Online Reporter
Netflix’s supernovela, “The Polygamist”, adapted from Sue Nyathi’s acclaimed novel, is finally here.
Leading the cast are Gugu Gumede and Sdumo Mtshali, stepping into the roles of Joyce and Jonasi Gomora, a couple whose world looks polished on the outside but is anything but stable behind closed doors.
Gumede and Mtshali portray the power couple Jonasi and Joyce Gomora, who are the true definition of what you see on social media isn’t always reality.
Joyce, a mother to three children and an influencer for a top beauty brand, is facing the crisis of her marriage crumbling in front of her, and she’s fighting by all means to save it.
The character opens viewers up to the different layers of their favourite influencers, who look like they have the perfect lives on Instagram.
Gumede remarked that because you sort of know these people, it’s easier for you to portray, but it also adds a layer of hunger and need to portray the stories in an honest, authentic state.
“Ultimately, we are human beings, and at their core, human beings are flawed, and so you have to understand that with every character, and with Joyce, there were so many layers to unpack with her so that you understand this is a flawed human being.
But also that in that human being, there are so many emotions. Where there is sadness, there’s also laughter. Where there’s love, there’s also pain, and it’s just really, making it an amalgamation of one.”
The legendary Sthandiwe Kgoroge portrays the character of Joyce’s mother, Mama Grace, her protector, pillar, and stop nonsense.
Having gone through a difficult time with Joyce’s father, Mama Grace is protective that her daughter doesn’t experience what she did and also doesn’t approve of all her methods when it comes to her marriage.
“I think she’s conflicted and she wants to tell her move this and this and this, so that you protect yourself. Give tips and tricks as well on how to dress. I think it’s just a natural conflict that any parent would have,” said Kgoroge.
“But again, how does she push her towards staying, or does she push her towards really choosing herself?”
The title sequence opens up with a fish and a bird, a powerful analogy, and is unpacked in different ways throughout the series.
“First of all, the bird does end up chowing the fish,” jokes Gumede. She explains that it’s a mirror to society.
“We’ve all been through those relationships where you like the red flags are red flagging and it’s just this person, it’s just not going to work. But as human beings, first of all, there’s this innate nature of women to want to fix men.
“Joyce does genuinely feel like I made this man. He was not this person. I dusted him off. We made him who he is, so I am bound to him, and he’s bound to me, and we have to continue running the race. We’ve now built this house. We must live in it.
“But just two different people in that grave nature, can they truly coexist together, or will one trump the other? And we see here that eventually one does trump the other.”
Mtshali portrays the character of Jonasi Gomora, who takes polygamy to another level. He is also a father, and he imagines himself as someone in control of those around him. Jonasi’s views on unconditional love differ from his expectations of others to his own actions.
“I guess for Jonasi, unconditional love is subordinate. It’s submission, it’s control,” said Mtshali.
“Going back to the fish and the bird openings, how does the fish bring all these different animals into its lair? He’s constantly trying to make all these women be the one thing that he wants to be, that he believes a woman should be.
“He’s not just this one-dimensional being. He’s a lot of things, and unconditional love. He doesn’t know it. He’s searching. He’ll continue to search for it right till the end.”
The actors beautifully brought the characters to life, showing depth to their acting skills. Gumede, as Joyce Gomora, is her most iconic role to date; she makes you forget about her long-running character of MaMlambo on “Uzalo”.
Mtshali completely flips the script with his portrayal of Jonasi Gomora; he completely transformed for the character, and it shows in how he unpacks all the layers of the character.
Stained Glass Productions is the production house behind “The Polygamist,” and they made sure to do justice to Sue Nyathi’s acclaimed novel. After watching the series, you want to read the novel itself – IOL.
