Johannesburg - For six decades, the Joburg Theatre has been reflecting the city’s society through the years with its staged performances.
With 60 years in existence, the theatre has been witness to the difficult times in South Africa, times laced with anarchy and madness as its productions played out during the dark days of apartheid, when the nation transitioned into democracy, as well as the events of recent years.
Over this time, a range of directors, playwrights, musicians and choreographers have contributed to the space and left their indelible footprints.
In a bid to commemorate all that it has achieved during the decades, the Joburg Theatre will this (Saturday) evening host a 60 Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Evening of Celebration.
The glamorous event will be directed by Joburg City Theatres’ (JCT) newly-appointed artistic director, James Ngcobo, who has pulled together a collage of extracts from an array of diverse productions.
This commemorative production will not only seek to pay homage to the creatives of the past, but it also plans to reach a younger audience and members of the contemporary landscape.
Ngcobo believes that this will afford a generation to witness what they may have not been privy to and he hopes that it will remind them of the big shoulders they stand on in what is to come.
In order to stage the Joburg theatre’s 60 Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Evening of Celebration, Ngcobo said that he drew his initial inspiration from Brooks Spector’s book on the history of the Joburg Theatre, which was originally known as the Johannesburg Civic Theatre.
But he realised that a step-by-step chronology was not going to work on stage.
“It was such a big task and one had to be very cognisant of the fact that we can’t cover all the productions; so we jumped in time,” he explained his process.
“‘We had something from 1988 and then a scene from 1991, then over to 1971 and back to 1991 because our focus was on the people who have played such a pivotal role and are interwoven with the space.”
Meanwhile, the evening’s festivities are also set to feature music from acclaimed local artists including the likes of Gershwin, Le Cage Aux Folles and The Colour Purple.
It will also includes excerpts from Fugard's Waiting for Godot and Statements, Zakes Mda’s Mother of Eating, as well as The Suit, King Kong.
There will also be a tribute to Gibson Kente and a dance piece from Revelations inspired by Alvin Ailey Dance Company which visited the country in the 1990s.
“I kept reminding the cast that this theatre is not 60 years old, its 60 years young. It’s just galloping ahead,” Ngcobo said.
”You know this year, both Kente and Fugard will be turning 90; so it’s the 60th birthday of the theatre and the 90th birthday of these two theatre giants.”
He added that while the Joburg Theatre has been witness to the difficult times in South Africa, the artists that will be honoured during the 60 Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Evening of Celebration continued to create amazing theatrical moments.
“This not only allowed audiences an opportunity to reflect on their lives and experiences, but often provided a ticket to escape from their lives,” he said.
“You look at the evolution of spaces in South Africa: for a long time the theatres were the privilege of the few. Then, in the 1980s you started seeing a change in content being created which spoke to what we were going through, and those shows started drawing a new audience.
“We are going through difficult times again and for me I am always staggered by how much beautiful bravery this theatre has brought about and we are now seeing content you would not have seen on this stage.”
For Ngcobo, the Joburg Theatre’s 60 Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Evening of Celebration was a fitting inauguration into his new position as Artistic Director for Joburg City Theatres.
“Society is changing and we need to curate for new audiences. Theatre has to be in synchronicity with society and attune to these changes. Theatre is never an elite pastime; it is so crucial to a normal working society.”
Here are the biographies of some of the performers at Joburg Theatre’s 60 Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Evening of Celebration:
Mpho Kodisang
Mpho Kodisang is a South African piano player, producer and composer. He worked extensively with many South African artists and groups, including Tsepo Tshola, Ringo Madlingozi, Gloria Bosman, Caiphus Semenya, the Malaika Mzansi Ensemble and Chicco Twala.
He has taken part in numerous theatre productions including Letters from Mandela, Four Women, African Queens, Songs from Jazz Town, Tribute to Maya Angelou, Lion and the Lamb, Paradise Blue. That later gave him an opportunity to further expand into film and television.
Ezbie Moilwa
Ezbie Moilwa is an experienced songwriter, composer, singer, performer, and keyboardist with over 25 year’s full-time experience in the music industry. He has shared his song-writing talent with many musicians such as Sibongile Khumalo, Judith Sephuma, Tsepo Tshola, Sibongile Mngoma, Corlea Botha and Hugh Masekela.
He later produced Nkonyeni High – the album. He worked as Hugh Masekela’s assistant musical director and also co-wrote music for the well-known musical, Truth in Translation and assisted on Songs of Migration. In 2016, Moilwa was part of the musical, Songs of Jazz Town directed by James Ncqobo, as a keyboardist.
Lerato Gwebu
Lerato Gwebu is a well-seasoned, multi-lingual, and multi-talented South African actress, musician, and playwright. Gwebu, a former South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member traded her uniform in pursuit of her dream in acting. Her talent was recognised by the artistic director of The Market Theatre which earned her first break in the Theatre in Letters From Madiba in 2015 as a supporting actress and singer. Among her notable roles in the theatre was her supporting performance to Dr John Kani, in Lion and the Lamb.
Isabella Jane
Before the age of 15, Jane had already achieved a high level of performance as the the youngest vocalist to sing with the JHB Symphony Orchestra, JHB Philharmonic Orchestra, and a guest for the French Consulate with the Rand Symphony Orchestra. At 18, she began the international tour of EVITA The Musical as The Mistress for which she received award nominations and a Fleur Du Cap win.
She has starred and appeared in the musicals Star Crossed (original cast), Calling Us Home (original cast), Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty to name just a few. As well as being a singer, actress and MC, Isabella is also a ventriloquist. She was the runner-up in SA's Got Talent in 2015 with her side-kick Rosie and has since done work for Comedy Central, Goliath & Goliath, and corporates around the world.
Vuyelwa Maluleke
Vuyelwa Maluleke is a writer, theatre practitioner and performance poet. She describes her works as post-colonial transcriptions of race, gender and black social life in post-apartheid South Africa. Author of the poetry chapbook, Things We Lost In The Fire and The Blue Album, which was shortlisted in 2021 for The Sillerman First Book prize. Maluleke is widely published in publications such as The Boston Annual Review, The Rialto, New Coin South African Poetry Journal and Guernica Magazine.
Titi Luzipo
Titi Luzipo was born into a musically gifted family, as her late grandfather, CB Qwesha was a musical genius and classical music composer. His greatest work – Ndisindise O Jehova, Save me Oh Thou Jehova became one of the world’s greatest hymns.
Luzipo has become a household name in the afro soul circles of the country. She has shared the stage and worked closely with local and international music stars including Somi, George Benson, Caiphus Semenya, Gloria Bosman, Judith Sephuma, Thandiswa Mazwai, Sibongile Khumalo, Siphokazi and many others. Luzipo is the current music director for Simphiwe Dana and music supervisor for the reality Pan-African TV series – Old Mutual’s Amazing Voices.
Jurgen Meekel
Jurgen Meekel works and collaborates on contemporary art installation pieces, sculptures, animation and video work that he exhibited/broadcasted nationally and internationally. His work has been acquired by the Central Museum of Modern Art in Utrecht.
Andrea Rolfes
Andrea Rolfes is a femme artist, designer, animator, porcelain sculptor and curator. Rolfes’ artworks often combine drawn, painted, stitched and machine sewn elements. Her work is autobiographical and experiential, exhibiting a fine and fragmented aesthetic approach. She is also the web designer of herri and has exhibited locally and internationally.
Claire Meekel
Claire Meekel has lived, worked and studied in Johannesburg and Amsterdam. She is currently working as an audio visual artist, film art, design, photography and art installations. She has collaborated in South Africa with young creatives one of whom is the fashion designer Thebe Magugu, talking through current socio-political, cultural and economic issues present in a country with such heavy past and present.
The short film Tomato Sauce Takeaway was screened at the 'Recontres des Internationales Paris/ Berlin' in 2019.
Mbali Nkosi
Mbali Nkosi is a Soweto-born arts practitioner, dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, yoga instructor, arts and culture events project manager and co-ordinator. Over the years, Nkosi has been involved in numerous performing arts projects that have seen her travel, create and perform across the length and breadth of South Africa and internationally, including Botswana, Germany, Holland, France, Serbia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya and more.
She has worked with internationally and nationally acclaimed artists and choreographers, including Brad Bailey , Sankofa, H Pattern, Gregory Maqoma, Bud Blumenthal, DomK, Luanda Sidiya, Patrick Acogny, Lulu Mlangeni and Portia Mashigo