According to Ruva Ngwenya, who plays Winnie Mandela in 'Madiba The Musical' – a celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela, the new stage show about the life of the iconic first President of South Africa breaks down barriers between race and artistic styles, resulting in a cathartic and joyous experience unlike anything seen before in musical theatre.
Nelson Mandela transformed not only his homeland of South Africa, but the entire African continent and ultimately the world when he emerged from 27 years of imprisonment to negotiate an end to apartheid in 1990.
During his lengthy incarceration on the harsh and inhospitable Robben Island, Nelson’s wife Winnie became the public face of the campaign to free her husband and to end the brutal Government-sanctioned division between races in South Africa.
For Ruva Ngwenya, an African-Australian of Zimbabwean descent, landing the role of Winnie has been an honour for both herself and her family, she says.
“My mum really connected with me getting this role and she was really touched to hear that I was playing Winnie Mandela, because for her [she] was like a mother figure growing up, so she’s really proud.”
Ruva, who has trained in music since the age of six, has performed across various genres and styles. She is known to Australian audiences from her time on both 'The X-Factor' and 'The Voice', as well as from roles on the stage in 'The Lion King' and 'Dusty: The Musical'.
The cast of 'Madiba' is a congregation of artists from many artistic worlds. Nelson Mandela is played by Perci Moeketsi, a South African star of stage, television and film, while former 'So You Think You Can Dance' contestant Timomatic also plays a central role. Ruva says that this unique gathering of skills has resulted in the creation of something special.
“It’s actually one of my highlights of working on the show is that we’ve got people from all different communities of entertainment, we’re not all theatre heads. It’s very diverse, especially with the dancing in the show, we’ve got amazing dancers who come from completely different backgrounds from theatre and you can see it on stage.”
By eliminating the walls that divide, then, just like Nelson Mandela did, 'Madiba' has become something greater than the sum of its individual parts.
'Madiba' is not only a multi-disciplinary show, but with its cast of Australian and international talent, is also proudly multi-cultural, Ruva says.
“I actually think the number one thing that I’m most proud of with this show, apart from telling this incredible man’s story, is the fact that in Australia we are doing something like this with such a diverse cast.”
“I’m always very vocal about those opportunities being scarce in Australia.”
“I feel like our industry has some catching up to do and is behind, because Australia’s extremely diverse but we don’t see that in the media enough.”
“Australia on TV and in the theatre is very white, and that’s not Australia; it’s very multicultural and it’s a rainbow, so our show I think represents Australia more than many shows that we see in 2018.”
In a world where we are becoming increasingly separated by our perceived differences, Ruva describes 'Madiba' as “musical therapy”. Five years after his death, then, the legacy of the great Nelson Mandela continues to ripple through humanity, transforming it for the better in the process.
