Difference between revisions of "Isidlamlilo - Fire Eater"

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==The original text==
 
==The original text==
  
Set in a downtown womens' hostel in Durban, it tells the story of sixty-something Zenzile Maseko, a partially disabled grandmother, declared dead by the Home Affairs' decrepit system. Zenzile, we soon discover, operated as one of the IFP’s most feared assassins (nicknamed Impundulu/The lightning bird) in the build-up to the 1994 South African elections.
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Set in a downtown womens' hostel in Durban, it follows the story of sixty-something Zenzile Maseko, a partially disabled grandmother, declared dead by the Home Affairs' decrepit system. Zenzile, we soon discover, operated as one of the IFP’s most feared assassins (nicknamed Impundulu/The lightning bird) in the build-up to the 1994 South African elections. Charting critical events in the Natal's post-1994 trajectory through to its present day floods and insurrections, the story not only offers an insightful look at the eddying cycles of violence and revenge that play out across generations, but is foremostly a story of identity, redemption and resilience.
Explores themes of identity, redemption and resilience.
 
 
 
Presented by The Market Theatre in association with  & the National Arts Festival.
 
 
 
Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater is an electrifying new  show brought to life by acclaimed actor Mpume Mthombeni and theatre-maker Neil Coppen through their company Empatheatre. The work p 2022: Premiered at the 2022 National Arts Festival by Empatheatre, directed by [[Neil Coppen and performed by Mpume Mthombeni.
 
  
 
==Translations and adaptations==
 
==Translations and adaptations==

Revision as of 07:40, 2 May 2025

Isidlamlilo - The Fire Eater is a one-woman play by Neil Coppen and Mpume Mthombeni.

The original text

Set in a downtown womens' hostel in Durban, it follows the story of sixty-something Zenzile Maseko, a partially disabled grandmother, declared dead by the Home Affairs' decrepit system. Zenzile, we soon discover, operated as one of the IFP’s most feared assassins (nicknamed Impundulu/The lightning bird) in the build-up to the 1994 South African elections. Charting critical events in the Natal's post-1994 trajectory through to its present day floods and insurrections, the story not only offers an insightful look at the eddying cycles of violence and revenge that play out across generations, but is foremostly a story of identity, redemption and resilience.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

2025: Baxter Theatre, Actor: Mpume Mthombeni. Brought to the Baxter by Empatheatre.Received the Naledi Theatre Award.

Sources

https://markettheatre.co.za/isidlamlilo-the-fire-eater/

The Baxter what's on January to April, 2025.

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