WeeklySA_AdminCONVERSATION: The stage play, billed for a four-day showcase next week, is a theatrical exploration of teenage pregnancies during the Covid-19 pandemic…
By Priscilla Malinga
Thandeka, a stage play produced by The Market Theatre Kippies Fringe, is scheduled for a four-day Johannesburg showing from November 20 to 23.
The play, which has been showcased in other parts of the country, is part of “culturally provocative” productions that are geared to offer “storytelling and artistic expression that refuses to play it safe”.
To this end, the Market Theatre Kippies Fringe has delivered exceptional developmental works throughout the year, ending with a number of productions scheduled for this month. This month’s programming is themed around reflection and renewal, calling for personal and collective meditation.
One of the productions lined up for this artistic goal is Thandeka, a play that promises a bold theatrical exploration of teenage pregnancy.
The play has been showcased in other parts of the country, and now is set to land in the Golden City from next year. Set during the COVID-19 lockdown and the 2021 unrest,
Thandeka carries themes of love, family, mental health, hope, and absent fathers resonate throughout. In the process, it offers audiences an intimate look at the human cost of societal challenges too often left unspoken.
It will be performed in the 50-seater iconic Kippies venue designed for small-scale productions. The production team says audiences can expect to be pulled into a frank conversation about, and confrontation of, the realities of teenage pregnancy in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.
According to research, teen pregnancies went up during COVID. In Gauteng alone, the Department of Health reported a 60% increase in teenage pregnancies during the COVID-19 period. More than 23 000 girls under 18 years of age are reported to have given birth between April 2020 and March 2021. Just over 900 of these teen girls were under the age of 14.
Written by Happy Gladness Simelane and directed by Tebogo Machaba, this 60-minute Zulu drama combines heartfelt storytelling with powerful performances to shed light on love, loss, and resilience in contemporary society. Machaba explains: “Performed as a one-hander with live music, Thandeka tells the story of a young woman whose life changes forever after falling pregnant at 19. Cast out by her father, she journeys from KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg in search of love, belonging, and a better future.
“Along the way, she encounters kindness, tragedy, and ultimately, the strength to confront her past”. Tickets out on Webtickets – https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1574760655
