Grandson tells Matenge�s life on stage
Dumisani Ncube | Tuesday March 28, 2017 15:45
Renowned stage actor, Teto Mokaila is set to tell the life story of his grandfather in a one man play that will be showcased at the festival three times at the Moving Space. The festival is scheduled to start on April 1.
The 91-year-old Matenge’s prominence rose when he fearlessly fought for the recognition of iKalanga language in the country and schools.
This saw him going head-to-head with the government and senior government officials as he advocated for the recognition of the language. “I have always had interest in telling African stories of unheralded people that made an impact in the community.
Having conversations with my grandfather that I recorded on video about the various activities and events that took place in his life gave me more interest to work on this play,” said 30-year-old Mokaila who is not new in the theatre stage. He noted that the theatre play will be based on different activities and aspects that his grandfather faced.
The main focus will be the iKalanga language aspect.
On Tiyapo, Mokaila will play a number of roles, among which are himself as Matenge’s grandson, Matenge and a timeless character. In the meantime, Mokaila is putting more focus on perfecting the play through rehearsals. He is under the mentorship of experienced stage actor Tefo Paya who is the director and Umbambi ‘Bambino’ Ndiwenyu who is the iKalanga language coach.
With the play being more focused on the language aspect, Mokaila is also perfecting his iKalanga speaking abilities.
He is not much familiar with the language despite being Matenge’s paternal grandson. “I have always wanted to tell my grandfather’s life story on stage, but I kept procrastinating because the pressure of doing a one man play was overwhelming but I got encouraged to take it on. This is also a way of honouring him”.
Having grown some interest on his grandfather’s life story, Mokaila started researching more about Matenge as he even went to the extent of driving to Matenge village where he researched through interviews by talking to a number of individuals and family members who have known Matenge for a long time.
“To write the script well I then compiled all the information I gathered and came up with the play. Apart from this being a play about my grandfather, I strongly believe that it is important we tell our own stories as Africans because we are the same people experiencing this life. We normally complain when American actors are given roles on an African based production. We should tell our own stories,” said Mokaila.
Matenge has watched the Tiyapo play twice when it was previewed to specially selected guests who were invited to share their thoughts and advice.
He has also advised his grandson to work on a number of elements on the play. Author Oagile Key Dingake has previously depicted Matenge’s life in a biography titled “Unearthing the hidden treasure: the untold story of Gobe Matenge”. Mokaila has previously featured on a number of stage plays such as Born around here, Elements and Death by reality.
Last year at the Maitisong Festival another icon Dr Gaositwe Chiepe’s life story was also relived on stage by her granddaughter, Moduduetso Lecoge in a play titled A Woman of Many Firsts.