Thebe Mabanga There was a time when television dramas used to be a source of fascination for millions of viewers. Whether your fare was dished from a neighbour’s set or a battery-operated set in your lounge with neighbours’ children congregating in front of the set many dramas were a decent combination of mesmerising acting and good storytelling.
Throughout the Eighties, viewers of the old TV2 and TV3 had a good reason to look forward to an evening’s viewing, the appreciation of which was admittedly aided by lack of exposure. Dramas ranging from U Deliwe, featuring a rather young Joe Mafela, to the first season of Bophelo ke Sempekgo, with a rather young Patrick Shai, have, in retrospect, proven to be end points of a period punctuated by pleasant memories. The period also had remarkable highlights.
For viewers who preferred their entertainment in isiZulu, there was a drama called Umuntu Akalahlwa. It told the story of a party of not more than five who were stranded in a desert following a plane crash during a diamond-smuggling venture. The struggle to keep the loot, while remaining heavily dependent on their fellow travellers for survival, unfolded beautifully over vast amounts of tan dunes.
Throughout this period, seSotho viewers have had the better quality dramas and, appropriately, they have had the last of the truly good stuff with two remarkable productions.
The first memorable performance in these was delivered by an actress who made a compelling debut, but has stayed away from acting since then. The other was from an actor whose performance has since proven to be a career best. Indeed, TV presenter Johanna Hlabatau and Khontso Nkhato gave the performances of their lives in Bohloko Baka and Mopheme respectively. In the former, Hlabatau portrayed Bontle, a young girl infected with HIV. The brilliance of this drama was succinctly illustrated recently when it enjoyed a rerun during this era of presumed enlightenment, and reminded us of the ignorance and prejudice that surrounded and sadly continues to surround the epidemic.
Nkhato has since turned his hand to directing TV dramas, but it will be a while before he matches the standard he set as an actor in his portrayal of the vengeful heir in Mopheme, a tale of familial greed and sweet revenge. Alongside veteran Lillian Dube-Nkwe and the late Godfrey Moloi, he shone the brightest. There is a scene in which he is made to eat with pigs. It evokes gut-wrenching pity and remains one of the greatest moments in South African television. Since then, sequels to popular dramas have proven rather pandering and unimpressive and the downward slide has been difficult to arrest.
These days, we get subjected to thematically constrained, government-department sponsored productions that serve as good training for directors and are sustained by individual performances. The good things about these is that they can never reach the levels of intelligence-insulting mediocrity found in the brief but painfully bad Sakhisizwe Court, a case study of how knowing the right people at the SABC drama department and having money can take you places even if you have no hope, let alone talent.
Of course, there are a few reasons to still watch TV dramas. One of these is in the country’s leading soapie, Generations. Forget Sello Maake ka Ncube for a while, and pay attention to Pamela Nomvete. Her portrayal of the vile and sadistic nemesis Nontsikelelo Lukhele is an exhilarating breath of fresh air. Her technique is crisp and lucid. With a trembling, pouty lower lip and a gaze that burns rather than pierces, she epitomises the soapie paradox. Her talent defies the corrosive shallowness that makes millions of people hate soapies, and her conviction makes millions more tune in.