Veteran actor and theatre practitioner Mpho J Molepo is returning to direct the iconic stage production Sarafina! at the Soweto Theatre for a second year in a row after first directing the production in 2025.
Although many South Africans are familiar with Molepo from his television work, the seasoned actor said theatre had always been his primary passion and training ground.
“My main forte and my main training is in theatre,” Molepo told the Sunday World.
He said he had been approached by acclaimed theatre producer and director James Ngcobo to once again direct the historic musical, a responsibility he described as humbling and deeply significant.
Iconic South African musical
Sarafina! is the iconic South African musical created by the late legendary playwright Mbongeni Ngema, with musical collaboration from the late jazz great Hugh Masekela.
Set in Soweto during the 1976 student uprisings, the story follows a group of courageous pupils from Morris Isaacson High School as they rise against apartheid’s oppressive education system.
First staged in 1988 before achieving international success on Broadway, Sarafina! later became a globally celebrated film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo.
Through music, dance and emotionally charged storytelling, the production captures the resilience, pain and defiance of a generation that fought for freedom.
The 2026 revival at Soweto Theatre, choreographed by Nompumelelo Gumede-Ngema, reimagines the classic for a new generation while honouring youth, especially women, whose courage helped shape SA’s liberation struggle.
‘Huge responsibilty’
For Molepo, directing a production with such emotional and historical weight came with enormous responsibility.
“I don’t think we can try to replace what Ngema did with this production.
“For us, it was about trying to meet his aesthetics in terms of the standard of work and the kind of work he created, without trying to be him or trying to be smarter than him.”
As the country marks 50 years since the June 16 uprising, Molepo said that staging the production in Soweto during the commemorative period carried special meaning.
“It reminds people of the turning point when young people rose and said no to Afrikaans being used as a medium of instruction in schools,” he said.
‘A historical piece of theatre’
Although younger audiences consume stories differently today, Molepo believes Sarafina! cannot be altered too heavily because it reflects a painful and factual chapter in South African history.
“It’s a historical piece of theatre,” he explained.
“You cannot distort it and try to bring it entirely into the present because it reflects what happened during apartheid, how black people were oppressed and how young people rose to defend themselves.”
However, he says subtle creative adjustments have been made through movement, dance and performance styles to ensure younger audiences connect emotionally with the production.
Despite growing competition from streaming platforms and social media, Molepo believes theatre remains one of the most important artistic spaces in society.
“Theatre remains the voice of the voiceless. It remains human in a way technology cannot replace.”
“Everything happens in the moment,” he explained.
“With television, audiences watch something after it has already been processed and presented to them. Theatre is immediate, physical and deeply human.”
The actor-director also expressed concern about the struggles facing South African creatives, particularly around policy, funding and sustainability in the arts sector.
“It seems like we are falling backwards when it comes to the industrialisation of theatre,” he said.
“We need proper policy, governance and regulation in the creative industry if we want artists to survive financially and mentally.”
Beyond entertainment, Molepo hopes Sarafina! inspires audiences to recognise the power young people have to challenge injustice.
“Every generation must rise against the conditions that oppress them,” he said.
- Veteran actor and theatre practitioner Mpho J Molepo is returning to direct the iconic stage production Sarafina.
- at the Soweto Theatre for a second year in a row after first directing the production in 2025.
- Although many South Africans are familiar with Molepo from his television work, the seasoned actor said theatre had always been his primary passion and training ground.
- “My main forte and my main training is in theatre,” Molepo told the Sunday World.
- He said he had been approached by acclaimed theatre producer and director James Ngcobo to once again direct the historic musical, a responsibility he described as humbling and deeply significant.
