COVID-19 may have seen the lights go down in theatres but at UJ Arts & Culture it spurred on creative process, experimentation, and play, resulting in the 2022 Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) interdisciplinary production of Hlakanyana – The Musical written, scored and co-produced by Madevu Entertainment headed by the talented duo Zolani Shangase and Michael William Wallace, with MoMo Matsunyane as head writer and directed by Janice Honeyman.
Yesterday, 27 March 2023, the creative behind Hlakanyana – The Musical was acknowledged with the announcement of 14 Naledi Theatre Awards nominations for the production.
“Our production of Hlakanyana epitomises what we at UJ Arts & Culture stand for. Through experimentation and collaboration, we aim to showcase new voices and new stories. It is very rewarding that the hard work behind this production, and more importantly, the determination to create under enormous odds has been acknowledged with these nominations,” says Pieter Jacobs, Head of UJ Arts & Culture.
As a production Hlakanyana was a reflection of the turbulence of the Covid years, birthed through UJ Arts & Culture’s commitment to original, innovative, Afrocentric storytelling through an interdisciplinary approach. Commissioned in 2020 for the FADA 2nd Year Interdisciplinary Theatre Programme, Hlakanyana was initially stymied by the extended lockdowns. However through creative will and determination on both UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment parts, the musical was conceived, workshopped, written and scored online, over Zoom. Five songs from the score was recorded and released at the end of 2020, under strict social distancing conditions.
“Hlakanyana really opened our eyes to what is possible and how theatre can be made, it has been a long and exciting journey,” says Michael Wallace, Madevu Entertainment.
In 2021 Madevu Entertainment partnered with Sebastian Burger and Callum Stout of the animation company Ohoneone to create The Sounds of Hlakanyana – an aural-visual animation that captured a sense of the story. The Sounds of Hlakanyana went on to win the Human Social Sciences Award for Best Public Performance for the creative collection for the year 2022.
It was only in 2022 that FADA was able to reinstate the interdisciplinary programme and Hlakanyana – The Musical (now in its 9th rewrite) could be produced as intended, debuting on Africa Day.
“We are really excited about the nominations, Hlakanyana was the type of creative experience that changes how you view your work as an artist. The creativity, the innovative thought, the collaboration that emerged during the process was incredible and finally seeing the work on stage was so rewarding. These nominations really highlight the importance of this production in terms of telling our stories in new, ground-breaking ways,” says Madevu Entertainment’s Zolani Shangase.
Hlakanyana – The Musical, an Afrofuturistic retelling of the traditional Zulu folktale, garnered the following nominations:
- BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A PLAY OR MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
Khaya Ndlovu (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST ORIGINAL SCORE / MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS
Sne Dladla, Zolani Shangas, Dionne Song & Viwe Mkizwana (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Dale Ray Scheepers, Viwe Mkizwana & Zolani Shangase (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST ENSEMBLE IN A MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
Ensemble (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST COSTUME DESIGN
University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Papy Kaluw – Urban Zulu (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST THEATRE SET DESIGN
University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Phuti Matuba (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST SOUND DESIGN
Ntuthuko Mbuyazi (Hlakanyana -The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
Janice Honeyman (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION: FEMALE
Momo Matsunyane (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION: MALE
Sibusiso Mxosana (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION: FEMALE
Manakomba Ndamande (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION: MALE
Sandisile Dlangalala (Hlakanyana – The Musical – UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
- BEST PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL/MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
Hlakanyana – The Musical (UJ Arts & Culture and Madevu Entertainment)
About UJ Arts & Culture
UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA) produces and presents world-class student and professional arts programmes aligned to the UJ vision of an international university of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the future. A robust range of arts platforms are offered on all four UJ campuses for students, staff, alumni and the general public to experience and engage with emerging and established Pan-African and international artists drawn from the full spectrum of the arts.
In addition to UJ Arts & Culture, FADA (www.uj.ac.za/fada) offers programmes in eight creative disciplines, in Art, Design and Architecture, as well as playing home to the NRF SARChI Chair in South African Art & Visual Culture, and the Visual Identities in Art & Design Research Centre. The Faculty has a strong focus on sustainability and relevance, and engages actively with the dynamism, creativity and diversity of Johannesburg in imagining new approaches to art and design education.