Online Reporter
Actor and dancer Hungani Ndlovu is stepping behind the camera for his directorial debut with the dance-theatre production Musical Chairs, which is heading to Cape Town this month.
Ndlovu, who has built a career across television, film and performance, takes on multiple roles in the production, serving as director and executive producer while also appearing on stage.
The two-time Naledi Award-nominated production will run at Cape Town’s Magnet Theatre from August 19 to 23, following its Johannesburg season.
Presented by The Locksmiths Collective and Rush Productions, Musical Chairs uses the familiar childhood game as a metaphor for navigating modern life, particularly the pressures created by social media.
The production explores the desire to be seen, accepted and connected in an increasingly digital world, while examining how online relationships can influence identity, friendships, romance and people’s sense of belonging.
For Ndlovu, the project marks an expansion of his creative work as he moves into directing while remaining part of the on-stage cast.
He is joined by Yemimah Jacobs, Jamie-Lee Jansen and Genesis Shirindza, as well as international performers Alain “Hurrikane” Lauture and Angela “Angyil” McNeal.
The production brings together South African street-dance styles including iPantsula and iBhujwa with international styles such as Hip Hop, Campbellocking and Popping. These are combined with contemporary and physical theatre to create a performance centred on movement and storytelling.
At the centre of Musical Chairs is a question that extends beyond the game itself: what happens when the music stops and there is no place left for you?
The production explores that uncertainty through themes of identity, relationships, community and the human need for connection.
The Johannesburg run received positive reactions, with the late comedian Ebenhaezer Dibakwane describing the production as “somewhere between a revelation and a revolution”, while theatre director James Ngcobo praised its accessibility – IOL.
