded township life. The central figure, July Mabongo, carries the burden of ancestral expectations, traditional values, and the tension between holding on to the past and surviving in a fast-changing city. Mabongo’s daughter Martha falls in love with Ginger George, a charismatic marabi piano player known for his vibrant rhythms and free spirit. Their relationship challenges traditional norms and creates conflict within the family.

The story uses marabi music not just as background but as an emotional and cultural force — representing continuity with heritage and the promise of transformation. As recorded music begins to challenge live performance, tensions emerge over authenticity, survival and identity.

Onstage we see the characters struggle with love, personal dreams, and the effects of broader social changes — from economic hardship to looming war. Marabi is a story of resilience, rhythm and belonging: a theatrical tapestry where family bonds, cultural heritage, and social pressures all interplay against the backdrop of South Africa’s emerging township culture.

The cast
Josias Dos Moleele
Mduduzi Mtshali
Sello Sebotsane
Gabisile Tshabalala
Mapule Mafole
Mpho Molepo
Peter Mashigo
Alister Mbuso Dube
Katlego Moloi
Thamo Baleka Ngoma

The cast are amazing, simultaneously dancing and singing. Mapule Mafole is just remarkable, she plays the role of a child to perfection. So innocent and pure, nothing betrays her performance. She is so beautiful. Josias Dos Moleele is a shapeshifter who wills things into existence. Esscentric and colorful, he brings flavor to his character. Gabisile with that menacing look, eyebrows tuck in, present your case disposition. Sello Sebotsane plays the father, she is very disappointed with her daughter. He later enrolls to fight in the War after getting fired from work. Each of the members of the cast, work with care and diligence to bring their characters to life. There’s a lot of personality and charm to the characters.

Set Designer – Wilhelm Disbergen
Costume Designer – Lethabo Bereng
Lighting Designer – Mandla Mshali

Congratulations Arthur Molepo and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📸: SamSays

Boobs, Beer and Piano

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Boobs, Beer & Piano

Earlier in the year I was feeling bummed out. Progress was there but money was on a snails pace. My mother was on my case and I couldn’t do anything about it because I was still living at her place. Like your peers are ahead and you aren’t even running the race. What she didn’t see is that I was still building a base. I am doing this alone, I have no connections. You are mistaken, you need to do your corrections. I am driving straight to the top and I have the directions. Making babies is easy all I need is an errection. My so call friends think they are better than me. Thinking because they bought beer they birthed me. So I got water and stayed in the social environment. I exist besides you not because of you. Money was at the root of my problems and so I was depressed. My friend came up to me and wanted to know why I was so depressed. It wasn’t something I could explain or something I wanted to talk about. She left it at that and went out to buy some beer. When she returned, she asked me if I wanted to squeeze her boobs and I replied in the affirmative. Then we drank beer and listened to some music. It was a clean job, I was good as new and all it took was just boobs, beer and piano. She’s a phenomenal girl.

The Ultimatum

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The Ultimatum

When everyone knows you’re a writer, the stories come to you. On the weekend, I decided to see a couple of friends I hadn’t seen in a while. A friend was hosting an event and he invited me. I was excited and the event was a success. It was youthful, vibey and very summer. All I could see was girls in shorts and mini skirts. The place was illuminated by yellow thighs and you needed shades to let in the proper light in your retinas. The speakers were blasting Piano, of course and you could hear that lock drum and bass beating to the soul of the universe. There was happiness and it was contagious radiating throughout the room and manifesting itself on the dance floor. Tables were filled with bottles and hookahs connected to pipes emitting smoke that bubbled like a chimney from lungs that breathed out vitality and Joy. Oh, it was great. I drank alcohol and I smoked weed, I was hunk. A friend got into an altercation and the whole situation nearly spiraled out off control but luckily I managed to diffuse the situation. I can’t take all the credit, I am lucky he wasn’t a hot head, he chose peace. I merely told my nigga, “relax, his a fool let him take his petty win. Let’s focus on the girls we have here tonight”. He smiled and put his ego aside, calmed down, left the scene and let the fool be. Unfortunately, his girlfriend heard our conversation and she wasn’t happy with my proposed plan of “focusing on the girls here tonight” but she played it cool and intercepted my plan of action by keeping his man on lock for the whole night. For the whole night I couldn’t get to my nigga, she had her claws in deep. If I persisted she would give me this ice cold stare that you would get from a cobra with its hood raised up and I would cower because I knew her strike was venomous. I knew she had won, my nigga called me to the side and told me the plan was compromised and I shouldn’t protest that I must enjoy the night. So I did, I made a couple of connections and got a couple of numbers. A window of opportunity presented itself and the nigga came up to me and I was chilling with hot honeys, he was being courteous and wanted an introduction and so I obliged him. His girlfriend looking from afar catched feelings and gave him an ultimatum when he returned to her. It was between me and her. My nigga chose her and it’s no hard feelings. I understand, vagina always wins. I can’t compete with pussy. I would probably do the same thing. He took her home. We are fine, we still good friends and I ended up having a great night, if that’s too cryptic, I didn’t sleep alone.