Popular theatrical production The Cry of Winnie Mandela is back at the Market Theatre opening this week

When I saw it for the first time last year, I could not help but emphathise with the waiting women and the choices they ultimately make when it comes to their sex lives in the absence of their husbands working as migrant workers in urban areas.

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

She is without doubt a person that has over decades occupied the imaginations of many, including foes and friends, those who fought for liberation and those who tried to thwart freedom.

And therefore, it makes sense why many a theatre lover congregated at the Market Theatre’s Barney Simon Theatre to watch a play that is about the life and times of the late Winnie Madikizela Mandela.

Hers is a life dedicated to fighting for freedom. It is also a life stalked by controversy, whether it is about the activities of the so-called Winnie Mandela football Club or allegations of infidelity. But there is however one thing that nobody can tale away from the late Winnie. And that is that she fought a good fight to make sure that freedom is attained in her lifetime.

She gave the apartheid fathers a hard time while her than husband the former President nelson Mandela was in prison alongside other struggle icons including among others big names such Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu. She in many ways occupied the role of the matriarch who took the political space created by the imprisonment of these leaders and ran with the struggle. She became the mother of the nation in the eyes of many in South Africa who yearned for freedom and so her as the one brave enough to confront the evil that apartheid was, in the process she also made enemies and mistakes, including the allegations of brutality by the football club that carried out violence on so called spies in her name.

Winnie was also a target by the special branch and a victim of a sustained disinformation campaign by a shadowy state organization called Stratecom, who weaved both fiction and facts around her to tarnish her name in the eyes of the public.

It is therefore significant that a play was written about the life and times of Winnie, which was first staged at the Market Theatre in Newtown last year. The play was so successful that it was extended three times as the audience kept on coming and filling up the venue. In fact, the producers at the Market Theatre underestimated the popularity of The Cry of Winnie Mandela, allocating it in a smaller venue instead of the John Kani Theatre.

The production has since travelled to the Baxter Theatre in cape town where it captivated audiences.

However, theatre lovers must be happy to know that the cry of Winnie Mandela is back at the market Theatre opening on Tuesday, February 26, 2025.

Now hot off the heels of the triumphant run at The Baxter Theatre, that vowed audiences and critics alike, The Cry of Winnie Mandela is back—bigger, bolder, and more powerful than ever. This deeply moving production, adapted by Alex Burger from Njabulo S. Ndebele’s seminal novel by the same name and directed by the award-winning MoMoMatsunyane, is set to reclaim the stage at The Market Theatre from 26 February – 23 March 2025.

The production has a strong talented cast.

Portraying the iconic role of Winnie Mandela is award-winning actress, theatre practitioner, and presenter ThembisaMdoda-Nxumalo. She leads a powerhouse cast featuring Rami Chuene, Ayanda Sibisi, Siyasanga Papu, Lesley Made, and Pulane Rampoana, each intricately woven into the fabric of this searing adaptation. Their chemistry, artistry, and connection to the material create an experience that is as haunting as it is heartfelt.

Director MoMoMatsunyane describes The Cry of Winnie Mandela as a bold exploration of waiting, resilience, and the sacrifices women make in the face of history.

“Winnie Mandela continues to be a powerful, multi-layered figure to explore. Her revolutionary spirit, resilient character, and generous heart have become anchors for many women of all generations and identities, each seeing herself in her legacy. Indeed, she did not die; she multiplied,’’ says Matsunyane.

The play unfolds as four women meet to reflect, joined together by their anticipation of their husbands’ return. Through raw storytelling, humour, and stirring performances, they weave their narratives into Winnie Mandela’s own—interrogating the cost of endurance and the price of patience. The result is a deeply moving theatrical experience that transcends time, urging audiences to draw parallels between history and the present.

This second installation is a celebration of the show’s undeniable impact and the unbreakable spirit of the women whose stories it brings to life. Audiences are invited to witness these resilient women gather, share, sing, and metaphorically drink their “tea” — a potent brew of strength and vulnerability.

Head to the Market Theatre from 26 February to 23 March 2025 to witness this powerful story that will move, inspire, and stay with you long after the curtain falls.

This truly a remarkable play that looks at the life and times of Winnie Mandela from a different perspective, the perspective of the broader issues that confront women in Southern Africa as they men leave their homes to work as migrant workers.

As it were under such circumstances, life happens and often times in happens in the most unexpected ways.  Though this is a play about women and their endurance of waiting for many they are not even sure whether they will return, and if they returned would they be the same men or different, iy is really a play about the effect of labour migration and its effects on African communities in southern Africa.

The effect of this migration is told from women’s perspectives. When I saw it for the first time last year, I could not help but emphathise with the waiting women and the choices they ultimately make when it comes to their sex livesin the absence of their husbands working as migrant workers in urban areas.

. Winnie and her life during her life time and the choices that she made is located within this broad conundrum of the struggle and the uncertainties of women waiting indefinitely for husbands they are not quite sure when and whether they will come back still as loving husbands.

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