‘Being black felt like a sin’
South African actor Perci Moeketsi, who’s currently in New Zealand playing Nelson Mandela in the musical Madiba, was 6 years old when the influential freedom fighter was released from prison and became the leader of his country.
Moeketsi remembers gathering around the radio with others from his village, and listening to the historical moment in 1994 when Mandela was sworn in as president.
‘‘I remember the dead silence of the village while he was giving his speech. Everyone just listened to this man on the radio, he was the only voice that you could hear. What a moment in history for our country. It was phenomenal.’’
Before Mandela’s life-long struggle to abolish apartheid, Moeketsi says being a black child in South Africa ‘‘felt like a sin’’. Mandela’s journey from political prisoner to political leader changed his life.
‘‘After years of oppression, we could finally fight back and we had a legal system that wasn’t against us. We were finally acknowledged and opportunities opened up.’’
Mandela’s fight and struggle is being retold in the epic stage production with African dance and inspiring songs. The international production began its world tour in France before heading to Australia and New Zealand.
Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years for his fight against apartheid and was released and eventually became the country’s leader.
He died in 2013.
Moeketsi, who lives in Pretoria, says he had to constantly audition for eight months before finally securing the role of a man he calls his hero.
‘‘When you’re portraying such a man you must have a genuine presence about you and the only way to get that right is to essentially fully immerse yourself in the role.
‘‘It’s like a baptism. It’s been cleansing. The biggest challenge was that Mandela is not a fictional character, like Hercules, so it means no mucking around.’’
To get himself into the character, Moeketsi listens to one of Mandela’s inspirational speeches before he goes onto the stage.
‘‘I have a deep understanding that these are big shoes to fill. I listen to his speeches just to remind
me who the man was and what he stood for and get myself into the right frame of mind.’’
Moeketsi’s fellow cast member and South African-born actor Barry Conrad plays William Xulu, a fictional character whose story is told alongside Mandela’s journey and portrays an interracial relationship during apartheid.
Conrad was 10 years old when Mandela became president. Unlike Moeketsi, Conrad’s parents moved from South Africa to New Zealand when Conrad was 12 years old to provide him and his two younger brothers with better opportunities.
He developed a passion for theatre and music while attending Papakura High School in Auckland. He’s now based in Sydney and works as a musician and actor.
‘‘I felt like my role was meaningful because my parents went through exactly what my character goes through in the play. I wanted to be part of this show because it’s truthful and it’s gritty and I wanted to do this period in history justice.’’
Moeketsi says the show doesn’t sugarcoat the effects apartheid had on his country and the rest of the world. ‘‘You can read a textbook about apartheid but when you put it on stage you can see the blood, sweat and tears. You see the image of someone dying and you become part of the community that struggled. That’s more potent than a classroom lesson.’’
He says South Africa’s history is also New Zealand’s history after the controversial Springbok rugby tour in 1981 caused a division in this country and resulted in many New Zealanders rioting and protesting against apartheid.
‘‘New Zealand is one of the few countries to actually shed blood to our cause and that’s very commendable. It’s a full circle moment that this show is here. We can say thank you to New Zealand and remind them that their fight against apartheid is still celebrated.’’
Madiba the Musical is at Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland, until February 3; Opera House, Wellington, February 7-10, and Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch, February 14-17.