| What: Solitude When: May 26 and 27, 2025 Performer/writer: Kamogelo Mhlantla Where: Theatre Arts, Methodist Church Hall, cnr Milton Road and Wesley Street, Observatory, Cape Town Bookings: https://theatrearts.co.za/show/solitude Creative team: Director: Qondiswa James Lighting designer: Linda Mangena Music composer: Zenande Twalo Movement co-ordinator: Roberto Pombo |
Solitude, a new solo play, written and performed by Kamogelo Mhlantla is making its Cape Town debut at Theatre Arts on May 26 and 27, 2025. Solitude “explores the duality of loneliness and being comfortable with being alone.” The amazing creative team includes the award winning Qondiswa James (director), Linda Mangena (lighting designer), and Roberto Pombo (movement co-ordinator). There are two performances only at Theatre Arts and then work will then be staged at National Arts Festival, Makhanda as part of the Spark Hub at the festival. Spark Hub is a platform of 14 productions, under the banner of Spark in the Dark. Read on for more about Solitude and book for the Theatre Arts Season:
Solitude – a new solo play
Solitude is a new play making its debut on the theatre scene in Cape Town at Theatre Arts in Observatory on May 26 and 27, 2025. Written and performed by Kamogelo Mhlantla, a young theatre maker who has had a revival of his love for making theatre and creating work that speaks to a generation of young people who have often felt they have lacked a voice.
Directed by Qondiswa James, Solitude explores the duality of loneliness and being comfortable with being alone. Using physical theatre as a driving force to create its own language from the text and how the combination of the two invites the audience into the world and takes you on a journey of self-reflection.
This is Mhlantla’s playwriting debut. Using a unique and abstract way of opening the conversation between the two characters in a world that feels ethereal and otherworldly, Mhlantla explores the vastness of being inside one’s own head and navigating that space while coming to terms with the overwhelming wave the Main character feels coming from the overarching terror from the personification of the mental health he encounters.
Solitude dives into the relationship one has with their mental health and how the two view each other, from exploring the effects of loneliness and how it affects someone, to feeling overwhelmed and lacking the tools to function.
For more information or to book tickets for Solitude, visit www.theatrearts.co.za. To follow the production’s journey or for further information on Solitude, check out Spark in the Dark’s Instagram page, @sparkinthedarksa.
History of the show
This piece is new and has only been performed as a work in progress which was received well. It was performed as a double-bill performance at AFDA Johannesburg at The Red Roof Theatre.
This will be the first time it will be performed in front of an audience as a complete production. It is a new thought provoking piece which had audience members reflecting on their own experiences with isolation and being in your mind and battling with your own demons.
Kamogelo Mhlantla – Writer and Performer
Kamogelo Mhlantla is a young, energetic actor-cum-producer from Gqeberha who creates thought-provoking work for people from all walks of life. He has worked as a stage manager in his early years of his career, taking plays such as Curl Up and Dye by Sue Pam Grant and The Mother of All Eating ‘by Zakes Mda to the National Arts Festival. After which he co-produced The Year of the Bicycle by Joanna Evans with his co-star Samantha Carlisle which had a successful run for two years.
As producer and performer, his work has been staged across South Africa at theatres and festivals, including National Arts Festival. Alongside Sophie and Cailyb, Kamogelo co-produced Spark in the Dark’s inaugural Solo Fest. He is also a playwright.
Qondiswa James – Director
Qondiswa James is a freelance cultural worker living in Johannesburg. She is an award-winning writer, performer and theatre-maker, performance and installation artist, arts facilitator and activist. Her work engages the socio-political imagination towards mobilising transgression.
She has staged public art interventions at Infecting the City, Live Arts Festival, FNB Art Joburg, Centre for the Less Good Idea – CLGI, Les Rencontres a L’échelle (France), Arcade (Makhanda), and Live Art Network Africa. Her installation work has been exhibited at Spier Light Art Festival and the Stellenbosch Triennale. Her onscreen appearances include High Fantasy (DIFF 2018 Best South African Film Award, Artistic Bravery Award), and Letters from the Continent (Holland Film Festival 2021). In 2022/23 she was a resident artist at AiiA Lab (Switzerland), where she developed a new solo, What He Has Done.
She has directed theatre works including A Faint Patch of Light (winner of a 2019 Standard Bank Ovation Award); her original play A HOWL IN MAKHANDA (Fleur du Cap Theatre Award 2022 Best New Script, Best Original Composition); and an original solo work, Retch (Naledi Award 2024 Best Performer on the Fringe). Earlier in 2024 she was part of the On Air radio drama residency (Less Good Idea) where she wrote and directed Emalahleni. Most recently she has staged The People Should Govern (Suidoosterfees 2024, Artscape), an insurrectionary street performance looking at the disillusionment of the voting youth in South Africa.
Roberto Pombo – Movement Coordinator
Roberto Pombo is a Johannesburg-based theatre-maker, educator, and performer with an MA in Theatre and Performance from Wits University and advanced training from The Helikos International School of Theatre Creation, including pedagogic studies under renowned master Giovanni Fusetti. He co-founded Robaby Productions in 2014 and the Johannesburg School of Mask and Movement Theatre in 2021. Roberto currently juggles multiple roles: education coordinator at the Market Theatre Laboratory, Wits University lecturer, facilitator of professional theatre workshops, and theatre-maker under Robaby Productions. His creative practice is rooted in the worlds of clown, buffoon, and the grotesque.
Zenande Twalo – Music Composer
Zenande Twalo is an actor, sound designer and music composer/producer from Komani, Eastern Cape. He has worked on various local and international productions such as “Soon Comes Night, ”Heart of The Hunter,” and “S.O.S. Mamis,” to name a few, as an English voice actor, showcased on streaming platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video. As a composer, he has a natural ability to create pieces that work for different themes, scenes and stories in a manner that elicits emotions from an audience drawn from the depths of himself. His experience in the sound field has seen him grow from simple recording engineer to production management in the near decade he has cultivated his skills in post-production.
His work has been showcased on a few short films, some of which have garnered over 10 million+ views on YouTube. His pieces have also been featured in festivals such as the Joburg Women’s Month Celebration, held annually in Johannesburg.
Linda Mangena – Lighting Designer
Linda Mangena is a dedicated Theatre Stage Technical Manager with a strong foundation in live performance production and technical direction. She holds a National Diploma in Entertainment Technology from Tshwane University of Technology, where she honed her skills in stagecraft, lighting design, sound technicalities, and production management.
With a passion for the behind-the-scenes magic that brings performances to life, I have played a key role in numerous theatrical productions (Kafka’s Ape Directed by Phala Ookeditse Phala, Tswalo Written and Performed by Billy Langa and directed by Mahlatsi Mokgonyana), THENX Ladies MoMo Matsunyane, ensuring smooth execution from rehearsals to curtain call. My technical expertise, combined with my collaborative spirit, makes me an asset to any creative team.
Driven by precision and storytelling through technology, I continue to grow my impact in the performing arts industry, contributing to productions that captivate audiences and elevate artistic expression.
| Follow Kamogelo Mhlantla and Spark in the Dark on Instagram Kamogelo Mhlantla: @kamogeelow Spark in the Dark: @sparkinthedarksa |
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