Theatre Road

Author: Sindiwe Magona
Publisher: Karavan Press 
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
Reading Thembi Mtshali-Jones book (Theatre Road - My Story as told to Sindiwe Magona) reminds me that biographies are not an easy feat. One has to dig deep in the past (no matter how uncomfortable and painful that past is), remember and be truthful.
People like Thembi who share their intimate 

with the world leave me in awe; asking myself - why? Why does one take this enormous journey of introspect and bare one's soul to the public? Why does one reveal their most inner self to scrutiny? But, I guess sharing your life's journey is something one wants to do - to share one’s legacy.
Award winning actress and world renowned theatre practitioner, Thembekile Mtshali, came to the world on the 7th November 1949. Born to a young mother (sixteen-year-old Margaret Mtshali) in Durban, Thembi grew up with her paternal grandparents in the village of Sabhoza near Ulundi in KwaZulu-Natal. A well-knit and loving community - where everybody knew everyone and cared for each other. She would later join her mother and father (and other siblings) in Durban at the age of thirteen.  
Reading about Thembi’s young life in Sabhoza made me yearn for the abundant love, care and security that village life offered back then. The book takes us from Sabhoza village to KwaMashu Township where everything was strange and new for teen Thembi. From the small, four roomed house she shared with her family - to the township lingo (language), to mannerism and the games that the children played.
Thembi was introduced to the world of entertainment earlier on in life. Her father, Aaron, had a gramophone back in Sabhoza when she was a child and he bought the family in KwaMashu a radio. She would sit in front of it, listening and singing along. Something her mother did not encourage. Back in those days; Thembi never thought even for a moment that one day she would earn a living from singing!
Isilimela Higher Primary (where she attended) in KwaMashu was world apart from Nqabaneni. The village school had four classes all accommodated in one hall. Here in Isilimela there were hundreds of pupils in different classrooms.
Thembi enrolled at a nursing school straight after high school; a big achievement that brought great joy to both she and her mother. But this journey was cut short - she had to leave her studies as soon as it was discovered that she was pregnant. This period was that of turmoil. I wanted to cry with her. Her thoughts on disappointing herself and mother were overwhelming. Her pain was raw. She had let down her mother; the only parent present in her life. At this stage; her father was married to wife number three and was out of sight.
Thembi’s great love and talent for singing landed her in the Senior School Choir after she was heard singing during school assembly by one of the music teachers. And, it was while working as a domestic worker (to help raise her baby daughter Phumzile) that her talent was once again spotted. Charlene, the daughter of her employer, after hearing her sing, encouraged her to go for an audition for a show.
She went on to be cast in the production of uMabatha, the Zulu adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Thembi was part of Ipi ntombi - her second important production in terms of the impact it had on her life. She toured extensively with the show. I was mesmerised by her journeys with the production to Nigeria (where she met for the first time Miriam Makeba. At the time Miriam’s music, and even Miriam herself, was banned in South Africa) and New York in 1976. Ipi ntombi came to an abrupt end in New York after many picketers objected to the state of apartheid in South Africa.
Thembi with some cast members did not leave the Big Apple. Her life in the city is a must read! She would spend almost a decade there; meeting incredible people and artists. She was working, studying, collaborating and performing in the States, throughout Europe and other countries in Africa. She worked immensely with Bra Hugh Masekela and Mam Miriam Makeba.
Thembi finally came back to South Africa in 1984. She missed her home and daughter (Phumzile, now a pre-teen) terribly. Thembi learned to adjust and reinvent herself in theatre and film. Needless to say - she soared! She became well known as Thoko in the hugely popular sitcom Sgudi’s Snaysi. She has graced our screens ever since and is one of our country’s theatre doyennes.
Theatre Road is vividly written and is honest. Thembi did not shy away in sharing moments in her life that were hard to comprehend. The actions of her father at times left a bitter taste in my mouth. So did the actions of others in the book; including the production of Ipi ntombi where the whole cast was Black and the entire management white. Theatre Road takes place during the height of the apartheid regime where forced removals and state brutality towards black lives was the order of the day. Theatre Road explores the hardships of being black and an artist.
The book celebrates Thembi’s life - from her humble beginnings to the world star she is.