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Woza Albert: new era, same issues

standing tall: Mncedisi Shabangu and Hamilton Dhlamini have done extremely well to sustain the relevance of 'Woza Albert' PHOTOS: VELI NHLAPO
standing tall: Mncedisi Shabangu and Hamilton Dhlamini have done extremely well to sustain the relevance of 'Woza Albert' PHOTOS: VELI NHLAPO

When Mbongeni Ngema, Barney Simon and Percy Mtwa wrote Woza Albert in 1981, they could never have predicted that 35 years later its message would still be relevant.

The play is a satire poking fun at apartheid and its draconian laws. It also captures the daily struggles of blacks.

The classic show is back at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein, and features the respected Mncedisi Shabangu and Hamilton Dhlamini. Woza Albert opened officially yesterday.

The two men tackle different roles, from a vendor to barber, servant, manual labourer and soldier.

Essentially, the play poses a difficult question about what would have happened had Jesus Christ came back to South Africa during apartheid.

Shabangu, from Kanyamazane in Mpumalanga, says Woza Albert highlights what is currently happening in SA today.

In one of the scenes, the two men with their dompases (IDs for blacks during apartheid) go to the infamous Albert Street in Joburg's city centre, looking for jobs.

"They have limited time in the city because if they don't find work they will be sent back home," says Shabangu.

This relates to the times of today where, Shabangu says, in the new South Africa you still find a group of unemployed men sitting at the corner with their working tool with a hope to get an opportunity of a job.

"Those people sit there hoping that somebody will come looking for a painter and builder.

Sometimes they go there every day and score nothing."

Dhlamini, the star of e.tv drama Umlilo, agrees that Woza Albert is still relevant because the country has not initiated major changes in 20 years and that the challenges from the past remain.

"People still live in shacks and they are poor because there are no jobs. The struggle continues for black people."

In the play, the arrival of Christ brings hope to people that apartheid will end. However, Dhlamini argues why the country has to wait for a divine intervention.

"Why can't we fix our problems ourselves because we know what is wrong?

We don't have to wait for a divine intervention to rescue us."

Since its debut at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, Woza Albert has toured Europe and America, and won 20 prestigious awards worldwide.

"Many actors are afraid of doing this show because it is physically and emotionally draining," says Dhlamini.

"It requires a lot of energy because it is physical theatre. So many sounds are created through [the actor's] mouth."

It has been Shabangu's dream to feature inWoza Albert since 2001 when it was directed by Sello Maake ka Ncube.

In 2012 his dream came true when the show had a season at the Market Theatre.

lWoza Albert is on at Joburg Theatre until February 19

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