Directed by Mandla Mbothwe
Created with the Trainees on the Magnet Theatre Full-Time Training and Job Creation Programme 2017/2018
Okwe-Bokhwe (Like/of a goat) is the final performance project of the year for the 2017/2018 Magnet Theatre trainees. It is a part of a broader project – The Gugulethu 7 Project – that looks at notions of performing the archive as one of the imperative elements in remembering collective narratives. When it was first created, it was performed outdoors at the Gugulethu Memorial site, putting the narrative back into the urban townships’ landscape, so as to enter the dialogue of day-to-day conversations. It was conceived as an artistic representation resuscitating and breathing life into the unconscious concrete of community narrative, to give the memorial sites a voice, movement and spirit.
Okwe-Bokhwe, now transferred to Magnet Theatre, is based on the historical records of the Gugulethu Seven. The Gugulethu Seven were seven young men, members of Umkhonto we Size (MK), who were ambushed and heartlessly killed by the South African security forces on the morning of March the 3rd 1986, during the anti-apartheid struggle years. The Gugulethu Seven memorial was built on the site of the ambush to commemorate the life and death of those activists.
Mandla Mbothwe, one of the Artistic Directors of Magnet Theatre, has created a powerful mourning play, an attempt to engage with a process of healing the pain of our collective past. It draws together the voices and bodies of 21 young performers to celebrate the memory of these 7 young men who sacrificed their lives for the struggle. It is an active memorial; one that brings into focus an important corner of our history that is little known. Showcasing the talent and commitment of the 5th cohort of Magnet trainees, the performance is a search for healing and regeneration, allowing the wounds of our history to be exposed, attended to and validated.
Director: Mandla Mbothwe
Assistant Director: Zukisane Nongogo
Performers: Trainees on the Full Time Training and Job Creation Programme:
Abigail Mei, Andiswa Anthony, Asamkela Ketelo, Bonga Tshabalala, Carlo Daniels, Kamva Obose, Luxolo Mboso, Meltina Samuels, Mpumelelo Phanginxiwa, Siyavuya Gqumehlo, Nthabeleng Jafta, Palesa Mohlala, Rene Brown, Siphesande Mkokose, Sivenathi Macibela, Sizwe Lubengu, Sydwell Klaas, Songezo Mtshixa, Sityhilelo Makupula, Vela Zozo, Yvonne Msebenzi
Singing: Babalwa Makwetu
Designer: Linda Mandela
Choreographer: Mzokuthula Gasa
Movement Director: Jennie Reznek
Lighting Design: Themba Stewart
First Performed at Magnet Theatre in December 2017
