Renowned storyteller Gcina Mhlophe inspires UKZN Under the Stars drama performance

First year drama and performance studies students showcased their Under the Stars production at the Open Air Theatre on the Howard College Campus at 18:00 on the 17 May 2018.

The production is an exciting evening of African Storytelling in honour of renowned South African storyteller Dr Gcina Mhlophe, who will attend as an honoured guest.

The students are set to perform their interpretation of some of her magnificent stories as part of the DRAMA101 course, which focuses on introducing students into the history of theatre and physical performance in South Africa.

Course coordinator and lecturer, Ms Lliane Loots said, ‘The event sees over 180 first year students take to the stage in a celebration of being African, a celebration of the magic of storytelling and in a celebration of the power of theatre to move and transform lives.’

She believes that the success of the event is due to the input of Mhlophe herself. ‘She has a rich and varied history in contemporary South African theatre and apart from her own lexicon of internationally celebrated plays, her history of acting with the likes of Barney Simon and Mayishe Maponya has cemented her into the annals of theatre history.

‘Her gendered revision of African storytelling is now her legacy to the world. Mhlophe joined the DRAMA101 students in a series of special guest seminars over the semester where she narrated her own struggles and histories as a theatre maker. In honour of her visit and her inspiration, the DRAM101 course used her African Stories as the base and inspiration for Under the Stars,’ explained Loots.

Mhlophe says she is ‘honored to have her stories re-invented in this way’ while acting Dean of the School of the Arts, Professor Nobuhle Hlongwa is impressed by the students’ commitment to ‘honouring a multi-lingual African language approach to making theatre.’

Said Loots, ‘This kind of interface of practitioners and academia is a blue print of new methodologies and pedagogies around contemporary arts disciplines at universities and this course has proved the success of this.’

Source University of KwaZulu-Natal