Doreen Mokgolo
Award winning director Sello Maseko is on a mission to share South African stories with the world on the international stage.
The 37-year-old from Winterveld in Tshwane started his journey as an actor in school productions and dancing at traffic lights. Today, he is considered one of the best playwrights in the country with six plays under his belt.
In 2018, his hit production Angola Camp 13 won the best director award at the Naledi awards. Angola Camp 13 is currently running in theatres in Brazil and Portugal, Angola’s former coloniser.
Maseko said the play covers the events of the MK fighters who were tortured, humiliated and killed in Angola Camp 13 by the ANC during the anti-apartheid struggle in 1984.
“When I first heard about the events from Angola Camp 13, I knew I had to bring the events to life on stage,” Maseko told Scrolla.Africa
“The stories of human rights violations in the ANC camps and comrades who died and are now forgotten could not be left untold,” he said.
The production team were nominated 11 times and achieved six awards.
The title of his latest production, Askari, a political thriller based on a true story, is a Swahili word for soldier. It is currently showing at the State Theatre in Pretoria.
Maseko said he is living his dream after years of hard work, disappointment and success.
Family and friends often encouraged him to study a mainstream qualification but he knew his destiny was in theatre.
He started out as a kwaito musician before film director Aubrey Sekhabi encouraged him to turn his lyrics into poetry.
Maseko said he dreamed of being an international storyteller because he felt many South African narratives are not told by South Africans.
“South African stories are often identified and told by international filmmakers who often water them down to suit their own narrative,” he said.
