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Insight into mental illness

DISTURBED: Maumela Mahuwa, Taryn Lee and Themba Mongwe in Madness Revealed. 30/08/07. © Unknown.
DISTURBED: Maumela Mahuwa, Taryn Lee and Themba Mongwe in Madness Revealed. 30/08/07. © Unknown.

Edward Tsumele

Edward Tsumele

Madness Revealed, a play about mental illness, is being taken to communities to highlight the condition and the plight of people suffering from it.

Produced by Turning Heads with help from Central Gauteng Mental Health Society, the play is based on the true story of Charlene Sunkel.

Sunkel, who suffers from schizophrenia, wrote Madness Revealed and it is all about her experiences as a schizophrenic.

Maumela Mahuwa, who plays Susan in Muvhango, plays nurse Michelle, a kind of medical helper who gives hope to, and comforts patients with mental Illness. Mahuwa also makes her singing debut.

Nonkululeko Ndlovu of Turning Heads says: "Our aim is to raise awareness, therefore entrance is free. We want to reach as many people in the townships as possible.

"We are performing at Soweto's Orlando Communal Hall on September 15 and at Katlehong's Tshepong Stimulation Centre on September 29," Ndlovu says.

"Mental illness is a medical condition that is not dealt with sufficiently in the townships, so I believe that the play is a worthy initiative.

"We would like to lobby for funds to take the play further on a roadshow to other townships and provinces. Mental illness is an issue that must be taken seriously and must be tabled for action," Ndlovu says.

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