A new SeSotho musical play titled Paleho teaches people about Basotho roots and what happens at one of the most sacred rituals of the Basotho people, the female initiation.
Paleho, which means “fugitive” in English, takes theatre audiences through the journey of a young Sotho woman who flees a controversial female initiation school fearing for her safety.
“The audience will be drawn into the world of the Basotho female initiate through drama and music,” said the SA State Theatre’s Thakgatso Setseta.
“Our names are a direct link to our clan names and the play reminds us of that,” he said.
The play won the Standard Bank Standing Ovation Award play and is set to captivate audiences in other parts of the country.
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Paleho is written and directed by award-winning playwright Lebo Thope Leisa. The Free-State born Leisa gave life to the play in 2009.
Leisa said she wanted to tell Sesotho stories and expose people to female initiation – something which is often shrouded in mystery, awe, controversy and sheer misunderstanding.
“There is a need for us to tell our own stories instead of waiting for someone from another culture or country to come and distort it,” Leisa said.
“We are Basotho. This is who we are and we need to tell our own stories. When we started, it was difficult to tap into this subject because of the high wall that has been built around it.”
The musical play features an all-female cast of 13 members.
Pretoria’s very own talented Volley Nchabeleng brings his own unique fusion of indigenous music to the show.
Paleho has already been immortalised as a book, with a film based on the play expected to hit the big screen in 2019.
Nthabiseng Mojaki, who portrays the character of an initiation school teacher, Manoko, told Rekord that it was her most challenging role yet.
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“The character is very different to me. She is ruthless, something I am not. Everything was a bit overwhelming for me. It tested me to the core,” Mojaki said.
The play formed part of the 20th edition of Mangaung arts and culture festival and was shown at the Andre Huguenot stage in October.
Paleho won the Standard Bank Standing Ovation award at Grahamstown in 2016. It was also performed at prestigious platforms such as Botho Pan African Arts Festival in Durban, Cape Town Spiritual Arts Festival, and Maitisong Festival in Botswana and at Matjhabeng International College in Lesotho.
The play will run at the SA State Theatre until 5 November 2017.
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