Old Soul Waiting
Soweto Theatre
Johannesburg
ON STAGE
Slindile Mthembu’s Old Soul Waiting (2021) is an experimental, multidisciplinary production that brings together film, theatre, and visual art. The work explores how an ancestral calling can be misdiagnosed as a mental illness. Through non-linear storytelling—infused with music and interpretive physical language—it attempts to depict what a spiritual awakening might look like from both Western and spiritual perspectives. The audience is introduced to this journey through the protagonist’s memory.Mthembu deconstructs the work, extracting its elements as stylized performances staged in both theatre and non-institutional spaces. These sites—ranging from cinemas and galleries to restaurants—are what she terms the third space. “What we hope to do is hybridize the performances. I want the audience to feel like they’re walking through a maze of the main character’s mind. The artworks in the show help to articulate what can’t be verbalized.”
Slindile Mthembu is a South African multidisciplinary storyteller who works as a playwright, director, scriptwriter, creative producer, theatre-maker, and filmmaker.
EXTENDING THE STAGE
Part of Old Soul Waiting is an exercise in extending the theatre stage into an immersive exhibition. Through moving images and artworks, the piece explores the protagonist’s inner world—its layers and complexities—as they navigate multiple universes that collide and expand, implode, and recreate. These forces, though powerful, seem to slip through the porous mesh of our understanding.The protagonist constantly transitions between the metaphysical and the physical, between scientific concepts of human existence and those that defy language, categories, and binaries. The yellow theatre serves as an invitation to a soliloquy that later unfolds on stage—a moment of fractures and world-building that invites us to step into our own inner makings.
By looping moments from recorded performances and introducing yet another layer of the stage, the exhibition challenges conventional boundaries of theatre, creating a space for not-knowing and non-being. This expanded realm is accompanied by physical and digital artworks by Mvelo Mahlangu and Manyaku Mashilo, evoking emotions beyond verbal articulation. This visual overlay is further enriched by live music performed by singer Koek Sista.
CREDITS
Writer: Slindile Mthembu
Director: Hulisani Ndou
Assistant Director: Slindile Mthembu
Music Composer:Thembinkosi Mavimbela
Art Director: Sandile Mhlongo
Curator: Nisha Merit
Visual Artists: Mvelo Mahlangu & Manyaku Mashilo
extra Music: Sibusile Xaba & Amaza Sound
Musician: Koek Sista
Lighting Designer: Motlotlo Makhobotloane
Lighting Technician: Rendani Gelebe
Sound: Thapelo Makhubo
Creative Assistant: Sami Maseko
Stage Manager: Grace Petersen
Producers: Slindile Mthembu & Nisha Merit
Film: Lauge Sorensen