The Zulu comes to Jozi

Mbongeni Ngema’s historic show, The Zulu, has hit The Market Theatre.

Ngema’s thrilling new stage narrative continues its South African tour from 18 September to 3 November.

The production is funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and produced by Africa Ngema, directed by Christopher John and designed by Sarah Roberts.

It is inspired by the experiences I had as a small child, listening to the wonderful stories of heroic deeds that my great-grandmother, oka Mkhulutshana Manqele, shared with me.

Ngema, one of South Africa’s theatre icons, returns to the stage in this production for the first time in 27 years. The production provides an unforgettable opportunity for audiences of all ages to come face-to-face with the stirring background of the historic Zulu nation.

Famed for a string of international stage blockbusters he has created and produced, including Asinamali, Sarafina!, Magic at 4 AM, Mama, The House of Shaka, Lion of the East, among others, multi-award winning Ngema last appeared on stage in a production of the internationally celebrated Woza Albert.

Now South Africa’s master of theatre and founder of the longstanding, black-owned Committed Artists Company, has tapped into his own richly-nurtured background of traditional storytelling, learned as a small child from his great-grandmother.

He has crafted a spellbinding one-man show that melds memories of his childhood, spent in the heart of Zululand, with the grandeur of his heritage, bringing vividly to life the historic panoply of the Zulu nation.

“The Zulu follows the story of my musical of the same title, only in more depth,” said Ngema. “My new show has been in the creative pipeline for several years. It is inspired by the experiences I had as a small child, listening to the wonderful stories of heroic deeds that my great-grandmother, oka Mkhulutshana Manqele, shared with me. Her skills as a storyteller kept a wealth of our history alive, both about our family background and our proud roots as members of the Zulu nation. It is due to her that I have followed a career in theatre.”

At the opening of The Zulu, Ngema tells how his great-grandmother was given her name by her father, who was in King Dingaan’s regiment of Umkhulutshana. When Ngema grew up in the hills of Nongoma in Zululand, his great-grandmother was very old and blind, and in her mind’s eye she remembered pre-colonial Zulu life.

Indeed, it is the very history of the Zulu nation that springs to life as Ngema shares his important new play with today’s audiences, performed to the accompaniment of noted maskanda star, Matshitshi Ngema.

Details: Computicket on 0861 915 8000, www.computicket.com