It was lights, camera, action. Okay, maybe not lights, because the return of the National Arts Festival in Makhanda took place as South Africa began stage six load-shedding. It was the festival’s first live performances since the Covid-19 pandemic ended live entertainment in 2020 and moved events to virtual platforms.
The festival featured a “one night only” solds out performance by Ringo Madlingozi, who captured the hearts of his audience by singing his timeless ballads that have transcended generations of South Africans. Among other star-studded performances was Bongeziwe Mabandla and South African Music Awards winner Amanda Black, who wrapped up the final part of the festival with her sultry yet powerful voice.
But some of the stand-out performances came from the 2021 Standard Bank Young Artists of the Year award winners, who finally got a chance to show their work in front of a live audience.
Established in 1981, the Standard Bank award celebrates young South Africans who show exceptional talent. Winning the award is a milestone because it has been won by some of South Africa’s greatest artists, including singer-songwriter Johnny Clegg, playwright Mbongeni Ngema and composer Bongani Ndodana.
“Asimbonanga’ uMandela thina, laph’ekhona, laph’ehleli khona [We haven’t seen where Mandela is or where he is staying]” are some of the lyrics in Clegg’s 1987 song, written in honour of Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned on Robben Island. Clegg, who won the young artist award in 1989, was known for creating music that reflected the struggles that the country faced during apartheid.
Shaping the way we celebrate June 16 is the musical, Sarafina, which was performed in 1992, two years before South Africa achieved its freedom. Written by Hugh Masikela and Mbongeni Ngema, a 1988 recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist award and arguably one of the best playwrights to come out of our country. The musical told the story of the Soweto uprising of 1976 when hundreds of young people protested against the apartheid government’s attempt to make them learn in Afrikaans. Ngema has also written and featured in Asinamali, Mama, The Musical of Freedom and Woza Albert!
Blending a mixture of African and classical style is how the Queenstown born musician and composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen’s music is best described. His most notable work is for Winnie, an opera based on the life of Winnie Mandela. He was one of the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young in 2011 and he has received commissions from the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Haydn Festival, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few.
At the start of Thando Doni’s play, Ngqwause (The Death of a Nation), dim lighting illuminates the stage and there is a tall pillar with a shelf-like structure covered in leaves and patches of brown sand at the back. A young man wearing brown suspenders emerges into the left side of the stage and smiles at the audience. A few moments later he is joined by a beautiful woman wearing a red headwrap. They fall in love.
This is how Thando Doni brings to life the story of Nongqawuse, whose prophecies led to the Xhosa cattle-killing movement and famine in the Eastern Cape in 1856 and 1857. In his adaptation, Doni questions the decisions of the past and evaluates how they affect us today. He uses African ritual, music, song and dance to tell this story of love and sacrifice.
“A lot of the problems we face today as a nation stem from decisions our forefathers took in the past. We are in a position as the youth to question the decisions of our past and how those decisions affect us today. How do we as a nation heal those untreated wounds?”
It is no wonder he was selected for the award winners for 2021. His talent, creativity and passion for storytelling has earned him a spot on the list of one of the best plays to be performed at the arts festival this year.
He said, “As an artist having freedom of expression is very important. Being a Standard Bank Young Artist has allowed me that freedom to express my art and to create better work. I’m hoping to get more opportunities to showcase my work, sell out theatres.”