Mbongeni Ngema: A Revolutionary Force in the Arts
“When I grew up, all I wanted to be was a musician … I always wanted to be on stage performing for people, but my [parents] did not know that performance can actually be a career.” – Mbongeni Ngema
Mbongeni Ngema was born on 10 May 1955, in Verulam, north of Durban, and became a well renowned African playwright, composer, choreographer, and theatrical director. He became known largely for plays that reflected the spirit of black South Africans under apartheid.
Madlokovu, Ngema’s clan name, an ethnic Zulu, worked as a manual labourer and guitarist before he began acting in local theatre groups in the late 1970s. With actor Percy Mtwa he wrote the satirical play “Woza Albert” (in 1981), which imagined the second coming of Jesus Christ taking place in South Africa. The apartheid government first tried to exploit him (Jesus) and then banished him to a notorious prison for Africans.
Ngema’s next show, the musical “Asinamali” (1983), which dealt with police violence, forced separations from families and constricting racist laws as experienced by five prisoners. Soon after the play opened, police raided a performance and arrested Ngema’s actors. Despite its serious theme, “Asinamali” was filled with music and comedy.
The success of both productions in the United States paved the way for Ngema’s international triumph with the musical “Sarafina” in 1987, with a title character being a blac
