Word: mabatha
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...19th-century leader Shaka Zulu. Moreover, Shaka's life was oddly parallel with that of Macbeth: a diviner prophesied in his youth that Shaka would become a "chief of chiefs," and his wife, Pampata, was his ablest and most ambitious war counselor. Thus was born uMabatha, the story of Mabatha (pronounced "Mah-bat-ta"): an amalgam of Shaka and Macbeth...
Similarly, the scene in which the ghost of the murdered Bhangane appears at Mabatha's coronation feast remains extraordinarily powerful in translation: wearing a huge, white wooden mask and long twists of rope representing his "gory locks," he is a terrifying apparition as he stomps ominously across the stage, pointing at the murderous King and intoning "Mabatha! Mabatha! Mabatha!" This is one of the joys of watching Umabatha: it succeeds in creating an alchemical marriage between the old story and the new setting...
...other level on which the production triumphs: the level of spectacle. Song and dance are woven into the story as integral elements that move the narrative at pivotal moments: cheering the return of the soldiers home from war, mourning the sudden death of King Dangane, celebrating the coronation of Mabatha in the banquet scene at the center of the play...
Thabani Patrick Tshanini's Mabatha is perhaps a less sympathetic character than the one we're familiar with-- ambitious but uncertain about his own ability to control his destiny, he nonetheless remains a strong man to the end, oppressed by outside forces, not by internal demons. His wife, Ka Madonsela, is played by the extraordinary Dieketseng Mnisi, an actress of considerable presence who comes closest to conveying her meaning and emotions successfully through facial expression and hand gestures...
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