Performed: Young Directors Season (2015), Rhodes University Honours Project, National Arts Festival Student Provgramme (2016)
Awards: Best Student Production, Most Promising Student Director
Nominations: Best Script Student Programme
Photographs By: Madeleine Chaput, Ashleigh Morris
Poster By: Daniele Eugenie O’Neill
Stage Management: Kayla Mizen, Sipho Balakisi
‘NYANGA’ (2015-2016) a South African re-imagining of Arthur Miller’s novel ‘The Crucible’. Follows the story of a young girl, Ayanda, who lives with her grandmother in the fictional rural village of KwaNyanga. Largely reminiscent of Miller’s Crudible, the play deals with the rumours of witchcraft that cause chaos in the village. Ayanda and friends play multiple characters, from the young friends she seeks council from to the elders in the community. They play three generations of women who experience this very tumultuous time. The production was created during Madliki’s studies at Rhodes University (2015) and was then performed at the National Arts Festival (2016) where it was awarded Best Student Production and nominated for Best Script (Student Programme). Madliki was also awarded Most Promising Student Director.
Tiisetso wa Noni Mashifane
Dani Eugenie O’Neill
Mmatumisang Motsisi
Masixole Heshu
Upile Bongco
Sisesakhe Ntlabezo
Michelle Mosalakae
Mpumelelo Malumo (part of 1st performance)
Nthatisi Mashike
Deep in the Eastern Cape lies customs and traditions that are kept discreet. It is here that there's talk about the old lady who lives alone next door. It is here that communities gather round and watch another grandmother being burned alive because she is seen as a threat. Fear and ostracism thrive in these communities. Witches are no longer believed to be merely mystical creatures: witch hunts have become a reality. Nyanga is a play by Thembela Madliki set in the fictional village of KwaNyanga in the Eastern Cape, inspired by Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The play explores universal themes such as deception, manipulation and seduction in a South African context. Nyanga is performed in English, isiXhosa, seSotho and seTswana.
Hlumela Dyantyi Sunday Times