It’s a real challenge to do justice to 20-30 years of personal and political history in an evening on stage. Cape Town Opera’s Mandela Trilogy, which visited the Royal Festival Hall six years ago in a semi-staged production, didn’t really pull it off (they attempted a longer period). This does though, in just two hours, by focusing on key moments, and by using music and dance to great effect.
We start when peaceful demonstrations are violently suppressed by the apartheid government, driving campaigners towards a more radical form of protest. This leads to the arrest and imprisonment of Mandela and his colleagues for 27 years, during which the unrest continues and the campaign becomes international, with Oliver Tambo successfully drumming up support and promoting sanctions that prove key to the ultimate demise of apartheid.
It’s also the period when Mandela’s five children are growing up without him. His wife Winnie is imprisoned, which has a profound effect on her, with anger and violence coming to the fore, at odds with her husband’s view that reconciliation is the way forward. The show doesn’t shy away from this. It ends as Mandela is released after 18 of the 27 years, as the ANC succeed in their aims.
The simple setting, shades of brown green and ochre, and excellent costumes are very evocative of both the location and period, as is the choreography. I really liked Greg Dean & Shaun Borowsky’s score, virtually sung through, with particularly rousing choruses that take your breath away. Perhaps because it sets scenes in different locations years apart, the staging feels a bit staccato, but this didn’t really hamper the storytelling.
It’s brilliantly performed and sung by an exceptional cast led by Michael Luwoye as Mandela and Danielle Fiamanya as Winnie, who excel in both acting and singing. Luwoye has great presence, nailing that distinctive voice, and Fiamanya’s vocals are stunning, with her transition from housewife and mother to single-minded, defiant woman superbly handled.
The audience rose to its feet in appreciation of the performances, but it also felt like we rose in tribute to its subject too. Definitely a show to catch.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 
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