My Children! My Africa!

“Come to school! Come to school. Before they kill you all. Come to school.” he was screaming at the top of his lungs while ringing his treasured school bell in an attempt to be louder than the countless high schoolers who were singing in protest.

Mr. Anela Myalatya, is a well-known English teacher and affectionately referred to by everyone around him as Mr. M, he is a literary enthusiast and passionate about his career as an educator. 

This impactful role of Mr. M is played by the incredible Mandla Gaduka, who is known for his charisma and undeniable talent as an actor, both on stage and on screen. Mandla has a special way of becoming and embodying a character. He did not just portray the role of Mr. M, he became Mr. M through his body language and nuances.

I do not know Gaduka to wear spectacles, but Mr. M does. It will take a very long time for me to believe that this actor has not worn glasses for a period of years before in his life. That stood out the most for me amongst other things, because I am an individual who relies heavily on prescriptions, and I could see a lot of things that we members of the optical lens society do naturally. How he mastered that is pure art.

Mandla Gaduka as Mr. M in My Children! My Africa! at The South African State Theatre.
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe.

Set in a classroom, My Children! My Africa! opens with a debate turned heated argument between two learners from different schools, different backgrounds, different genders and race. 

The role of Isabel who only knows privilege as a way of life by virtue of being born with a different skin color is played by Penny Wolhuter, who is a musical theatre graduate with healthy experience in performing.

Isabel is a daughter of a pharmacist, plays hockey, goes to the best school, lives in a harmonious and safe neighborhood with her nuclear family that has tea on Sunday afternoons. Wolhuter delivers her performance in an effortless manner.

Penny Wolhuter as Isabel in My Children! My Africa! at The South African State Theatre.
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe.

My Children! My Africa! was written by the recently departed Athol Fugard who was overzealous with words, therefore we know for certain that any performer that delivers Fugard’s text in a way that seems undemanding, is without a doubt gifted.

Athol Fugard was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world" by Time magazine in 1985, he published more than thirty plays. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apartheid, some of which have been adapted to film. He passed on the 08 March 2025 at the age of 93, just as My Children! My Africa! was set to open at The South African State Theatre on the 10 March 2025. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

I have had the opportunity to watch My Children! My Africa! multiple times before at The South African State Theatre, with contrasting director and cast. I have the same opportunity to watch it again this season.

“We have taken a completely different approach” said the assistant director of this timeless body of work, Bongani Bennedict Masango who is intentional and committed to flying the South African performing arts flag high, here at home and internationally.  

Fresh from Sydney, Australia, Masango said “No matter how many international opportunities come my way, home is always home. Getting the chance to direct alongside Mr. Sekhabi feels like stepping into a dream – one that I truly believe the universe set up long ago. I’ve had the privilege of working with him as an actor, but sharing the director’s chair with him has been a whole new level. It’s not just a huge honor, but a real validation of the hard work and dedication I’ve put into developing my directing and leadership skills. I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity and confident that it will have a lasting impact on my career.

My Children, My Africa is such an important historical play, and working on it really challenges your thinking. It gives you the chance to test your relevance as a modern director, tackling themes that resonate deeply even today. As I guided these incredible actors, I also had the chance to learn and grow, watching Mr. Sekhabi elevate some of the directorial choices we made. It’s been a blessing, and I truly believe this was all divinely aligned”.

Mandla Gaduka as Mr. M in My Children! My Africa at The South African State Theatre.
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe

This season of My Children! My Africa! is directed by the multi award winning playwright and director, and the Artistic Director of The South African State Theatre, Mr. Aubrey Sekhabi who said “I think it was just a coincidence that we run My Children! My Africa! and the author Athol Fugard passes on, it is sad to lose one of ours. A giant and a brilliant storyteller who is committed to telling South African stories. When I was looking at the story, I said WOW, this is such complicated work, this is such interesting work, and it is so deep that it happened at a time when he passed on.

In a sense, it was like we were right on time, I was right on time to really make the work. But obviously, I didn’t expect that he would pass on. I actually thought that I was going to send him a video to show him how I translated and interpreted the work, so it is very sad that he passed on just when we were opening it, but I’m excited that we have given it this life”.

Through this run of My Children! My Africa! we witness the liftoff of Thandolwethu “Olly” Zondi, with his theatre debut as Thami who excites the audience when he delivers these lines “We don’t need Zolile classrooms anymore. We have woken up at last. We have found another school – the streets, the little rooms, the funeral parlors of the location – anywhere the people meet and whisper names we have been told to forget, the dates of events they try to tell us never happened, and the speeches they try to say were never made.

Those are the lessons we are eager and proud to learn, because they are lessons about our history, about our heroes. But the time for whispering them is past. Tomorrow, we start shouting. AMANDLA!” 

The audience, myself included responded with "AWETHU" as though we were all in rehearsals with him.

Zondi must have had to dig deep for this moment as we hear his voice ascending and see his face glistening as he powerfully punches the air in the Opera theatre as if he must jab the towering roof. What a launch of raw talent.

Thandolwethu "Olly" Zondi as Thami in My Children! My Africa! at The South African State Theatre.
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe.

The play is of the subject matter that can be overwhelming, especially for a young audience with a rather brief attention span. When I asked Masango about this he said “As both an actor and a director, I’ve always had a deep love for text-based plays. Crafting strong, engaging work is no easy feat, and given how our audiences today are often stereotyped as having shorter attention spans, it makes it even more of a challenge. But I truly believe that no matter how short the focus span, great directing can captivate even a child’s mind. As a director, I hold the belief that you should never underestimate your audience. When you genuinely respect the people consuming your craft, you’re far more likely to grab their attention.

Penny Wolhuter as Isabel and Thandolwethu "Olly" Zondi as Thami in My Children! My Africa! at The South African State Theatre.
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe. 

Young audiences today are hungry for work that stimulates their minds, helps them grow, and informs them. My Children, My Africa does exactly that. Working with Mr. Sekhabi, we made a conscious decision to breathe new life into the play, giving it a fresh interpretation that would resonate with today’s audience. And the response we’ve gotten, from the cast to the audience, has been incredibly exciting. That, to me, is the true definition of success. I’m so glad we took this journey together!”

This is a journey of refined excellence. The remake of a story that remains unchanged. Watching it felt like I was watching a new show altogether with similarities to what I’ve seen before.

I went on to ask the director of My Children! My Africa! how he managed to remain true to this classic. “I like South African classics; I like plays of the seventies and the eighties because that is when I really came into the theatre space, and I’d like to believe that I understand the work that has been done. The people that were doing it, were writing and directing. They were really making the work, so what we are left with, is to interpret the work.

I love interpreting work from the eighties, I did it with Sophiatown and now doing it with My Children! My Africa! has been exciting because there is so much loaded in it. We did it word for word. We didn’t cut one word, we didn’t add one word, we did it word for word because I believe that it is beautiful as it is. Some people cut it because they think it is too long or because they didn’t know what to do with other things. I felt like there was so much I could do with this work if I could get the right cast.

Remember Mr. M was written for Dr John Kani, and he can act anywhere, in an empty space, on stage, at a train station, in a bus… he can act there for two hours and you can still watch him. Therefore, getting people to play that role after him is not easy and I believe that Mandla Gaduka is doing a good job out of it.

I thought let’s open it up, put on a set. Let's play some more with the work because it is so rich. I’m glad that I have done it this way, and I have a brilliant cast. I have Penny and this is her first drama, I’ve got Olly, this is his first time acting on stage and I think they are doing the work justice, I love them, and I love the play, and the response has been phenomenal” Mr. Sekhabi said passionately.

From left to right. Thandolwethu "Olly" Zondi as Thami, Mandla Gaduka as Mr. M and Penny Wolhuter as Isabel in My Children! My Africa! at The South African State Theatre.
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe.

The set is bigger and better in comparison to the ones I have seen before in previous productions of the same theatrical performance, yet still minimal. They have those old desks that open up, that look like they were purchased at ridiculously expensive antique stores or auction houses. Sherldon Marema did it again with his stroke of genius when it comes to set design. He managed to show us a classroom with broken windows, the township, suburbia and mountains. His collaboration with the lighting designer Pretty Masemola resulted in magnificent visuals.

With a three person play, one would think there isn’t much one can do where costume is concerned. Two students and a teacher equal two uniforms and a suit. Lesego Moripe gave us backpacks that scream bigotry. Mr. M had shoes that would not be any man’s first choice of style today. Moripe took us to 1984 with the costume. Just when I thought she was done, she hugged Thami with what I can only call background.

Thandolwethu "Olly" Zondi and Penny Wolhuter as Thami and Isabel in My Children! My Africa! at The South African State Theatre.
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe. 

In the words of Isabel “You gave me a little lecture once about wasted lives… how much of it you’d seen, how much you hated it, how much you didn’t want that to happen to Thami and me. I sort of understood what you meant at the time. Now, I most certainly do. Your death has seen to that.

My promise to you is that I am going to try as hard as I can, in every way that I can, to see that it doesn’t happen to me. I am going to try my best to make my life useful in the way yours was. I want you to be proud of me. After all, I am one of your children you know. You did welcome me to your family. The future is still ours”

From left to right, Mandla Gaduka as Mr. M, Penny Wolhuter as Isabel and Thandolwethu "Olly" Zondi as Thami in My Children! My Africa! at The South African State Theatre. 
Photo by Nqaba "Sir Luna" Hadebe.

I can’t think of a better way to honor Athol Fugard, in this retelling of a story about our long-standing history between people of all races. Finding common ground was as easy as it was short lived. It was not long ago when we lived in segregation, and at times, it feels like we still do.

 

Production: My Children! My Africa!

Writer: Athol Fugard

Director: Aubrey Sekhabi

Assistant Director: Bongani Bennedict Masango

Cast:

Mandla Gaduka as Anela Myalatya

Penny Wolhuter as Isabel

Thandolwethu “Olly” Zondi as Thami

Crew:

Set Designer: Sherldon Marema

Costume Designer: Lesego Moripe

Stage Manager: Kagiso Modise

Assistant Stage Manager: Sandra Rathogwa

Sound Engineer: Boitshoko Rebang

Musical Director: Zakhele Mabena

Lighting Designer: Pretty Masemola

Follow spotter: Ashley Mahlangu