Mhlophe relates travel tales
AWARD-WINNING storyteller and poet Gcina Mhlophe is writing her memoirs on her world travels, but – to get a peek ahead of time – audiences can watch her perform My Travelling Bag, on at the Rhumbelow Theatre this month.
Written and performed by Mhlophe, it tells of 33 years of suitcases, stamps in passports, friendships, missed flights, mementos and memories.
Speaking about the show this week, Mhlophe said she liked these types of performances, because she had little time to do full theatre performances because of her travels.
“This is why I take full advantage of opportunities like these when they present themselves. When the Rhumbelow approached me, I saw an opportunity to tell my stories,” she said, adding that travelling the world had been an amazing experience, especially after having explored the province as a young girl.
“If I had gone to a sangoma at the age 20 or 25 and they had told me that I would be packing suitcase after suitcase, travelling the world and seeing places such as the US, Japan and getting award after award, I would have asked for a refund. I never imagined that this would be my life.”
She added that when she first started travelling, she had a habit of always imagining her destination, as well as the people she would meet, after communicating with them via e-mail or telephone.
“I would think – judging from abrupt one-word e-mails – ‘This person is not very friendly’, but then I just told myself to open my mind and I would see what the place and people were like once I got there.”
Mhlophe said people and places were actually more alike than different: “Seeing with your eyes really opens your mind and it’s encouraging, when you look at places like Brazil – the gap between the rich and poor there, if you look at our democracy and the gap between the rich and poor here – places are more alike than we think.”
She said being exposed to different but similar worlds inspired her and she told stories “to wake up stories in others”.
Sharing her fondest travel memory, Mhlophe said that while visiting Malawi, she was thrilled to meet their highly esteemed national storyteller: “I came across someone selling artwork and when I asked him about the storyteller, he took me to his house, on the shores of Lake Malawi. As we sat with the lake lapping over our feet, he told us a beautiful fable and, in his honour, I wrote The Singing Chameleon.”
She added: “With My Travelling Bag, I am putting together a memoir of my travels with photographs”.
My Travelling Bag is on at Tina’s Restaurant at the Rhumbelow from July 18 to 22.
Booking at Computicket or e-mail roland@stansell.za.net