Colourful literary lives and times of legendary scribes Bloke Modisane and Langston Hughes on stage

Penned by academic, playwright and author Siphiwo Mahala and directed by acclaimed actor and  director Sello Maake-kaNcube. Bloke and His American Bantu  opens at the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre in Auckland Park on February 16, and runs till February 26, 2022.

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

Playwright, short story writer and academic Siphiwo Mahala has dedicated much of his writing into researching the lives and times of Drum writers for years now.  Here we are talking about the Drum writers of the 50s and 60s Sophiatown and how they blazed a lierary trail never travelled by South African writers before.

The foray into the colourful lives of the media personalities of that time, who in many respects championed the issue of creative writing in journalism, especially in the ranks of the missionary educated black writers of the time. Mahala’s pursuit of research and documenting the lives of these scribes has so far resulted in a number of projects that have come into fruition in recent years, notably two stage plays, a book, and am told another  new book manuscript on the subject is on the horizon, as it has just completed. His research on Can Themba, one of the most prominent of the lot from Sophiatown, has in fact earned Mahala a doctorate in English. In other words, Mahala has become the expert when it comes to writers of that era.

Mahala’s new play, entitled Bloke and His American Bantu is headed for the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre, opening on 16 February, 2022.

This play is brought onto the stages by The University of Johannesburg in association with the Sello Maake kaNcube Foundation, founded by well known actor Sello Maake ka Ncube.

 Written by Mahala, and directed by internationally prolific writer Mahala and directed by acclaimed actor, Maake kaNcube, this play “deftly explores a simple friendship that led to international solidarity and cultural exchange between South Africa and Black America.

The show relives the camaraderie that developed between Bloke Modisane and Langston Hughes, writers and activists from Sophiatown, South Africa, and Harlem in New York, respectively,” a statement from the producers  states.

Here is the gist of Bloke and His American Bantu> The story is set in the 1960s, when Modisane was exiled in London, and Hughes through his contacts in the US, organised a lecture series for him in various states across the US. This play traces the intellectual discourse that transpired between the two scribes from 1960 to 1967, a period during which they exchanged well over 50 letters.

But then who are the actors in this play, which  deals with the life and times of one of the colourful  characters of Sophiatown, a tribe that calibrated a new form of creative h=journalism in South Africa in the late 50s and 60s in that short-lived , but impactful life of Drum Magazine of that era?

“The character of Bloke Modisane is channelled through exquisite acting by the little known but abundantly talented Anele Nene, who hails from Durban. The 25-year-old Nene studied Performing Arts and Production and won the Ovation Award at the 2020 National Arts Festival for his one man show ‘The Hymns of a Sparrow. Nene stars alongside multi-award winning theatre and television writer, actor and director, Josias Dos Moleele, who plays the role of Hughes. Moleele appeared in two international movies – Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood and a BBC television series ‘Strike Back,” states a press release in my position.

Well, we will have to wait and see for ourselves whether the play lives up to the expectations of a theatre audience that for the past two years has been deproved of live theatre due to the pandemic. But the producers however seem to have full confidence in their pick for these important t roles about two prominent scribes of yesteryear,  from two continents, who loomed large on the literary scenes of the time. Let us give them the benefit of doubt, and for now believe what they state boldly is what we will witness on stage once those lights at UJ Arts Centre at the Unibversity of Johannesburg go on and the actors strut on stage.

“The chemistry between the two actors is palpable as they bring to life a slice of history that is little known about the bonds that connected the South African liberation struggle with black America. It shines the spotlight on the role of artists and intellectuals in forging international solidarity during one of the darkest hours in the history of South Africa,” the press release concludes. I am looking forward to seeing this one.

The other projects that Mahala has undertaken relating to Sophiatown include the book African Delights, published in 2011, by Jacana Media and the play entitled The House of Truth, which was first put on stage at the Market Theatre in Newtown, Johannesburg,and Theatre on the Square in Sandton in 2018. Featuring Maake and directed by Vanessa Cooke, the play was critically acclaimed. In fact the play was part of his research for his PHD into the life and times of Themba, arguably the most colourful character of the lot from Sophiatown.

.Bloke and His American Bantu will be on stage from February 16 till February 26, 2022. The shows start at 19:00 every day, except Sunday and Monday.