The inner-city housing crisis and the plight of the marginalized was in the spotlight in a powerful tale of humor and tragedy.
‘Kwa’Mnyamandawo’ is the seventh play by ‘Kwasha! Theatre Company’ which ran at Market Theatre from July 18-21, 2024.
It follows an investigative journalist named Penelope seeking to uncover the truth behind the housing crisis in Hillbrow through the help of a local tour guide. Her findings reveal a story of corruption and human neglect indicative of life in the inner city.
As one walked into the theatre, they were met by two walls with faded paint and exposed brick, one bearing the words ‘kwa’mnyamandawo’ or ‘the dark place’ spray-painted across it. Below, litter was scattered across the floor and a projector played real Eyewitness News coverage of a building fire in the background. This set the tone for what was expected to be a bleak telling of inner-city trauma.
Speaking to cast member Wenziyweyinkhosi Myeni, she says: “It’s about time that we start seeing stories we’ve never seen before. You may look at the buildings and the people that come from there and think their stories don’t need to be told, but those are the exact stories that need to be told!”
However, the hour that followed was anything but. As the lights dimmed and the projector cut, the audience’s silence was met by the harmonizing of the four-cast ensemble as the tour guide delivers a dispassionate sales pitch of Hillbrow. “Brothels and strip clubs make perfect for first dates!’” he proclaims to a snickering audience.
Dance and humour was a feature throughout Kwa’Mnyamandawo. Photo: Kabir Jugram
But the laughs would not end there. From the exaggeration of the swaggered walk of boys that don sporties (bucket hats) and studded earrings to the impersonation of rude yet clueless cops, the characters on display were caricatures of people we all know and see daily. Pair this with continuous choreography and melodies backing even the most mundane scene of daily routines of those in hijacked buildings, and daily life in the inner-city was splashed with colour.
Yet the consistent humour would not belittle the gravity of the play’s theme. As the play ends- after the police burn down an occupied hijacked building to conceal evidence of a syndicate – the lights dim, the actors turn to the projector and footage of real interviews with fire survivors plays, a reminder that the themes illustrated in the play are in fact a reality for many.
The play ends with real footage of a building fire being projected in the background. Photo: Kabir Jugram
Cast member Xhamla Samsam stated: “humour (is) the way of nursing the real wound that lies behind”. And that is exactly what this play is all about- using humour to make sense of trauma, the only way us South Africans know how. The result of this is a play that is complex yet digestible, relatable and unapologetic in its messaging.
Vuvu rating: 9/10
FEATURED IMAGE: The tour-guide and journalist engaged in argument. Photo: Kabir Jugram
The road to responsibility is one that we are all bound to take, and it comes with its negatives and positives.For me to come back to Johannesburg,wasadecision that was based on events that acted as a double-edged sword in my life.
Reflecting only on the bad experiences andtelling myself that I would notcomeback to Johannesburg, I did not consider any life lessons to be drawn from the experiences. However, being back in the city and being able to do almost everything I wanted to do in 2017, I can see that the past experience has equipped me to adapt way better the second time around.
Growing up in Evaton West, a township in the Vaal Triangle whereopportunities for the youth are few and a place the government couldn’t care less about, led me to consider moving to Johannesburg, where I thought I could kickstart my career as a photographer.
The younger me back then did not understand how to manoeuvre in the streets of Joburg, who to interact with and who to trust. I was enrolled at an institution named iCollege.
Having to travel to the Johannesburg CBD from the Vaal, some days I would squat at my classmate’s dorm as I did not have transport money.Travelling by Metrorail was another traumatic experience, as I would be forced to ride outside when the train was full, praying the whole time that I would make it home alive.
This ended up being a waste of my money and time because after completing the qualification it turned out that the college was not accredited for the course.
This harsh experience, plus getting mugged on my way to Park Station and getting scammed of money and a phone in a banking queue, taught me a lot about Johannesburg. It’s what I see as a double-edged sword in my life, as these experiences broke me and, at the same time, built me.
What made these experiences more traumatic was not having family to support me. I told myself that I would be better off completing my degree in the Vaal or another city or province, far away from Johannesburg.
The city initiated me in a year to know how the world can be a cold place and that you are responsible for your own happiness in life. What I wished the younger me to have seen is that in whatever situation life places you, there is always a lesson, even in the mayhem. However, as the tinnybuddah website says: “Be kind to past versions of yourself that didn’t know the things you know now.”
My achievements from 2018 to 2020, which include acquiring a BA in communication from North-West University Vaal Triangle Campus, were a result of the hardships I experienced the first time I came to study in Joburg. Today I see the city of gold through a different lens, as a hub for creatives in the artistic fields that I desire to be part of, as well as an opportunity to study at one of the biggest universities in Africa.
The diversity in culture, lifestyle and way of doing things as I perceive it now is more unifying of various cultures to bring a different taste of life to the city and introduce a new culture. I gained this new perspective while travelling in and around the city taking pictures, and I found that I could be part of that new culture.
The Alfonso that is here today came back because of what the younger me experienced and what the younger me gained, which has made me the person I am proud to be today. I am no longer afraid of the city and now understand that life may not go as planned, but through all that, I should keep my chin up. Now I can honestly say, I have been through the most and I am ready for what life keeps bringing to the table, instead of running back home as I did before.
Lebo Radebe and Sibusiso Chiba are two of the many homeless people prowling the city of Johannesburg.
They are scavengers for food, for drugs, for shelter on the bitterly cold pavements, for anything that can make their lives a little better.
Poverty and hunger have brought these two young men together.
They are among the more than 24 million people who go hungry in South Africa. With unemployment and poverty levels rising, the number of people who are food secure could increase. While other people scavenge for food in the waste dumps and dustbins, Sbusiso and Lebo collect and sell scrap metal.
Although they support each other and look out for one another, they are not always in agreement about their value system as they eke out a life on the street.
This video is a production of the 2014 Wits Journalism short course in television.
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