Ronnie Maphutha, right, and his Khululeka co-star Lebo Rasalanavho perform in Kliptown
July 14, 2008 – “You changed my life.” It’s a sentence that Ronnie Maphutha and his Khululeka co-stars, Lebo Rasalanavho and Jabulani Nkabinde, are beginning to hear more and more.
The play, which is aimed at addressing social issues in local communities, is a humorous piece which mirrors some of the problems that can be found around South Africa.
Performing in Kliptown on Thursday, July 10, as a prelude to the Community Conversation that was held at the Community Centre in the Soweto suburb the following day, Khululeka, literally meaning “be free”, used an interactive medium to find out from the audience what the problems are in their community.
It’s not easy going, and the crowd, numbering about 150 people, was initially reluctant to identify the problems in the community.
But they got the message, according to Maphutha.
And Kliptown is not the only place where Khululeka’s messages of self-respect, self-confidence, safe sex and breaking the silence around social ills are beginning to bear fruit.
“We are planting a tree and it’s starting to grow,” Maphutha says. “The play is not a lecture; instead it deals with social issues, with township issues.
“We know about the sugar daddies, HIV/AIDS, alcohol, drugs and crime, and the message of the play, of breaking the silence, is working. The message works every time.”
For the actor, the most rewarding experience is returning to communities where the play was staged last year.
“I can see the change in the communities that we’ve already been to. It’s not a large percentage of people, but there are definitely people who are really interested in making a difference.
“I’m from the same townships, so for me it’s about reaching out and trying to educate people. Ignorance is the biggest challenge in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“Some of the things I hear are ridiculous. ‘It’s a government thing. The government are just trying to make us scared.’ Or ‘condoms are made for white people, so we’re not going to use them’. But education begins at home, which is why we try to get parents involved at the Community Conversations.”
But it’s not only the people in the townships who need educating, or who are deeply moved by the play.
“I was in London recently for the 46664 Hyde Park concert and we performed the play at a dinner the night before,” Maphutha continues. “I was really surprised to see that some of the celebrities were ignorant about some of the things we were talking about.
“But the play went down really well, and after we performed Elton John jumped up on stage and he was like: ‘This is what it’s all about, people!’ It was really cool.
“Then later Will Smith got into the lift with me at the hotel we were both staying at and he was extremely complimentary about the play.
“It was a bit intimidating doing the play in front of so many famous people. Denzel Washington was there and I saw him out the corner of my eye and I was like: ‘Argh! That’s Denzel Washington!’.”
But despite the success of the play as a tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Maphutha feels as though the government should be doing more.
“The government still aren’t doing enough. It’s good to have the celebrities on board because they are really pushing the message, but the government need to get more involved.”