The team behind the revisiting of Monde Mayephu’s play, The Pen, at the Market Theatre last year, are at it again.
Tackling another Mayephu text, director Mpho Molepo and assistant director Mmabatho Mogomotsi are presenting new work in a production called Play Me, opening this week at the Market Theatre.
The reason for doing another Mayephu script is a matter close to Molepo’s heart. “I believe in the slogan that every generation has its own revolution and I have noticed that there’s a continual borrowing from the past in theatre. Mayephu, like me, is a man who grew up in the 1980s and he writes about present issues. I’m passionate about getting his work out there, so that the voice of our generation doesn’t get lost.
“We acknowledge the opportunity that the Market Theatre is giving us. The only way we can grow is if we keep on trying,” he says.
Play Me, like The Pen, looks at relation- ships and love, but its premise is different. Themes such as money, power, greed and South Africa’s struggle for equality and opportunities for all come into play, as a couple invite two outsiders into their home. It’s said to be a dark, intriguing drama, and the cast is its biggest drawcard.
It boasts the talents of Fana Mokoena, who hasn’t been on Gauteng stages in a long time; Lerato Mvelase, whose fine performance can be seen in Oliver Schmitz’s beautiful and poignant film, Life Above All ( currently on circuit); Sello Sebotsane, who’s got great stage presence; and Zandile Msutwana, who impressed in her role in The Pen last year. They are all experienced actors with a good repertoire on TV.
The production will present a rare opportunity for some to experience Mokoena in theatre. Although well known for his TV work on shows such as The Lab, Yizo Yizo, Generations and Rhythm City, Mokoena started out on stage. He’s done everything from Shakespeare to industrial theatre and he’s just finished a run of The Suit in Bloemfontein. He is delighted to be back where he started. “TV is my passion, but I love the stage. I miss that immediate connection of theatre and the fact that you have the run to examine your character.
“I love working with people who are passionate about the arts and you find most of them in theatre. TV is filled with people who just want to be on TV,” says Mokoena.
Coming from Kroonstadt, in the Free State, he is also passionate about instilling the theatre culture he finds lacking in the province.
He’s working on a film with a full-on Free State cast to help develop talent in the community there. But here’s what attracted him to Play Me.
“I question a lot of things as a human being and that’s how I approach my work as well. What I like about the play is that it’s about relations. We are at a stage, locally, where theatre should question the way we relate to each other,” he says.
Mvelase says she likes the fact that it deals with emotions. From TV to film, she’s played women with depth and in Play Me her character is complex.
“You’re not drawn to certain characters by mistake,” she says. “There’s something about you that makes the character work. Personally, I’m always dealing with issues of humanity and I’m emotionally intense. So it’s therapeutic for me.”
She was recently seen in James Ngcobo’s Sunjata and that marked her return to theatre, after doing a lot of musical theatre in the 1990s. “That was an escape for me, as it was about an ancient African tale and the magic of storytelling. I think this is my theatre year,” says Mvelase.
With Msutwana’s subtle intensity as a performer and Sebotsane’s commanding authority, Play Me is bound to be interesting.
lPlay Me opens at the Market Theatre on April 1.