Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - October 31, 2004
Edward Tsumele
He is the face of theatre in Soweto and has a reputation for turning young artistic talents into successful performers and contributing greatly to township theatre.
It is easy to be dismissive of soft-spoken Peter Ngwenya as just one of the struggling township theatre practitioners, but Soweto community theatre is synonymous with Ngwenya.
Theatre has to pay for its own survival and this explains the trend towards more popular forms of theatre, such as musicals. How does town-ship theatre fit into the scheme of things? The task of keeping theatre doors in Soweto open is daunting.
But Ngwenya is a shining example of a committed playwright devoted to making sure that Soweto does not lose its theatrical heritage, first started by theatre legend Gibson "Bra Gib" Kente.
Kente is credited with popularising theatre in the township in the early 1960s, when he came up with the masterpiece Sikhalo, which filled up Mofolo Hall. Kente, though not born in Soweto but in the Eastern Cape, helped put township theatre on the map, alongside Athol Fugard.
Names like Kid Sithole, who works in township theatre alongside television work, have come through the Kente school of theatre.
Others include Mbongeni Ngema, Sello Maake ka Ncube and Darlington Michael, who works closely with the youth in Soweto, besides his role in the SABC3 soapie Isidingo.
The influence of both Kente and Ngwenya is inestimable.
Ngwenya says he and his Soweto Youth Drama company have found creative ways of surviving the financial challenges of operating on the tough Soweto theatre scene.
Collaborations with government on topics such as HIV and Aids bring subsidies, while Ngwenya's international contacts also help.
He would like to see more awareness of theatre in Soweto, but the fact that most "theatres" are multi-purpose halls and not proper theatres does not help, says Ngwenya.
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