A dead ringer
Violetta might be dead and gone, but Boniswa and Mamba are determined to keep her alive for a bit longer.
Just because Violetta (Cindy Mahlangu) is gone doesn’t mean that she is dead – at least that is the idea the scheming Boniswa (Lusanda Mbane) hopes to sell to Violetta’s brother Thando (Mxolisi Nodom) when he comes looking for his sibling. Following her dramatic shooting death in January, Violetta is very much dead. But Boniswa is determined to keep that bit of info to herself, making certain that “she’s out of town” covers any questions about Violetta’s disappearance. But Mxolisi says that Boniswa may have her hands full with nosy Thando. “Thando is brave and courageous and he is not afraid to face danger.”
DEATH UNDER WRAPS
About a month ago, Violetta’s hubby Mamba (Simo Magwaza) found out about her cheating ways. In a blind rage, Mamba locked
Violetta and her lover Simo
(Sandile Mahlangu) in a room with a gun. By the time the door was unlocked, only one of them was alive – in this case, Simo was the one to pull the trigger. Bleeding out on the floor of a dingy storage room, Violetta was dead. And while the shooting was all Mamba’s plan, having his daughter Aya (Ayanda Nzimande) and Boniswa find out about the murder wasn’t. And so Mamba found himself with little choice but to team up with Boniswa to keep this bloody matter under wraps. All good and well, until Thando rocks up unannounced. “He comes to town because Violetta used to pay his school fees. And she hasn’t, so he comes seeking answers as to why the fees suddenly weren’t paid,” explains Mxolisi.
VIOLETTA 2.0
Realising that they need to convince Thando that his big sis simply left town, Mamba and Boniswa come up with an elaborate plan involving firstly, a simple lie, and secondly, some clever disguises. Mamba is quick to tell Thando that Violetta left suddenly for Nigeria. What exactly the businesswoman is doing in Nigeria isn’t clear, but Lusanda says it isn’t too far-fetched. “Slay queens have been known to have a soft spot for Nigeria,” the actress says jokingly.
But Thando isn’t convinced and he immediately questions the story. Realising Thando isn’t biting, Mamba and Boniswa move to the second part of their plan, involving disguises: Boniswa dresses up as Violetta, grabs her passport and heads to the airport. “All she needs to achieve is for Violetta to be ‘seen’ leaving the country,” explains Lusanda. “Just put on some make-up, a wig, Violetta’s clothes, grab Violetta’s passport and we’re good to go!”
QUEEN OF THE HOUSE
Of course Boniswa isn’t doing any of this for free. In exchange for her Vio
letta charade (and her silence), Mamba has to pay her R1 million. But Lusanda says that there’s more to Boniswa’s assistance. “There’s also the fact that Mamba is her ticket to greatness. It would serve her no good if he were to be arrested for murder. An alive
(but missing) Violetta means that the show can go on and Boniswa can focus on infiltrating the Mamba house and hopefully become the matriarch of the Mamba empire,” adds the actress.
Becoming the queen of the Mamba household isn’t all that far off, either. Firstly, she already has Mamba’s trust. “She has established that he listens when she speaks,” says Lusanda. And having formed an unbreakable bond with Aya, Boniswa is practically family. “Boniswa’s love and protection over
Aya is a genuine mother-daughter one. Aya is the only person that saw beyond Boniswa’s act and believed that there was more to her,” explains Lusanda.
“To Boniswa, the relationship she has with Aya represents something that she never had with her own children.”
SELLING IT
Boniswa won’t be transforming herself into Violetta entirely for the airport spiel. Instead, it was more important to simply sell the idea of Violetta being alive and well. “Clever angles were used to sell this part of the story. She isn’t really shown fully onscreen, because she isn’t really visible,” Lusanda reveals. “I focussed on playing more with Violetta’s nuances, the way she speaks, her dramatic swaying walk, and 10 extra inches of buttocks!” Whether Boniswa and Aya’s bond will survive her conniving ways is another matter. Even Lusanda is the first to admit that her character won’t think twice about using her relationship with Aya as leverage. “Of course the fact that Aya is Mamba’s daughter is an opportunity for Boniswa, and she will exploit it whichever way she can. She is, after all, Boniswa.” Messing with a powerful man’s daughter doesn’t come without a price. But Boniswa is like a cat with nine lives – she always lives to fight another day. “Nine lives, you say? In that case, I would imagine there are still a few more left,” Lusanda says, giggling. “Boniswa will do whatever it takes to survive. She will lie, cheat and even murder. A bite from a snake like Mamba? I think she can survive it.”
MEET MXOLISI NODOM
Newcomer Mxolisi is hoping to show South African viewers that nothing should stand in your way of achieving your goals. Having matriculated from the De la Bat School for the Deaf in 2019, Mxolisi is determined to make his mark in the acting world. “I’ve loved acting – since I was in middle school,” says Mxolisi. “I want to become the best actor of the deaf.” Mxolisi admits that joining the Scandal! family was daunting, but he loves every second of it. “It’s been challenging because there are a lot of hearing people on set and I was the only deaf person and had to read lips. But it has been a great, phenomenal experience all around because everyone was also willing to learn sign language.”