Classic play returns to Newtown
NEWTOWN - Production to run at site of first performance 30 years later.
The classic play, Have You Seen Zandile? will return to the Market Theatre for a limited run this month.
Written by Gcina Mhlope, Maralin Vanrenen and Thembi Mtshali, the play was first performed at the theatre in 1986, to great acclaim.
“The new production features talented actresses Momo Matsunyane and Zethu Dlomo, and is directed by rising star Khutjo Green, who won a best actress Naledi Theatre Award for her role in Gina Shmukler’s docu-drama, The Line,” said theatre spokesperson Lusanda Zokufa.
The play follows the journey of Zandile, a bright young girl who lives with her grandmother in Durban.
Abducted by her mother, who believes that it is time for her to reap the benefits of having a girl child, Zandile is taken to live with family in rural Transkei.
“Through her passage into adulthood, Zandile is faced with various issues, such as having her periods and the myths surrounding that experience, as well as meeting boys, friendship, marriage, and trying to fill the void left by her beloved grandmother’s absence,” said Zokufa.
“[This] is a beautiful play that is still as fresh and relevant today as it was when it was first performed.”
Mhlope, Vanrenen and Mtshali are among South Africa’s most vivid storytellers and writers, and the trio imbued the work with the candour of a teenager growing up in the ’60s, seeing the world through youthful eyes while dealing with the hardships of rural life.
The play will be presented by the theatre and Green Goose Collective in association with Yellow Bunny Production.
Have You Seen Zandile? will run from 8 until 26 October at the Market Theatre, corner of Bree and Miriam Makeba streets, Newtown.
Details: 011 832 1641; www.markettheatreco.za
