SARAFINA

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SARAFINA

At Joburg Theatre to watch SARAFINA. Beyond ecstatic to watch this masterpiece. Full house, every seat taken and it's like that for the remainder of the run. The movie is pretty great but there is nothing like the theatrical production.


Bantu education, exuberant youth in black and white uniform, soldiers, police, violence, despair and hope. I'll extend my neck and declare that it's the greatest show of all time! Perfect choreography, heavenly voices, boundless energy, relatable South African characters, world class performers, fabulous lighting that moved the story and the content is king! The lighting throughout the show is just wonderful. The set evokes the 1970's, wide stage that is separated by a fence. One side is the students world and the otherside, the soldiers world. On either side of the students world is scaffolding. When there was a monologue, the students dispersed to the scaffolding, making the stage bigger for the performer sharing the monologue. Focus, intensity, with the spotlight fully illuminating the performer. 

The play speaks to something deep - freedom. The right to exist without demarcation, limitations or conditions imposed by the unjust, unfair system. The right to just be. Huge stage, the performers make use of every inche. They run, they jump, they dance, they are energetic, animated, expressive and free. The music band are just the best. At the start of the show, the theatre suffered a blackout, the auditorium was dark, the band carried on playing as the audience took out their cellphones to provide the light. It was a beautiful sight, like fireflies. Small glitch, the lights came back on and the crowd went crazy! We were invested in the story from the very start. The show had everything, it was comedic, silly, serious, festive, covered injustices, Bantu education, unrest, sexual assault, apartheid and death. Crocodile is so mischievous! He physically beat his classmates to be Nelson Mandela. His classmates still picked Sarafina, a girl, to be Nelson Mandela. Being the strongest doesn't always produce the desired effect. So in love with mistress, she teaches her classes with complete conviction, the students trust and respect her. When she performed in that red dress it was as if I were struck by cupid's arrow.

This is a large ensemble and everyone is important. Some of the names in the production are Noxolo Dlamini, Hlengiwe Pearl and Busisiwe Mhlanga. 

Nompumelelo Gumede-Ngema provided the choreography. 

Sarafina is the greatest theatrical production of all time. It's a complete theatrical experience. Thank you to the visionary, an absolute Legend, Mbongeni Ngema for his genius. Thank you to the exceptional performers who gave everything to bring the story alive. SamSays on the credits.


Congratulations Mpho Molepo and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📷: Dumakude Nxumalo 

https://youtu.be/yK9gDWqQSDg?si=3ozJS-vA3dWZX899

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