Classic Woza Albert still reels ‘em in

WOZA Albert is one of those productions you can’t get enough of even if you have seen it a million times.

In the past decade, the play, written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema and Barney Simon, has been staged in different theatres and featured various actors.

However, the current combination of great actors Bheki Mkhwane and Hamilton Dhlamini is a marvel to behold.

The play premiered in 1981 at the Market Theatre in Newtown, Johannesburg, and more than three decades later, it still manages to pack venues to the rafters like it did at Soweto Theatre on Friday.

toured the US and Europe as the most successful play to come out of South Africa and won more than 20 prestigious awards worldwide.

is a political satire that imagines the second coming of Christ to apartheid-era South Africa. It addresses issues such as oppression, labour, survival, poverty, homelessness, police brutality and political imprisonment.

It further looks at how the pass laws and apartheid legislation prevented black people from moving freely at the time.

Morena is used as a metaphor in the play. He is portrayed as a man who brings miracles to the lives of black people – ending poverty, opening up job opportunities and stopping the dreaded

and permits. This Morena character is also expected to wake up all struggle heroes like Woza Albert, Steve Biko and Lillian Ngoyi, among others. When you follow the story properly you can pick up that the Morena referred to was actually the struggle hero Nelson Mandela.

What makes the story funny and interesting is how the Biblical prophecy plays itself as an irony.

demonstrates innovation and creativity during a seminal period of theatre in this country.

The beauty of the twohander is that the actors interact easily with the audience. Dhlamini and Mkhwane juggle many roles, including playing Hendrik Verwoerd, an Indian employer, Morena, and Soweto hostel dwellers. The highlight of the show must surely be the part where the two actors take off their pants, exposing their dark behinds. That scene got the audience talking.

The actors received a standing ovation for their splendid performance.

The only thing that hampers this well-written and directed play was the people who walked up and down during the performance.

Catch at the Soweto Theatre until February 22.