‘The Suitcase’ breathtaking performers transport audiences to oppressive 1950s

Siyabonga Thwala and Masasa Mbangeni give evocative performances in the latest adaptation of Es’kia Mphahlele’s ‘The Suitcase’, a thought-provoking journey to the political upheavals of the 1950s when black Africans flocked to the cities in pursuit of a dream deferred.

Es’kia Mphahlele’s short story, set in the 1950s, is a captivating tale of two lovebirds, Timi and Namhla Ngobese, who defy their families and run off to the neon lights of the city.

Not only do they go against the wishes of their parents, they also risk being rejected by the infamous dompas system.

The Suitcase 2017

The 1950s were a turning point in South African political history. The apartheid government had just promulgated what was referred to as the policy of “separate development”.

While the apartheid machinery initially went on a charm offensive that described the system as one of “good neighbourliness between the natives and Europeans”, anti-apartheid activists were far from convinced and waged a defiance campaign that would last into the 1990s.

There were anti-pass demonstration and burning of passes, known as the “dompas”. Africans were located on the periphery of the cities to townships that primarily served as labour supply camps.

It was during a period in which Nelson Mandela became the president of ANCYL. More significantly, on June 26, 1955, the Freedom Charter, was adopted in Kliptown, bringing the ANC together with Indian, coloured and white organisations.

Thimi Ngobese played by Siyabonga Thwala.
Picture: Dawn Parker/Market Theatre

Hoping to gain social status by getting jobs in the city, the couple soon finds itself facing the grim realities of an urbanised apartheid city no different to what is unfolding today. The husband was confronted with unemployment and poverty that stripped away his self-esteem. Not long afterwards he traded his moral aptitude for a quick gain in a suitcase he hoped would solve all his financial problems.

Narrated by Desmond and John Lata, with smooth and melodic 1950s marabi sounds by Gugu Shezi, Nokukhanya and Ndoh Dlamini, the play is interwoven between the period at which the couple arrives in the city, and opens with Namhla Ngobese pleading with a child born shortly after Timi is caught in possession of a suitcase with grisly contents to visit his father’s grave.

The Suitcase 2017

Mbangeni and Thwala’s versatile stage prowess is on full display as they traverse various characters. Thwala acts as both father and son, and Mbangeni displays her artistic range by also doubling as a narrator and an Afrikaner kombuis madam who turns away Thwala’s efforts to gain a ‘piece job’.

The melancholic mood of the play is interspersed by moments of comic hilarity driven by Dube, himself an established comedian, and Timi’s perfectly timed scolding of his chatterbox wife, who is too eager to speak on behalf of her husband.

Thwala also closes the show with an eerie performance of the Zulu dance ritual of the Shembe, much to the delight of the audience on the opening night.

Musicians Nokukhanya Dlamini, Gugu Shezi and Ndoh Dlamini.
Picture: Dawn Parker/Market Theatre

In attendance during the opening night was the legendary John Kani.

Bheki Nkosi composed the music, while another heavyweight, James Ngcobo, adapted and directed the play. The play is an hour and 35 minutes long with no breaks.

The play had just returned from a critically acclaimed and sold-out season during a five-week tour that played in Hull, Lancaster, Newcastle, Liverpool and Derby.

Esteemed guests who saw the production in the UK include the former head of the UN, Kofi Annan, accompanied by his wife. The current season started on Friday, October 20, and will continue until Sunday November 26.

Check out www.markettheatre.co.za for more details.

You can follow the author @Gosebo Mathope.

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