‘The Suitcase’ travels to the UK
Award-winning play set in Sophiatown of the 1950s
Local theatre production The Suitcase, starring Masasa Mbangeni and Siyabonga Twala, is headed to the UK for a five-week city tour, which will give overseas theatre lovers a taste of the proudly Mzansi production.
The play is based on Es’kia Mphahlele’s short story set in the 1950s in Sophiatown and has been revived since it was first staged in 2006. Based on real-life events between a young rural couple, Timi Ngobese and Namhla Ngobese, who despite their family’s disapproval of their marriage relocate to the city to make a better life for themselves. After a series of unfortunate incidents, Timi stole a suitcase left on a bus which incredibly changed their lives. Director and actor James Ngcobo said the play’s biggest attraction was the moral question that lingered throughout it.
“It is so humbling that the power of storytelling has revived a 2006 play and brought it back to life for an international audience. After the play was a success and won Naledi awards, we stayed away from it because we did not want to mess with it. But now that we have an opportunity to do it again, you can be sure that we have re-sharpened ourselves to tell it in a powerful way.” James said audiences would be enthralled by the show’s storyline and the twists in it.
“The love story is beautiful to witness but the audience is also pulled in by the moral question. ‘What will it take for a good man to turn bad?’ What is the final straw in a man’s desperation to be a provider for his family?’ The way the story unfolds is also just enchanting,” he said.
The cast and crew jetted off to the UK on Friday.
After playing in Liverpool, Lancaster and Newcastle until October 7, it will return to The Market Theatre in Johannesburg for a six-week run.