The Baxter’s Best of Zabalaza 2017 winner – the riveting one-hander Boy Ntulikazi from KwaZulu Natal, will be staged for a limited season from 3 to 13 May, in the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio at 8pm nightly, with matinees Saturday matinees on 6 and 13 May at 2.30pm.
Written by Thobani Nzuza and Kagiso Tsimakwane, the powerful drama examines the far-reaching implications of decisions taken by individuals and the possible devastating impact those decisions can have on future generations. Nzuza’s finely-crafted physical performance is enhanced by the accompaniment of live music created by Nhlanhla Zondi. Original direction is by Kagiso Tsimakwane, but recently Nzuza has directed himself in the production.
Simple narratives, complex threads
The Best of Zabalaza continues its tradition of selecting cutting-edge and simple narratives layered with complex threads and with great artistic execution. Boy Ntulikazi is no exception.
Nzuza also received the Best Actor award at the seventh annual Zabalaza Theatre Festival, which was held in March and which showcased some 50 productions from all over the Western Cape and other regions. As part of its commitment to development the Best of Zabalaza production winner receives a full run and the opportunity to be staged to a wider audience. Boy Ntulikazi is the first Best of Zabalaza winner from KwaZulu Natal.
The play was originally performed at the Isigcawu Festival in Durban where Nzuza received the Best Actor award, followed by the Imbewu Festival, the Durban University of Technology New Playwrights’ Festival, the Uhuru Festival, the 2016 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and, most recently, at the Joburg Theatre.
The subject of silence
Ubuntu and care for the well-being of future generations are at the heart of this poignant story, where the indiscretions and decisions of parents are pivotal themes in a young man’s journey to find his biological mother. These themes are common in South Africa today and opens up a door to a very familiar subject – the subject of silence when so many negative cycles happen over and over again.
A 14-year-old girl living with her parents in extreme hardship and poverty, falls pregnant and decides to leave her home, fearing that they will not accept her child. She gives birth to a healthy baby boy. Scared and naïve, she has no one to turn to, so she goes to the nearby river and places the baby on a rock at the river bank, hoping that the strong winds of July (Ntulikazi) will push the baby into the river. She leaves the baby on the rock and walks away. Years later the child has become a young man, questioning his own identity in an effort to understand, so he sets out in search of his mother, but with devastating consequences.
“I am really very happy that my work will be seen by a new and different audience,” says Nzuza. “My main aim of coming to the Zabalaza Theatre Festival was to share my story and to learn from others, not expecting to win two awards. I also never really thought that at this age I will be a published playwright. It’s an honour and I am thankful to the Baxter and Zabalaza. To have a full season of the play was always a dream of mine and this has now come true. What is most surprising, is this has been achieved in a different province, far away from home.”
Twenty-four-year old Thobani Nzuza was born in uMlazi in KwaZulu Natal. In 2010 he started his training as a dancer, singer and actor at the local Buhle Bo uMlazi Community Arts Centre. In May, while performing his production of Boy Ntulikazi, he will graduate with his National Diploma in Drama and Production Studies from the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
In 2014 he wrote and directed the play Shintsha Guluva for the Isigcawu Festival 2014 and received the Best Director award; in 2015 he performed in Menzi Mkhwane’s Secret Valley of the Great Kings and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at Durban Mercury Theatre Awards; and that same year he received the Best Actor award for Boy Ntulikazi at the Isigcawu. Last year Thobani was one of the students who represented Africa at the Shakespeare Festival in Germany, performing in Much Ado about Nothing, directed by Professor Debbie Lutge.
Previous Best of Zabalaza winners are Lauren Hannies’ TIP-ex (2016), Fruit by Paul Noko (2015), The Champion by Khayalethu Anthony (2014), Skierlik by Phillip Dikotla (2013), Worst of Both Worlds by Bulelani Mabutyana (2012) and Loysio Damoyi’s Uhlazo (2011).
What: Boy Ntulikazi
Where: Baxter Theatre, Rosebank, Cape Town
When: Previews: 3 May, opens 4 May – 13 May
Tickets: R85
Book: Computicket 0861 915 8000, www.computicket.com, Shoprite Checkers
Discounted corporate, schools, block-bookings, charities: 021 680 3962, sharon.ward@uct.ac.za, 021 680 3993, carmen.kearns@uct.ac.za
Web: www.baxter.co.za, www.facebook.com/zabalazafestival
E-mail: baxterzabalaza@uct.ac.za
WS
