Geoffrey V Davis
The death of Matsemela Manaka last Saturday deprives the South African theatre community of one of its foremost practitioners at a tragically early age. His many friends and collaborators overseas will join in mourning the loss of an artist whose remarkable career was distinguished by a delight in experimentation and innovation fuelled not least by his extraordinary talents as playwright and performer, painter and musician.
From the start, Manaka’s career was characterised by his involvement in many different artistic and literary activities: as a young man he participated in community arts development in Diepkloof, co-founded the Soyikwa Theatre Group and became a member of the editorial collective of Staffrider.
He attracted attention as a painter with an exhibition titled Flames of Resistance, which he toured to Europe. But it was the early success of Egoli, his searing indictment of the exploitation of industrial workers – banned here, but awarded a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival – which set him on his way as a playwright.
A stream of plays followed: some toured overseas, Children of Asazi being performed at the Woza Afrika festival in New York. Each new production brought new ways of exploring the potentiality of theatre as an experimental medium: in Gore Manaka deployed musical instruments from West Africa and Europe; in Blues Afrika Caf he offered the delights of African cuisine; in Ekhaya he uniquely combined the contribution of the exiles with a project to set up Soweto’s first art gallery at his own home in Diepkloof.
As his career progressed, Manaka would seek ways of fruitfully combining differing modes of expression: in scenic design, dance and music. In seeking what he termed the “African heritatge” in his theatre, Manaka remained true to his own roots in black consciousness and to his Africanist commitment.
The distress those of us feel at his loss is deeply personal, especially so as the memories of his life and personality crowd upon one. It is deeply saddening that the new South Africa will not now benefit from the commitment, the ideas and the enthusiasm that informed all of his work.
When I last spoke to Matsemela, he had recently returned from representing his country in the cultural activities which had accompanied the World Cup in France. A performance of Ekhaya in translation had taken place in Paris and had met with great accliam. Matsemela was delighted.
It is fitting that his theatrical career should be crowned with such a success. The celebration of South African culture, which is at the core of that play, may now stand as a fine tribute to him.
Geoffrey V Davis lectures in drama at the University of Aachen and, among other works, has just edited a collection of Manaka’s plays