Musical retelling of Fees Must Fall returns to State Theatre

With eight Naledi Award nominations and new leads, the musical Freedom returns to the State Theatre in Pretoria from April 30 to June 2.

The world premiere of Freedom last year was hailed by audiences as a truthful dramatisation of what occurred during the #FeesMustFall campaigns in 2015 and 2016.

This year the musical makes a return with eight Naledi nominations for awards including Best Musical Production, New Script, Original Score, Choreography (Mduduzi Nhlapo) and Set Design (Wilhelm Disbergen).

Former lead actress Simphiwe Ndlovu (Phindile) will compete in the Best Female Musical lead category. The 2019 Naledi Awards are at the Joburg Theatre on May 20.

Freedom was written and directed by multi-award-winning playwright and director Aubrey Sekhabi, who is also nominated for the Best Director Naledi Award.

Freedom. Picture: Sanmari Marais.

The musical features Hip Hop star Siphelele “Pdot’ O” Mnyandu, Kabelo “Bonafide Billi” Togoe (Best Musical Director nominee), baritone Otto Maidi and 2017 Idols SA top 10 finalist Thokozile Ndimande. The new leads will be announced before the production opens.

The musical, with a cast of 47 and a 13-piece band, tells the story of Phindile, a Tshwane University of Technology student and leader of the #FeesMust Fall movement. Her life takes a turn after students protest at the Union Buildings.

What started as a plea for free education gets distorted by xenophobic attacks and crimes committed by rotten elements claiming to be in the movement. But Phindile will stop at nothing to fight for students’ freedom.

Info

• Tickets are priced from R100-R300 and are available at Webtickets.
• The show has a 13-year-old age restriction.
• For schools and group bookings, contact the theatre’s sales office on 012-392-4000 or visit the website.

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