Khumalo returns to stage with classic play exploring apartheid

Actor Samson Khumalo and his fellow actors explore apartheid times with the new production called Saturday Night At The Palace. 

The play, by Paul Slabolepszy, opens tomorrow at the Joburg Theatre for a season. The classic made its debut 41 years ago. Khumalo, who captured the minds of TV lovers with his role on Isibaya as Kgokong, plays the role of a waiter in the show. The storyline highlights injustices that black people had to go through during apartheid. 

Khumalo, who hails from Brits in the North West, will be telling the classic story alongside Charlie Bouguenon and Francois Jacobs.

“Saturday Night At The Palace is called a period piece and it was written in 1982, and it captures what was happening then in the country. It is about these two white guys who arrive at a restaurant at 2am when it is about to close. They seem to have their own issues and on the other side this black man wants to close," said Khumalo.

“They start hurling racism insults. It is an old story, but we did not want to change it. It is presented the same way as it was. Black people were mistreated then. Whether you were old, white children would disrespect you and you had to tolerate that for the sake of survival. We are just highlighting what used to happen back then. Whether the story is still relevant or not people will judge it for themselves.”

Khumalo, who has been acting for more than two decades, returns to the stage after 11 years. The last time he was on stage was in The Suitcase when Soweto Theatre in Jabulani had just started operating in 2012. After that he landed a big supporting role of Kgokong in Isibaya, which ended last year. 

Returning to theatre space has been an exciting moment for Khumalo. “It is fantastic and a lot of hard work. On stage, you get challenged mentally. We have been in a comfort zone and here we work hard. I am enjoying myself. I don’t have any preference I just embrace all types of art.”  

Khumalo started out his acting career in community theatre and did a lot of educational theatre in schools. He says he has lasted this long because of the dedication and passion he has for the arts. 

“What I can tell you is that people think acting is about TV, especially the up-and-coming actors. They were not trained like us. Most of our people want to appear on television. I don’t have a recipe for success, but dedication and passion took me this far. If you want to last long, you must be committed and not take things for granted. We cannot be comfortable where we are.” 

Khumalo, whose professional career began at the State Theatre, has tackled both stage and television equally. His theatre credits include The Blacks, Bloke – the musical, Death and the King's Horseman, Romeo and Juliet, Johnny Cockroach, Die Eend, Julius Caesar and Donkerland, among others. 

For his role as Kgokong in Isibaya, he won a SAFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He was also part of the popular Afrikaans musical Ons vir Jou. In 2010 Samson co-wrote Shaka Zulu - The Musical with Deon Opperman and Sean Else and co-directed it with Deon.