Dr John Kani, Tumisho Masha, Hlomla Dandala, Atandwa Kani, Khutjo Green and Sbusiso Mamba will bring to life the classic play, “Fences”, at the Joburg Theatre stage in celebration of Black History Month.
Set in the 50s in Pittsburgh, “Fences,” follows the story of Troy Maxson, his wife Rose and sons, Cory and Lyons.
Troy works as a garbage collector alongside his best friend, Jim Bono, whom he has known for decades.
Written by renowned African American playwright August Wilson, “Fences” explores the evolving African American experience while examining race relations and other themes which resonate with what South Africa experienced during Apartheid, into democracy and celebrated over the years.
“August Wilson is the most performed playwright in America today. Most of his plays have been adapted into great movies including ‘Fences’, directed by and starring Denzel Washington,” explained Kani.
He added: “Viola Davis won an Oscar for Best Actress for playing Rose. It is so fitting that the Joburg Theatre celebrates this great writer in February 2023 during Black History Month.
“Would it not be wonderful if we here in South Africa could also have a season in all theatres celebrating our writers as well?”
Echoing Kani's sentiments, Tumisho Masha said it was a great honour to be part of Wilson's iconic works.
“August Wilson writes incredibly beautifully and as an actor, all you have to do is just be true to what was written. You don't have to add anything. You don't have to take anything away. Just say it, as he wrote it, and you'll be fine.
“For us as the cast, it’s exciting to be with each other. For most of us, we were very excited to be able to spend time with Dr John Kani.
“Sometimes it feels like we're kind of just there to get as many pearls and gems at his feet about life, more than ever about the world that we occupy in the industry that we're in.
“It's like sitting with an elder every single day and just being blessed,” shared Masha.
Masha also hailed Wilson for his portrayal of black women in the play.
“August is very sharp in the way he just portrays black women. At first, you'd think that the female characters are just these people who look after the house, clean, cook and raise their kids but actually, the female black female characters are the strongest players in the piece,” he said.
“He shows us that without centering your family around a strong black woman, you're not going to make it.”
The “Blood and Water” star added that his takeaway from the play is the bromance between Jim Bono, played by himself, and Troy Maxson (Dr John Kani).
“Jim Bono is just that good friend who’s able to offer good advice to be able and to tell you when you're going astray and bring you back,” Masha said.
“And that’s something that we’re going to explore in this that I like people to come and see what male friendship looks like.
“Real male friendship is about someone that you know will be there for you…will be there for your family, will be part of your family, and want to pull you in when you’re doing something that could hurt that family because they know how important that family is to you as a man.”
For Hlomla Dandala, who plays Lyons Maxson, this multi-layered play addresses the universal issue of absent fathers, stating that although the play is set in the US, it will resonate with many South Africans.
“In America, the absent father syndrome is very deep. It was institutionalised. You come from a place where the way the system is designed, pushes the man out of the home.
“We come from exactly that, South Africa and the migrant labour system. We still live that way. Many men have a big house in the rural area and a small house ekasi (township),” said Dandala.
“And so to explore how they deal with it is really an exploration of how we deal with it. Exploring how absent fathers reconnect with their sons, and how they relate to their women is exactly the same thing that we are doing.
“And so I find that in, in the play, the way that Troy is with his sons, that could happen literally right here in Soweto. The issues are identical.”
On how he thinks it’s important for South Africans to celebrate Black History Month, the former “The River” star explained: “America has the highest concentration of black people outside of Africa. These are our people. These are us.
“We are them. When we were battling with apartheid, it was African Americans who were constantly pushing and fighting for us to find some kind of emancipation. Their fate is very closely linked to ours and vice versa. We are one people.”
“Fences” will be staged at the Joburg Theatre from February 2 - 26. Tickets are R160 at Webtickets.
KWAZULU-NATAL
Merv The Swerv
Where: iZulu Theatre.
When: January 27 - 28.
From the beginning of 2020, the start of Covid-19, during and post-Covid, veteran comedian Mervin Pillay kept busy on the TikTok platform with his characters Ravi, Boya, Shambies, Stoneyard and Brommer giving audiences commentary on the latest social issues.
Some of these characters will come to life on stage, so beware, you might be singled out just for fun. Pillay loves to see people laugh and have a good time.
"So, bring your wife/wives, girlfriends, children, and just the entire family. Sit back, relax and let some steam," he said.
CAPE TOWN
Oedipus at Colonus: #aftersophocles
Where: Baxter Flipside.
When: February 3 - 18.
Directed by Mark Fleishman, “Oedipus at Colonus: #aftersophocles” is about time, ageing, and dying. It was written by Sophocles at the end of his life when he was an old man facing his own death.
It is the third play in the so-called Theban Cycle.It is also a play about the land and belonging to the land, or more precisely, a desperate desire to belong to the land.
JOBURG
Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth
Where: Baxter Flipside.
When: February 3 - 18.
The Amandla Freedom Ensemble, led by Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2019 Mandla Mlangeni, will once again bring The Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth to the stage, and re-imagine jazz through the lens of poetry, classical musings and the ‘black consciousness’ legacy in South Africa.
“Our foray into the classical world is an opportunity to give voice to new expression within the structural confines of Western Art, while also drawing from the deep well of indigenous music by creating cultural avenues that allow audiences to tap into new and unimagined worlds,” says Mlangeni.
The production commemorates the June 16 and Fees Must Fall events through a musical and theatrical narrative, and reflects the turbulence that South Africa finds itself in.