Slagplaas play explores farm killings in South Africa
From 07 to 26 February 2023, the South African State Theatre will be showing Slagplaas, a political and psychological thriller exploring the contentious issue of farm killings happening in South Africa. Written and directed by Wilf Cater Mahne who is featured in the theatre’s 2022/23 Incubator Programme, the play asks a myriad of questions concerning not only the murders but also about power, greed and the political chess destroying our beloved rainbow nation.
Slagplaas introduces the Van Zyl family that inherits a farm in order to carry on the family legacy. Thirty-five-year-old farmer Jakobus Van Zyl wakes up early to work the land in order to provide a safe and bountiful life for himself, his wife Linda and especially his daughter Faith. His family is confronted by a fate that most farmers face on a daily basis. Will they survive or will they suffer the same tribulations that end with a white cross planted in an open field?
The production features performers Kagiso Matlala, Gugu Madlabane, Nhlakanipho Mkongi, Tebogo Mafubelu, Tayla de Vaal, Thabiso Mfusi and Teboho Tladi and the captivating music created by Cromwell Modungwa. This modern day political psychological thriller offers amazing acting and stylized choreography to bring a surrealistic cinematic experience into the theatre. The play is performed in 90% Afrikaans.
As he encourages audiences to come watch his work, Mahne says South Africans can use theatre as therapy to reflect on modern day issues and problems. “Our beloved rainbow nation must turn to the arts in order to build upon and learn from our shaded past in order to reveal the glimmer of hope we need as South Africans.
“This play might only focus on farm murders plaguing our land, but hopefully on this journey we can discover that the plague has a deeper root of evil as the fight for power is more evident than our lust from blood and justice,” He adds.
Mahne has been selected alongside three industrious artists to form part of the 2022/23 edition of SAST’s Incubator Programme. Funded by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, the programme is designed to accelerate the successful transition of semi- professional entrepreneurial artists through an array of business, technical and artistic mentorship.
Wilf Carter Mahne is a graduate from the University of Pretoria with a BA honours degree in Drama and Film studies. He is a former actor and manager at the Riverside Theatre Company. He also works as an actor, dancer, choreographer, writer, musician, set and lighting designer. As a director, he has directed his own productions including : My Lewe is ‘n “F” (2015), Vusi Grobler (2016), Y U DED? (2017) and is currently also a mascot handler for Buster en Bella. His other works include Princess and the Pea (2019), Beauty and the Beast (2020), Understanding the Tempest (2021), Rapunzel (2022), Hansel and Gretel (2022), An Interview with William Shakespeare (2022) and Askari (2022).
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