Sarafina comes to Joburg Theatre
Sarafina was later converted into a Hollywood feature film.
The biggest African musical, Sarafina, now in its 32nd year, will be showcased at the Joburg Theatre for a 10-day run to commemorate Youth Month.
Also read: Eminent American pianist to play for JMS
Committed Artists Theatricals, in association with the Joburg Theatre, will be staging the Broadway-renowned award-winning production of Sarafina from June 14 to 24 on the Mandela Stage.
Also read: Woza Albert! to take the Joburg Theatre stage
Directed by Dr Mbongeni Ngema, the show will be staged during Youth Month to inspire and encourage young people while celebrating the centenary of SA’s finest humanitarians, the late statesman Nelson Mandela.
One of SA’s most iconic symbols of the struggle for social and political freedom and justice, Sarafina was conceived and directed by Ngema who has written and arranged the music and lyrics with additional songs by the late Dr Hugh Masekela.
“It is befitting that South Africa’s most successful theatrical export is finally coming to the Mandela Stage at the Joburg Theatre. A new generation of theatre-goers will get to experience this rich musical legacy and re-ignite the belief within young people that SA is able to produce work that is among the best in the world,” said Makhaola Ndebele, artistic director at the Joburg City Theatre.
Sarafina was adapted to become a school set work and is studied by learners in schools across the African continent.
The play, which depicts students involved in the 1976 Soweto Uprising against apartheid, was created in June 1986 and premiered at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg in June 1987, with Leleti Khumalo in the title role as the schoolgirl activist, Sarafina.
The powerhouse musical took Broadway by storm in January 1988 during Black History Month culminating in a two-year run on Broadway in Manhattan, New York City and a five-year tour of the USA.
Concurrently, a second cast of Sarafina premiered in 1988 and went on to tour the world for four years which included the UK, Europe, Australia, Japan and West Africa.
Sarafina was later converted into a Hollywood feature film with the soundtrack produced by Ngema and Quincy Jones.
This captured the imagination of the world and this engraved Sarafina as a symbol of African triumph and hope for the world.
In celebrating the youth of 1976, Sarafina promises to stage 14 electrifying performances this June.
Tickets are available at www.joburgtheatre.com or contact 0861 670 670.
For more news and interesting articles, like Joburg East Express on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Email joburgeast@caxton.co.za
