Mokgadi Mogy Mashako
Having to make the mental and emotional shift in no time at all when switching between characters takes a lot of focus and real understanding of the characters, said Siyasanga Papu who plays dual roles in the Marikana the Musical, which runs at the South African State Theatre until the end of Women’s month.
The play returned to the stage after a four-year hiatus, but the passion with which the cast brings to the almost two-hour production, shows no signs of a dying horse.
Based on the book- We Are Going to Kill Each Other Today: The Marikana Story, written by journalists who were at the scene where a total of 34 miners were murdered in cold blood by police officers under strict instruction, the play tells the story through a musical point of view.
“The research we did in the beginning helped in grounding the characters in real human emotion and not just figments. That helps me immerse myself in the women I play,” said Papu.
Papu, who plays the character Pretty in the television series Gomora, told Mukurukuru Media it was a welcome challenge playing a powerful police leader whose life is very different to that of a wife of a mineworker.
“Being able to be the voice of real women is always humbling and reminds me to always tell the stories I tell from a place of honesty and respect,” she said.
From the start to the finish of the play a resounding applause, empathy and saluting carried the key moments that upheld the fact that Marikana- The Musical is a theatrical masterpiece that retells the story of mining life under a democratic South Africa.
The audience who sat in anticipation of the stage coming alive could not contain their excitement the moment the dark stage was scenically lit as a mineshaft carrying aggrieved mineworkers swiftly ascended onto the stage.
Among them was their unapologetic yet charismatic leader known as Mr Green- played by Meshack Mavuso Magabane, whose vision for better working conditions remained resolute until the end.
Award-winning director and playwright Aubrey Sekhabi said he was humbled by the shows’ return, as it is still a story worth telling.
“It is exciting to be working on this production as it is an important work and an important story.
“For me to be telling this story again is an honour and privilege,” said Sekhabi.
The actors dialogue and rhythmic musical numbers are accompanied by the 13-piece musical band that sits under a see through mesh wire that resembles one of the koppie’s where striking workers waited tirelessly for management from British mining giant- Lonmin to meet with them.
The man in the green blanket whose real name was Mgiceni Noki was from the Eastern Cape and a breadwinner to his wife, five children and niece.
During the days leading up to the massacre he went on camera explaining the stance of the workers:
“As you can see we are not fighting, we are peaceful. All we want is management’s response to the money [R12 500] we are asking for. That’s all. Then we will return to work,” Noki said.
There was a strong sense that the audience, which had fully packed the playhouse, was in solidarity with Mr Green and his fellow mineworkers, because they too were up in arms whenever the police forces engaged with the workers.
Led by Aubrey Poo’s deliberate character- Commander Nyoka, the police followed orders without question.
The pitting against of protagonist- Mr Green and antagonist- Commander Nyoka and their followers created a spiraling tension throughout the play underscored by renditions of songs like Panga, Ngonyama and I am a warrior.
Highly emotive song and well-choreographed dance expressed the misery and frustration of the mineworkers, and the deadly plans and obedience of the police.
Whistling and ululation accompanied the scene where a traditional healer had come to the koppie to give muti (traditional medicine) to the mineworkers, promising them protection against their enemy.
And when Papu’s character of Provincial Police Commissioner forcefully took over from Commander Nyoka, it was clear to see that preserving profit was of utter importance over preserving human lives.
“Don’t ask me how, just know we are ending the strike today”, said the Commissioner as she hastily made her way offstage.
The chilling scene of the shooting was escalated by the clanking and rattling sounds of the police piling the fallen mineworkers metal rods, pangas and spears as they moved the corpses to the mineshaft upstage.
The dead silence from the audience emphasized the room’s heavy realization that this spectacular play- as entertaining as it is, speaks to the losses experienced by real people whose lives have ten-years later not changed.
“One of the women I play is bold and has a voice to reckon with. Meanwhile the other woman may not have as loud a voice but it’s strong too and comes from a place of a lot of hurt,” Papu said of her characters.
The imagery of the black widow, distinctly similar to that which dominated apartheid South Africa, haunted the gallery as the women on stage; mothers, wives, sisters and daughters collected the mineworkers’ blankets and took turns recollecting fond memories.
One woman lamented that her loved one was part of the strike from the beginning, “I didn’t imagine that it could kill him. He started working at Lonmin when he was 22 years old in order to take care of us.”
The juxtaposition of the women on the floor mourning, some with babies in hand and of the mine shaft descending as it carried the lifeless bodies of the mineworkers, begs one to question the kind of leadership reigning over the “democratic” country South Africa is.
The musical which runs until the 28th August 2022, ended with a stark reminder that injustices of this magnitude should not prevail in a postcolonial era.
Ten years after the senseless massacre, not much has changed for those who survived the attack; those living in the mining communities; and those family members left behind by the slain mineworkers.
Papu believes it only takes one woman to mobilize and unlock the voices of the unheard and unseen.
“We do still have a long way to go when it comes to truly hearing women’s voices but it’s takes just a few to get the ball rolling.
“Being able to be the voice of real women is always humbling and reminds me to always tell the stories I tell from a place of honesty and respect,” concluded Papu.
Surviving Marikana employees and families are still seeking over R1.1 billion in compensation against Lonmin (now Sibanye Stillwater), President Cyril Ramaphosa (who was a director at Lonmin) and government.
Solicitor-General Fhedzisani Pandelani whilst briefing the media on 10 August 2022, said that the remaining claims-which include personal injury- are expected to be resolved by the end of this month.
Even though no one has been charged for the murders, the state has so far paid R170.7-million to families who sued it after the tragedy. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
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