Sibusiso Khwinana

Sibusiso Khwinana (1993-2019). Actor, playwright, director and theatre maker.

Biography

Born on 31 July 1993, Khwinana grew up in Soshanguve, a Pretoria township.

Affectionately known to many as “Sobi Dikuku” or “Sbu/Sbuda/Sbuda-Man”.

Khwinana died in Arcadia in 2019 following a fatal stabbing that took place shortly after he was spotted attending a screening of Matwetwe at Sterland Mall, Pretoria. At the time of his tragic death, he was studying to become a director and producer, pursuing a diploma in Film and Television at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

In 2013, Khwinana was the founder and artistic director of a community organisation focused on theatre and based in Pretoria, called Blank Page Entertainment. He was also a founding member of the Independent Theatre Makers Movement. He was also co-founder of the Station Theatre in Pretoria.

Upon matriculation from school, he was selected to be a part to the South African State Theatre’s department of arts and culture sponsored incubator programme, Youth in Trust (YIT) where he studied for two years.

As playwright

Under the Youth in Trust programme, Khwinana wrote and directed his public theatre debut, Amend (2014). The production served as commentary on the vile nature of homophobia and the use of corrective rape in townships. His play Best Friends Worst Enemies (2018) won a Standard Bank Encore Ovation Award in 2018. Other works include Tit for Tat (2014) for which he was awarded best director at the Hello Festival in 2014, and Don't Start which was written after he'd seen the impact of nyaope (heroin) on communities. The play was performed for primary-school children in Soshanguve and Mamelodi.

As stage manager

In extension to being a deft director, Khwinana also worked behind the scenes to build the world of a work, or run a show as a stage manager, with his credits including The Infidel by Tshepo Ratona, Road to Damascus by Bongani Masango, The President's Man and Protest both by Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom and Angola by Sello Maseko, after which he won an award in recognition of his contributions to the theatre world at the Trade Fair hosted at the Market Theatre.

As director

He directed Tebatso Mashishi’s Reen Bloed Nasie, a controversial play that was developed through The Writers Lab. He also directed Kudela Owaziyo, Ubhuku Lwa Manqe, Don't Start, Iyeza, The Crucible, The Essence of Coit, Brothers in Blood and Mother Courage and Her Children.

As actor

He was one of the leading actors in Kagiso Lediga’s film Matwetwe (2019).

Awards, Honours

The Momentum Theatre at the South African State Theatre was renamed Sibusiso Khwinana Theatre in his memory in June of 2019.

Sources

Zaza Hlalethwa. 'Curtain closes prematurely on theatre maker Sibusiso Khwinana'. Mail & Guardian. 4 March 2019.

Robyn Sassen. 'Hope and dreams of Sibusiso Khwinana: A tribute'. 13 June 2020. https://robynsassenmyview.com/2020/06/13/hope-and-dreams-of-sibusiso-khwinana-a-tribute/

Katlego Chale. 'The Consciousness of an Independent Theatre Maker'. Culture Review. 30 December 2019.

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