Actors Thulani Mtsweni and Hamilton Dhlamini brought 1981 political satire Woza Albert to life with their performance on Wednesday.

The actors performed the South African classic play at Lesedi auditorium at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

The auditorium was packed with high school learners, drama students and teachers. 

Woza Albert was written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema and Barney Simon in 1981.

Dhlamini not only acted in the show but also produced and directed it.

The show premiered at the Market Theatre in Newtown, Johannesburg, in 1981.

On Wednesday, the two actors told the story of the apartheid era in SA.

The play employs a lot of physical theatre, with most of the sounds created by mouth and asking a lot from the actors themselves.

After nearly two hours of a physically-charged performance, the two actors hosted a question-and-answer session for the audience.

Speaking to Time Out, Dhlamini said he chose Mtsweni to work with him because he knows what he is capable of, especially on stage.

“I have been following Thulani since he was doing community theatre. When I was looking for someone to do the show with me, I thought of him. Normally, I do not audition people and I choose people who know their story.

“At some point I was looking for Thulani for two months and I was unable to locate him. When we finally met, I shared the idea and he liked it. I gave him the script, he was excited.”

Mtsweni, who also appears on drama series Gomora, said being part of Mzansi’s classic play is a dream come true. He said when Dhlamini approached him, he agreed because he wanted his name to be in the history books.

“Besides that this is a classic show, it unpacks everything about theatre. I grew up in a community theatre and doing such a show is an honour. But being part of the show playing 15 roles and watch Hamilton doing 25 roles taught me a lot.

"I am enjoying the role but I was a bit nervous today having to take on a role portrayed by many great actors previously.”

Woza Albert is a story of people waiting for Morena (Christ or Saviour) to come and save them from their plight.

Set in apartheid SA in the 1970s, the play lends and extends itself to today, in the new era where people are desperate for a better life despite their political freedom.

The people are hoping that Morena’s return will raise people like Robert Sobukwe and Langalibalele John Dube from the dead to come and save the country.

The audience watches as the two actors play multi characters from being prisoners, coal sellers, brick makers and politicians, among other characters, with ease.

Dhlamini explained that he brought back the show because he wanted to remind both black and white people about where the country comes from.

“When you do a lot of soapies you tend to miss something challenging like theatre. I brought this play back to fulfill that urge for theatre acting. I miss theatre. I am worried about black people. They have forgotten where we come from.

“I mean the young kids who were here [to watch the show] don’t know the history and know nothing about South African theatre legends. The story is still relevant because there are quite a lot of wrong things going on. Look at the issue of load shedding and potholes. We need those fallen leaders to rise up and save us.”

Mtsweni said television was not exposing young people to black history as it should be.

“There are lots of things that were messed up when we attained freedom. During apartheid, black kids were involved in sports, and those things are no longer there. We closed technical colleges and phased out subjects like Bible Study and Agriculture, which taught us a lot.”

Mtsweni explained to Time Out that working with a seasoned actor like Dhlamini was like going to university to learn.”

Dhlamini also feels that working with Mtsweni was a blessing because he is open-minded and a hard worker.

“Thulani will come prepared, and made my job easy. I like his energy, he is understanding, patient and does not have ego issues.”

Born and raised in Tsakane, on the East Rand, in 1987, Mtsweni said he was inspired by Dhlamini and never thought they would one day act together.

• Woza Albert is set to show in eSwatini, Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and Gqeberha in Eastern Cape.