DUT Courtyard Theatre: 14 to 18 May 2017
The Durban University of Technology Department of Drama and Production Studies will present a re-interpretation of Welcome Msomi’s iconic and critically-acclaimed 1971 play, uMabatha, from 14 May to 18 May 2017.
Msomi’s play, known as known as ‘the Zulu Macbeth’, offers a localized reading of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Msomi explored themes in Macbeth such as abuse of power and unchecked ambition, and their potential to corrupt; greed and deceit; tyranny and oppression; and fate vs free will, all set in the context of early 19th-century South Africa. He (freely) interpreted and aligned Shakespeare’s original narrative to run parallel to the historical narrative of Shaka kaSenzangakhona (Shaka Zulu). Characters and locations were transposed to a local context: Macbeth, Macduff, Lady Macbeth and Banquo become Mabatha, Mafudu, Kamadonsela and Bhangane respectively, and the invading army that defeats Mabatha is Swazi.
The play is a landmark in the South African theatre landscape.
uMabatha premiered at the Open Air Theatre at the University of Natal (Now the University of KwaZulu-Natal) in 1971 when Msomi was a drama student there. He was invited to close the Royal Shakespeare Company’s World Theatre Season in London with his play in 1972. The production was remounted in 1973 at London’s Aldwych Theatre, where it broke all box office records. The play was subsequently staged numerous times during the 1970s, including productions at the Italian and American Spoleto Festivals, London’s Old Vic (1977) and for three months at an off-Broadway theatre in New York City, as well as at various theatres in Aberdeen in Scotland, Zimbabwe, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
uMabatha was revived in post-Apartheid South Africa in 1995 at the request of Nelson Mandela. uMabatha is directed by DUT’s drama lecturer Siza KaMnisi Mthembu, and features DUT Department of Drama and Production Studies students.
Venue is the Courtyard Theatre, Steve Biko Road, Ritson Campus, Gate 6. For bookings / information: Lebo Sibisi on 031 373 1694 o/h.
