A brave South African actress is turning heads with her one-woman show which parodies everything she can find in the new and old South Africa.
Twenty-eight year-old Free Stater Makgano Mamabolo describes herself as a “voluptuous coconut” who is claiming her space.
Her stand-up comedy, named after her character, Miss Kwa Kwa, has had small audiences, but she is screamingly funny and takes no prisoners. She jabs at every South African stereotype — blacks, Afrikaners, English liberals — it’s a long and thorough list.
Mamabolo believes her show is the only one of its kind among the scores on offer. “It is a good thing that SA comedy doesn’t tip-toe around issues anymore. People are more direct. Today people in South Africa can call a spade a spade,” she says.
“No self-respecting new South African should miss it,” says her director-writer Stephen Simm.
Despite her uncompromising lampooning of South Africa cliches, the sexy actress says she is entering only her second working year after graduating with a degree in live performance from the National School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance (Afda) in Johannesburg.
“Miss Kwa Kwa” is a homeland beauty queen who wants to hold onto her position to become a superstar and ambassador for South Africa.
Makgano says she wants black comedians to claim their space in South African comedy. “In this play I have found a way to communicate this message.”
“(The play) is a vehicle for me to say what I want to say. When people have such low self esteem, theatre is the one place where the audience can enjoy someone else expressing what they can’t.”
“In a society where women, and especially black women have historically had no voice, and who in the past would never have dared to satirise our society across its cultures, Miss Kwa Kwa boldly takes up this challenge.”
Makgano’s comedy is a blend between stand-up comedy and a one-woman show. She hopes that her comedy will set a trend for more one-woman black plays in South Africa.
Stephen Simm, director and playwrite, says: “The play is a vehicle for satire and pokes fun at a lot of South African norms, personalities and cliches with a lot of love and a sense of humour.”
Producer Paul Berning says: “Women are very successful at comedy because they can be dangerous and innocent at the same time.”
“Woman have experienced every problem in South Africa — racism, sexism and apartheid — and are in a better position to vocalise their opinions.
“Women are on the side of the oppressed and have a way to convey problems in South Africa,” says Berning.
“The play casts her as a ‘harmless rural’ that actually manipulates stereotypical South African personalities for her own personal gain.
Ironically, despite her busty stage presence, the woman behind the character feels sad about the format of her work. “It is sad that there is such a prominence of sexual comedy in South Africa,” says Mamabolo.
But she is not anti-men: “I love them,” she says. — ECN-Cuewire