(Faca Kulu and Thabani Mahlobo as The Runner and The Guitarist)A delightful treat. (Review by Estelle Sinkins, courtesy of The Witness)
Watching Nkanyezi – The Star on Friday night was a little like coming across a gift tucked away beneath the Christmas tree or in the very bottom corner of your Santa sack… a delightful treat.
Caroline Smart’s beautifully written play is heart-warming, life-affirming and perfect for the festive season.
Nkanyezi tells the story of four friends — Nomathemba (Khanyisile Jwaha); Gloria (Lyschelle Linderboom); Tharusha (Derosha Moodley), and Joan (Julia Wilson) — who are celebrating their first, successful year in business at Joan’s house.
The play opens with Joan and Gloria decorating a tree with the most stunning beaded ornaments I’ve ever seen. The tree, once completed, is to be donated to a neighbouring orphanage. They are soon joined by Nomathemba, who has just come back home following a hugely successful trip to the United States, and Tharusha, who has enjoyed an equally successful trip to India.
But the happy evening is shattered when Joan receives a phone call from her sister in Britain to say that their mother has been badly injured in a car crash on the way to Heathrow. As Gloria tries to give her friend some much needed comfort, Tharusha and Nomathemba sit on the balcony and talk.
In a beautifully understated performance Jwaha, who won the Durban Theatre Award for new performer (female), reveals Nomathemba’s secret heartache — the disappearance of her uncle and her family’s search for him — as they listen to a guitarist (played by Thabani Mahlobo) playing on the steps of the church.
But before you imagine that the play is depressing, I can assure you Nkanyezi - The Star is anything but. More than one miracle happens on this special Christmas eve and at the end of the play the cast, which includes Faca Kulu, will have you singing along.
Adding to its charm is a simple set and some delightful musical offerings from Mahlobo. If I have any quibble, it’s that the lighting was not quite perfect on occasion and opening night nerves meant there were a few small errors.
That said, Smart, director Thuli Dumakude and Kulu, who is also the musical director, need to be congratulated on the Stable’s first offering from the development trust, which was made possible thanks to playwright, director and choreographer, Welcome Msomi, who donated his prize-money from the Johnnie Walker Celebrating Strides award to the venue.
Nkanyezi – The Star can be seen at Stable Theatre, 115 Johannes Nkosi Street (formerly Alice Street), Durban until December 19. Showtimes 18h30 with matinees at 14h30. Sunday’s show is at 16h00. Tickets R30 (R20 students and pensioners). To book phone 031 309 2513. - Estelle Sinkins
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