The PE Opera House is staging ‘The Master Key’, written by Monde Ngonyama and directed by Xabiso Zweni, at the Barn theatre from Wednesdaynext Saturday September 26 to 29. The cast will include Anele Penny, Nobesuthu Rayi, Olwethu Mdala and Zweni himself in the lead role of Nelson M.
The production is part of the Opera House’s Drama Seasons which sees commissioned works being staged every month for a short run. The programme is designed to breathe life into ready productions produced largely by locally based experts.
The play is based on the theme that apartheid was not just the story of big names and famous imprisonments, but rather a much wider web that entangled and suffocated just about every black person in SA.
Saint’s journey from Fort Hare University to residence at the Kirkwood Police Station cells makes for a drastic change of fortune. But he will not cry as the life of just about everyone around him has been shaken to the core in different ways, “from love to infidelity, consciousness to treachery, heartlessness to compassion”.
Zweni was responsible for stage hits such as Sophia is Gone, From Korsten with Love, For Two and Ghost of Glenmore, all of which have been stage at the PE Opera House and in numerous other performance spaces. He has worked with numerous world-renowned theatre and television legends. Zweni’s many career highlights include joining Nomhle Nkonyeni as co-director of The Truck Driver, which featured on the main programme of the National Arts Festival (NAF) in 2013.
Shows are at 7pm from Wednesday to next Saturday, and there is also a 2pm matinee next Saturday September 29. Admission is R100 (single) and R150 (double); students and pensioners pay R50. Seating is limited so it is best to arrive early.
For inquiries and bookings contact Cingiwe Skosana, cingiwe.skosana@gmail.com or call 041-585-1300.