The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube
FOR veteran actor, Josphat Ndlovu, being chosen to feature in the play, Mbiko kaMadlenya brought a sense of déjà vu as it sent him back to the first theatre play that he featured in as a schoolboy at Luveve High School.
While studying the book in 1985, then Ndebele teacher at the school asked them to act out the drama and Ndlovu, as a Form Two pupil, took the lead role of Mbiko, the main character in the Ndebele kingdom succession play.
Fast forward 29 years later, Jose, as Ndlovu is popularly known, features in the drama as Mncumbatha, the paramount chief charged with the role of leading the Ndebele state in resolving the succession of King Mzilikazi.
The book, written by Mayford Sibanda, was shown during Intwasa 2014 and was also re-run, last week in the Intwasa Extra as it had been one of the popular acts during the festival in September.
Jose said the latest role in the set book made him reflect on his career as he looked at the journey that he has travelled in theatre acting.
“I was glad to take on the role because at a certain level it allowed me to celebrate my career through reflections as I got reminded how I began my humble acting career and where I am now.
“When I went on stage for the first time as Mbiko I was still at school and there were a lot of improvisation because we did not have all that was required to stage the play but now we have everything and I believe we did justice to the story,” he said.
The Mbiko kaMadlenya version that was shown at Intwasa was adapted by Thabani Hilary Moyo and directed by Nelson Mapako with Richard Ndlovu doing the choreography.
The play was one of the most successful shows at the festival this year.
Ndlovu said he had had mixed fortunes in his career but believed things had progressed well so far, only lamenting the low financial rewards that come with theatre acting.
He said it was unfortunate one could not fully exploit one’s passion by becoming a full-time actor because of the poor monetary rewards in theatre locally.
Ndlovu decided to focus on theatre after finishing school and joined the now defunct Young Warriors which was then being led by the late Norman Takawira.
“I was a resident of Emakhandeni then and used to go to Salukazi Arts Centre in Njube where the Young Warriors were based but I later moved to Nkulumane and this made it difficult for me to travel to Njube on a regular basis hence I join Bongani Nxumalo of Isiwe Esimnyama (Black Society). The group usually held shows in schools and we carved our niche in Matabeleland South as we would travel throughout the whole province hopping from one school to another throughout the whole term.
“We later competed at the Matabeleland Aids Council competitions that were held at the Trade Fair and we came out tops on several occasions, before I met Takawira again who asked me to rejoin them for a role in the blockbuster play, My Struggle,” he said.
Jose said although he had rejoined the Young Warriors from 1990 to 1999, he also took part in productions by other theatre houses such as Nasa, Amakhosi, Iluba Elimnyana and also in independent plays that were directed by directors such as Raisedon Baya and Styx Mhlanga.
After Takawira moved to Harare and the group fell apart in 1998, Ndlovu found a job at Madlala Tours as a general hand but left two years later to join Bambalela Arts Ensemble.
“When Takawira moved, a new group Umkhathi emerged but their focus was on traditional dances hence there was little room for me although I featured in some of their plays such as Nkulumane.
“However, during my stay at Madlala, I did not abandon acting, I featured in the television series, Izolo Yizolo,” said the 46-year-old actor.
“At Bambelela I came in for Naison Dube, who was leaving for Swaziland but the group had about five plays that were running at the time and Dube played lead roles in all those plays, so I was asked to fill in for him.”
At the moment, Ndlovu is working on Civil Servants with Bambelela, which will be showcased in Karoi next month.
Jose made his debut feature film appearance in Zola: The Bicycle Thief, which premiered this year and was produced and directed by United States-based Zimbabwean film practitioner, Sanele Sibanda.
He played a supporting role as Mthethwa, uncle to the lead actor, Zola played by Ronald Sigeca.
“It is unfortunate that the distressed economy has had a negative impact on the acting industry, particularly theatre, where salaries have remained depressed.
“It has been impossible to maintain a fulltime career in acting and one has to find other means to earn a living and feed his family. I am a handyman and do various odd jobs such as plumbing, painting and I am also a cobbler. This is one of the reasons why many have dumped acting but for a person to pursue acting they have to be passionate about it otherwise they will not last long in the industry,” he said.
The Tsholotsho-born actor stays in Njube with his wife and four children.
