Mzwamadoda Vava: A comparative analysis of Mandla Mbothwe’s Sibeban.

Introduction

Mandla Mbothwe’s contribution to South African theatre is marked by a distinctive fusion of ritual, memory, and historiography…

Contextualizing Mbothwe’s Artistic Practice

Mbothwe’s oeuvre positions him as more than a theatre maker; he is an archivist of the intangible. His production Sibebanye’s uVuko lobukroti, situated within the historical trauma of the SS Mendi tragedy, exemplifies his capacity to intertwine theatricality with historical excavation. This exhibition, comprising artifacts, audio-visual installations, and symbolic objects (notably the old boots arranged beneath the projection of the fallen soldiers’ names), evokes a sacred space of remembrance and mourning.

His dramaturgy resists linear narratives, favouring performative fragments – gestures, vocalizations, silences – which align with the aesthetics of Poor Theatre and Beckettian minimalism. Yet, it transcends European influences through its rootedness in African cosmologies, where the dead and the living coexist within liminal spaces.

Ndilind’ Endihamba Naye in Relation

While Ndilind’ Endihamba Naye also foregrounds ancestral presence and spiritual liminality, it diverges in scale and focus. The work is an introspective exploration of Bavulele’s internal odyssey – his confrontation with the Call (Umshologu/Ukufa okumhlophe) and his reluctant navigation towards becoming a Sangoma. Where Mbothwe creates a collective memorial ritual for the SS Mendi’s fallen warriors, Ndilind’ Endihamba Naye enacts an individual rite of passage.

The dramatic structure of Ndilind’ Endihamba Naye is character-driven and psychologically layered. Bavulele’s solitary waiting and emotional collapse are designed to be slow burning, embodying the private struggle of accepting an ancestral vocation. The Fellow-Traveller figure, along with ritualistic symbols such as the white horse and peeling of the wall, manifest as intimate, dream-like motifs rather than public commemorative acts.

Shared Aesthetics and Divergent Approaches Both works employ minimalistic strategies – silence, repetition, and symbolic imagery – to evoke spiritual and emotional depth. Mbothwe’s Room One (at Arena backroom) in Sibebanye’s uVuko lobukroti echoes Beckett’s economy of language, while Room Two’s (at Playroom) charged atmosphere resonates with Grotowski’s physical theatre principles.

However, Mbothwe’s methodology leans towards collective catharsis. His installations and performances activate public spaces as sites of healing and reflection, facilitating a shared dialogue with history and loss. In contrast, Ndilind’ Endihamba Naye prioritizes internal catharsis. Bavulele’s journey is cloaked in personal ritual, often leaving the audience as silent witnesses to an esoteric process.

Conclusion

Mbothwe’s Sibebanye’s uVuko lobukroti and Ndilind’ Endihamba Naye share an underlying commitment to excavating and staging African spiritual narratives. Both works engage ancestral memory, but where Mbothwe externalizes this memory into a communal rite, Ndilind’ Endihamba Naye delves into the solitary disintegration and resurrection of the self. The comparative reading of these two works reveals the multiplicity of African theatrical expressions where personal and collective histories intertwine to awaken dormant spiritual landscapes.

Camagu.

Mzwamadoda Vava
bavulele@poppiehuis.info
064 893 0274
PoppieHuis Theatre Workshops
http://www.poppiehuis.info

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