(Musa Ntuli &
Nompilo Maphumulu)
Full marks to Wiseman Mncube on a tightly-directed
and well-performed drama. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Wiseman Mncube is going places … and going there
fast! This young actor already has a number of major achievements to his credit,
A 2011 Drama graduate of Durban University of Technology, he has acquired three
major awards since leaving DUT. These have all been to do with his excellent performance
in Samson Mlambo’s one-hander, Meet Bra
62. He was voted Best Newcomer at last year’s Mercury Durban Theatre Awards
and Best Actor at Durban’s 2012 Musho Festival where he also won the Standing
Ovation Award.
Last year, he
appeared in Horn of Sorrow at the Hilton Arts Festival and in Musa
Hlatshwayo’s dance piece, Zulu no Qwabe, at The Playhouse.
Turning his energies to writing and directing, his first
play – the dramatic two-hander, The Weeping Candle is how the past can come back to haunt those who have
committed wrong, ie “do unto others as you would want them to do to you”, says
Mncube. The play scooped the Best Production and Best Script Awards at Khaya
Multi-Art Centre in KwaMashu during the isiGcawu Festival in November 2012.
That’s one
heck of an overall achievement over a period of a single year!
Featuring the undeniable
talents of Nompilo Maphumulu and Musa Ntuli, The Weeping Candle (a very apt title) opened tonight at Stable
Theatre for an all-too-short run of three performances and this production is
well worth seeing. If Mncube continues at his current rate, he’ll soon move
beyond the province to become one of South Africa’s most exciting young theatre
practitioners.
The Weeping Candle is set in a shebeen. It’s after closing
time but a young man (Musa Ntuli) barges in, insisting that he has a couple of beers after a hectic sports game. The feisty shebeen
queen (Nompilo Maphumulu) responds to his personality, especially as she has a
vague recollection that she knows him. He seems to have a never-ending list of
questions but all delivered with a friendly charm. She allows him to stay for a
while but is not prepared for what follows.
Nompilo
Maphumulu and Musa Ntuli put in excellent performances. Tightly directed by
Mncube, they handle the complex twists and turns of the script with controlled
energy and professionalism. Also in the cast is Philani Muthwa in an
all-too-short cameo role.
The Weeping Candle has two more
performances: March 2 at 18h00 and March 3 at 14h00. The show’s duration is 45
minutes. Tickets R45 booked through Computicket 0861 915 8000 or online at www.computicket.com. The
Weeping Candle is not for people under 16 years. If you don’t catch the
show in Durban, you will be able to see it on the Fringe at the 2013 National Arts
Festival in Grahamstown.
Stable Theatre
gratefully acknowledges support from Ethekwini Municipality and the KZN
Department of Arts & Culture. – Caroline Smart
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