Mophato clinches Makgaolakgang 2016 title

Dumisani Ncube | Tuesday October 11, 2016 18:00

The two ensembles battled it out the stage despite specialising in different forms of theatrical art; Mophato Dance Theatre specialises in theatrical dance while Tsoga Africa is a dialogue theatre ensemble.

Mophato came on stage with a brave character as they combined three of their old plays Right of passage, Nyaya and Pula to make it one act titled Borwa.

The theatrical dance play depicted how the society was structured in the southern parts of Botswana as from 20 years ago going backwards. It touched on different issues such as the death of Segametsi Mogomotsi, consulting the gods for rain and how fathers would travel to South Africa to seek for jobs leaving their families behind. 

Different dance moves such as Marabi, contemporary and traditional, were used to convey the message of the story line with the aid of poetess Mmakgosi Tau giving the play more dialogue. Tau used her poetic skills to capture the emotions of the audience.

A catchy moment is when the dancers depicted the entertainment lifestyle in the 1950s. They staged a Marabi contemporary dance routine with the band backstage jamming different songs.

There is a scene where the dancers drove a kombi on stage with the band playing an instrumental of Stimela’s Go on, depicting how fathers would migrate back to Botswana from putting in work at South African mines. 

It was a different mood when Tsoga Africa was on the stage, more of a dialogue musical stage act with a few dance moves.

They staged their 2006 Koi e tsene ka lepara play, which focused on intergeneration sex syndrome of older men having sexual relationships with young girls who later on sleep with young boys and create an HIV cycle.

The lead character was Ntshanyana, a father of two who lived in the city while his family was in the village. Ntshanyana would every now and then convince young school girls to have sex with him in return of financial benefits such as money and cell phones.

The protagonist would later get infected with HIV and is taken back to the village by his colleagues. Upon learning that her husband is sick, Mma Ntshanyana called her uncle, a prophet, to come and heal the sick husband.

The prophet figured out that the sick man was being bewitched at work up until two pregnant young girls came to his house claiming that he is the father, with one of them stating that Ntshanyana infected her with HIV.

With musical performances from the ensemble feelings were easily intrigued.

At the end of everything, the judges Leshie Lovesong, Clayton Ndlovu, Moratiwa Molema and Ngemi Makhurutha crowned Mophato Dance Theatre as the winners.

Makgaolakgang Theatre Challenge is an annual event where two theatrical ensembles compete and a winner is chosen.

The objective of the event is to raise funds to conduct art workshops around the country. This time around the workshops will take place in all the 57 constituencies in the country.