Mpume Mthombeni | Isidlamlilo

In this interlude, Mpume Mthombeni performs an extract from the theatre production, Isidlamlilo.

In the relief of 1994, we did not have the opportunity to process the bloodshed in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng’s East Rand during the "deadly decade" between 1984 and 1994. At that time, even the daily newspapers couldn’t keep up with the onslaught of violence. It is here that we meet Zenzile Maseko, 'Isidlamlilo', the fire-eater. A former assassin for the Inkatha Freedom Party, now a grandmother, partially disabled and declared dead by Home Affairs.

In a room in a women’s hostel in Umlazi, Durban, she appeals to God for forgiveness and shares her dreams, regrets and hopes for freedom.

 

Isidlamlilo is produced by Empatheatre, directed by Neil Coppen, written by: Neil Coppen in collaboration with Mpume Mthombeni and performed by Mpume Mthombeni.