Pretoria - Theatre enthusiasts and others are set for a feast of a production as Marikana the Musical returns to the State Theatre to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Marikana massacre of 2012.
The August 2012 tragedy saw 34 protesting mineworkers killed by police in Marikana, North West Province, and the production, written and directed by celebrated playwright Aubrey Sekhabi, is an adaptation of the book titled We Are Going to Kill Each Other Today: The Marikana Story.
It was written by Thanduxolo Jika, Felix Dlangamandla, Lucas Ledwaba, Sebabatso Mosamo, Athandwa Saba and Leon Sadiki and it looks at the lives of mineworkers and their families, and the events leading up to the massacre.
It even takes it further as it goes back to the villages and townships where the miners came from.
After a four-year stage hiatus, the State Theatre has reassembled renowned artists Meshack Mavuso-Magabane, Aubrey Poo, Siyasanga Papu, Emma Mmekwa and Mpho “Mckenzie” Matome to lead a 40-member cast and 13-piece band in unleashing a blow-by-blow account of the events that led to the loss of 44 lives at the hands of the police and miners during the period of the massacre.
The massacre, which took place on August 16, 2012, has been described as the biggest incident of police brutality since the advent of democracy.
It revived memories of the brutality suffered under apartheid security police.
On August 16, 2012, police opened fire on a crowd of protesting mineworkers who were demanding a wage increase from the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, killing 34 of the workers.
Yesterday Sekhabi said he was excited that the musical production and the team were coming back to the stage to revive the show, which last performance was in 2017.
Sekhabi said they were happy the production was coming back on the 10-year anniversary as, even though many people knew what happened, it was still important for everyone to continue the conversations about the issues raised and not to forget what happened.
“For many of those families, who lost a brother or father, the pain of the loss they suffered will never be forgotten, and we as a nation should not forget the lessons learnt.”
The musical won six Naledi Awards out of 18 nominations a year after it was staged in 2014.
It won awards including Best Production of a Musical, Best Director awarded to Sekhabi, an award for the Best Performance in a Musical for Mmekwa, Best Set Design awarded to Wilhelm Disbergen, and Best Musical Score and Best Original and Choreography by Thabo Rapoo.
The musical is on stages from Tuesday until the 28th, with tickets available at R150 on Webticket.
Lovers of theatre and people who want to watch the story of the pain and suffering of the miners and their families were urged to buy tickets for the show.
Pretoria News