Who: Mbongeni Ngema with Leleti Khumalo, Brown Mkhize, Black Moses Ngwenya, musicians, singers and dancers
Where: The Market Theatre
When: Tuesday to Saturday at 8pm. Sunday at 3pm. Ends July 27
Postcards without an edge.
It's just a concert, not a play or a story, Mbongeni Ngema told his audience. Realisation then set in that Mbongeni Ngema Live! Stimela saseZola was not a full-blown theatre piece but rather a musical postcard from the past.
There's something wistfully melancholic about this staged concert, with its rapid costume changes and appearances by guest artists. It is not so much a selection of Mbongeni Ngema's greatest hits (where was Our Father from Sarafina?) as much as a nostalgic stroll down memory lane.
There's plenty of gospel, masses of mbaqanga - Ngema-style. The composer, director, choreographer, writer and producer, remains on stage throughout this foray into his creative life and career as he conducts, dances and plays regrettably only one featured guitar number.
His wife and protégé, Leleti Khumalo, provides the narrative links for this journey. The songs deal with politics, history and personal issues as the music speaks for itself in all its lush glory.
The danced routines are another matter. Remnants from shows like Sarafina! and The Zulu are performed by singers and dancers, most of whom are graduates of the two-year-old Mbongeni Ngema Academy in Durban.
Vocally they impress, but their dance routines lack the edge and cohesive energy which were the hallmark of Sarafina!, Township Fever and Magic at 4am. Only Khumalo has perfected that signature eclectic style. Soloist Brown Mkhize is sensational and keyboard/organ player Black Moses Ngwenya of The Soul Brothers is a knockout in his solo.
Mbongeni Ngema Live! borders on the indulgent, but it does offer his fans a chance to reminisce. It also signals an artist in mid-career transition taking stock of the legacy he has left, without indicating a fresh surge of artistry.