Top SA actresses create monologue in honor of Ma Winnie Mandela

Some of the country’s top actresses have put their heads together. They have created a monologue that celebrates the life and struggles of Ma Winnie Mandela.

Some of them are Thuso Mbedu, Lerato Mvelase, Connie Chiume, Hlubi Mboya, Mona Monyane and Busisiwe Mtshali. The actresses have recorded monologues based on certain portions of Ma Winnie’s life. This has been done for the online acting portal, Actor Spaces. It will be available in the next few days.

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Thuso’s monologue

Thuso spoke of how she came up with the monologue.

“It was a challenge for me. I had not studied or followed Winnie’s life as much as I had hoped to prior to her death. Afterwards I immersed myself in books and documentaries about her. It ignited a fire inside me‚ it taught me that if we are strong we can make a difference in the world. We all complain about things but Ma Winnie showed us that we must look at how we can make a difference in the world.”

She wrote a monologue about the time Ma Winnie was interrogated and kept in solitary confinement for several days.

Often times, Thuso defaults to crying when shooting such emotional scenes but she wanted to be as strong as Ma Winnie would have been.

“When you reflect on a traumatic experience‚ like I was doing‚ you have to keep some things back to keep yourself sane. You can’t break down. You have to keep it in and be strong or you won’t be able to tell your story properly.”

Winnie died at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg last week surrounded by close friends and family. A memorial service for the struggle stalwart is currently underway at Orlando Stadium with an official funeral to be held on Saturday at the same venue.