After being blacklisted in the showbiz industry for years, veteran actress Nambitha Mpumlwana has gone back to basics. Since she was fired with 15 other actors on the popular SABC 1 soapie Generations in 2017, Nambitha, who played Mawande Memela, has been making a strong comeback in theatre scene.
A KNOWN DIVA
Since being fired from Generations, Mpumlwana has struggled to bag a prominent role on TV. The veteran award-winning film and television actress is always accused of being a diva on set, an allegation she has always denied. But highly placed sources told ZiMoja that as talented as she, being blacklisted in the industry for refusing to lower her standards to a point that she has resorted back to where she started at, the theatre. "This industry is small, and it is ways to write a person off, because she wouldn’t lover her standards many doors have been closed," added the source. Another source said she has been trying to get back in the game with no luck. According to the source, because of her outspoken nature she is now forced to play with up-and-coming actors on stage. "South African TV industry is not used to people who stand up for themselves. The problem with this country is the fact that are not used to be questioned," added the source.
HER NEW ROLE
Mpumlwana is now part of an edgy new play, Amaxelegu, which is about bedroom dynamics showing at The Market Theatre in Joburg.
Amaxelegu is a play by award-winning actor, writer, director and theatre-maker Qondiswa James. This edgy three-hander has emerged out of the Market Theatre’s Play Development focusing which was launched last year, and that focuses on unearthing and developing ?fresh, urgent, or compelling? stories under the guidance of Artistic Director, Greg Homann. Playing the role of "Mama Priscilla", Nambitha? showcases the talent and experience she gained in productions like Generations to Invictus, from Yizo-Yizo to Tsotsi and recently featuring in the hit- theatre production as Winnie Mandela
ABOUT THE SHOW
In Amaxelegu, Qondiswa ?James curates a provocatively risqué yet relatable and beautiful story focussing on the bedroom dynamics of a young couple and their interactions with the woman who ‘cleans up after them’. The title roughly translates in English to ?Messy People?.
"The play, which is mostly in English, includes some Xhosa. It’s a play about love in the time of non-monogamy, a journey into the complexity of present-day relationships. It is set in the bedrooms of the characters in a non-descript city in South Africa. They navigate the transactions of class and gender as they move between various private and domestic contexts." The play features an impressive cast which includes Shalima Mkongi, a UCT, AFDA and Waterfront Theatre School graduate in the role of" Thabisa". Mkongi has several notable theatre and film roles under her belt including The Crucible, Cincinatti, Justice Served and Diamond City, in addition to being a sought-after voice actor. It also features Luxolo Ndabeni in the role of ‘Azola’. Ndabeni is a South African State Theatre product best known for roles in Lockdown (S1), Surviving Gaza and Gomora (S4). Audiences can look forward to how the two will portray the private and social dynamics of the play’s central relationship as Thabisa and Azola navigate their day-to-day lives within the backdrop of gender and class as young, upwardly mobile-middle-class black
