Dam is back with more twists and intrigue

DAM season 2 has returned for streaming on Showmax. The series, created by four-time SAFTA winner Alex Yazbek, is a thriller which is not only the most nominated drama series at the 2022 SAFTAs but was one of the channel’s 10 most-watched titles of 2021.

It’s now three months after the Spring Festival. The cult’s ritual sacrifice seems to have worked: rain has come and transformed the land. Yola has no memory of anything since her return for her father’s funeral.

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Can she put the missing pieces together as diamonds are discovered, a mass grave uncovered, and a monster surfaces in the dam?

With its return, ZO senior journalist Wellington Makwakwa caught up with star Pallance Dladla to find out more about the Showmax Original hit.

What made you want to come back to your role in season 2?

Definitely this family. We met at the worst time. We shot the first season during Covid. A lot of people didn’t know how the future was going to pan out. Somehow we ended up in Bedford in the Eastern Cape shooting this series, and something magical happened that resonates through the show. We became such a real family – the actors and the crew. I feel like there’s going to be more incredible things that are going to happen in our industry if we just build this family-based way of working.
But also, season 1 ends on a cliffhanger, so we knew we had unfinished business.

How do you describe DAM?

It’s a psychological thriller that intertwines horror and fantasy too. It’s a rollercoaster, man. But more than anything else, it’s a story about family, love and healing. That’s what it really is.

How was the reaction to season 1?

It was embraced by all cultures, which was surprising for me. I found out that people just want refreshing stories.
It’s been incredible for me, because this is a new genre for South Africa. We are only now starting to play with genres like psychological thrillers. What Alex did is take this very heavy subject matter and make it digestible for the people by using genre.
We shouldn’t underestimate our audiences; it is ready.

Tell us about your character

I play Themba. My character is almost like the moral compass for the audience. He has this purity. He’s grounded, where with Yola’s role this season, there’s a sense of disconnection. He realises the importance of his ancestry and that the values passed down by his forefathers are fundamental to humanity: values of love, family, forgiveness, community, and connection with nature – to which we all belong in this ecosystem. And he is challenged to honorably embrace these values and these responsibilities, whatever the cost.

The S2 trailer is freaky. Was there anything that creeped you out this season?

When the stuntman was on fire. I’m just gonna give you that, without context. That’s the only clue I’m going to give you. I do my own stunts, but only to a certain level, not like that. So kudos to that, man.

What was it like working with Alex and director of photography Tom Marais?

Amazing. Alex’s leadership quality is that of a father. He makes everybody somehow vulnerable, but you can trust him with that vulnerability. Because Alex wrote it, it seems personal.
And then Tom is so amazing in finding intricate details about the character. Every time I work with Tom, he finds something personal that somehow resonates through the camera. One thing I love about this genre is how the camera moves and how it’s lit. That’s how you really set the mood and the world.
I love how those two work together. They’re like little boys – every time they see a shot, they laugh like children. The show was nominated for 11 SAFTAs and won two.

If you weren’t an actor, what would you do?

You know, I believe, somehow, through what I do, I heal myself as well as others; I teach myself and I teach others. So I would still be telling stories for sure. If it’s not in this medium, it would be in a different one. I would write or direct and/or produce. I would do sound. I’d hold the camera. Something along those lines.

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