A 40-member cast and 13-piece band will get on stage on Tuesday night at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria to relive the story of the brutal killing of 34 miners in North West.
The musical is based on the stories in the book We Are Going to Kill Each Other Today: The Marikana Story by Lucas Ledwaba, Thanduxolo Jika, Felix Dlangamandla, Sebabatso Mosamo, Athandiwe Saba and Leon Sadiki.
The authors, all journalists, wrote the book after their extensive coverage of the wage strike by Lonmin workers until the massacre by police on August 16 2012.
Written and directed by Aubrey Sekhabi, the play was last performed on stage in 2017.
Lead actor Mavuso Magabane told Sowetan they wanted to tell the story with the honesty and dignity it deserves.
“It has been 10 years since the miners were killed. I think it is very important for us to constantly remind people what happened because it is our people who died. It is us as theatre practitioners who should do that through storytelling. We are here to remind people what transpired in Marikana,” Magabane said.
Despite rehearsing just for two weeks, Magabane said the cast and band were ready to deliver a thrilling performance for theatre lovers. “We kept the same cast, and it worked for us. The only difference this time is that I feel that I am getting old. Squatting is a challenge for me now. And leading a team full of young people does not make things easy for me. But we are 100% ready to open.
“The cast started two weeks ago and I joined them last week because I was still shooting. That is the beauty of working with real actors, dancers and musicians, rather than celebrities. They know what is expected of them and what to do.”
Sekhabi said: “We brought the play back this month of August to mark 10 years of the brutal killing of mineworkers in Marikana. It was one of the horrific incidents that we will never forget. The story looks at the lives of mineworkers and their families, as well as the events leading up to the massacre. It goes back to the villages and townships where they came from, and gives faces and names to the fallen brothers, sons, fathers and uncles.”
“There are no changes introduced this time but instead we added some refinements. After staging the show, you always reflect on it and realise that you can add a thing or two.”
Marikana – The Musical premiered in 2014 and won six Naledi Theatre Awards out of 18 nominations the following year. The play features performers such as Aubrey Poo, Siyasanga Papu, Emma Mmekwa and Mpho “Mckenzie” Matome.
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