ASINAMALI! @ the Market Theatre Written by Mbongeni Ngema Directed by Prince Lamla One of the greatest hits of the South African stage, the multi-award-winning musical drama, Asinamali!, is returning to the Market Theatre. A show of immense vitality, sadness and humour, Asinamali! makes for compelling theatre, mingling exhilarating dance and mime with hypnotic choral singing. Written by Mbongeni Ngema, this tale of five black prisoners brought together in a South African prison is enacted like a theatrical poem, rising and falling in cadence with the sounds of singing, dancing, shouting and speaking. This classic South African play was inspired by events that surrounded the 1983 rent strike in the Lamontville township, led by the martyred activist Msizi Dube, in which the rallying cry was `Asinamali!` - which is Zulu for ``We have no money!`` With five wooden chairs and a few props, the five actors, dressed only in khaki prison shirts and shorts, take their viewers through the farms and cities, homes and factories, courtrooms and detention camps of their homeland. With a simple shift in costume, they become white policemen, supervisors and bureaucrats who bully, tease and patronize the blacks. One black man, a pig farmer, gleefully tells of his affair with his white master`s wife; another lustily acts out the life of his hero, an urban con-man. Others tell of their frustrating, humiliating search for work permits. Still others speak of their involvement with Dube`s movement. All spit out their contempt for the police informers who contributed to his death. Asinamali! had travelled widely internationally and is one of the most important plays from apartheid South Africa. This new production is directed by Market Theatre Laboratory graduate Prince Lamla, who has just enjoyed a six-month season of his production of Woza Albert! at the Market Theatre, which was followed by a month-long season at the Edinburgh Festival 2012. Recent re-runs of such apartheid-era classics as Woza Albert! , Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island have suggested that there is a new hunger for classics from the past as interpreted by a new generation of young black directors and performers. This production will be travelling to the National Arts Festival before returning for a season at the Market Theatre. See you at the Market! The Market parking is safe, secure and free. Our facility is also well lit, with security personnel around the clock. Production Information Author Mbongeni Ngema Director Prince Lamla Lighting Design Nomvula Molepo Set and Costume Designer TBC Stage Manager Bongani Motsepe Cast Character Mncedisi Baldwin Shabangu Solomzi Menzi Biyela Thami Tshallo Sputla Chokwe Bhoyi Xolile Gama Bongani Lungi Pinda Bheki Season: 16 July – 18 August 2013 Venue: The Barney Simon Theatre Performance Times: Tuesday – Saturday 20h15 and Sunday 15h15 NB: please note tickets are R79 on Tuesday To make block bookings, please contact Anthony Ezeoke or Neo Letsogo ext 121 or 135 on 011 832 1641. For further information, interviews and images, contact: Lusanda Zokufa, Senior Publicist Market Theatre Foundation 011 832 1641 ext 123 072 367 7867 [email protected]
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 09:46:50 +0000