Sello Maake KaNcube juggles TV and stage with ease
WHETHER it’s screen or stage, Sello Maake ka Ncube is a master at his craft.
Lately, he has been extra busy filming TV telenovela The Queen as well as performing in a host of theatre productions.
Asked if being involved in both TV and theatre at the same time has had any impact on his physical fitness, the veteran actor says: “Acting is my life; how can it take a toll on me? Life is to be lived and then you die. “When I am involved in a long-running series I look for theatre projects to do and plan accordingly.”
He has recently starred in The House of Truth, which showed at the Market Theatre in January. The play was inspired by the life of writer and Drum magazine journalist Can Themba, who died in exile in 1968.
“They ran it at the Market Theatre and it was a wholesale sold-out season. People were clamouring for tickets. (For) those who did not get to see it, I am negotiating for a season at the Soweto Theatre after showing it there for one night.
“The importance of telling South African stories is that it gives you an opportunity to create images of the human condition in which our species recognises itself and confirms its identity,” he says.
He has also starred and featured in theatre productions, including The Suite, The Lion King and Prophets In The Black Sky.
He recently kept social media abuzz with his portrayal of Kgositsile, a gay man on Mzansi Magic telenovela The Queen.
And he only found out that his character was gay three days before shooting, he says.
“It’s liberating playing this character. Masculinity or straightness is often wanting when it comes to expression.
“As an actor observation of the human condition should be your daily bread. So I have been preparing for this role throughout my acting life.”
He revealed that if he had to star in a movie it would be an imaginary movie called From Herdboy to Headman playing Jacob Zuma and The Freedom Story playing Cyril Ramaphosa.
Born in Orlando, Soweto, 56 years ago, he started acting in community theatre in 1976.
“I am not too sure if relevancy comes into it at all. As an actor I’m committed to portraying and representing the human condition in all its facets. And the human condition is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow.”
He is also a family man, another job that keeps him on his toes. He says fatherhood comes with changes. “You come to realise that your life does not belong to you anymore.” — Timeslive