ACTRESSES Ndayola Ulenga and Gloria Del Mar Ndilula aspire to create theatre for Namibian audiences to experience cathartic and inspirational pieces that provoke them to think about creating better lives for themselves and for Namibians as a whole.
The pair brought ‘The Wasp’ to the National Theatre of Namibia last Friday in their debut production as Ndilula Ulenga Theatrics (NU Theatrics).
They received a standing ovation.
The play was written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, and premiered at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in London on 29 January 2015.
Ulenga told VIBEZ! it is a story that was transferrable, regardless of its initial settings.
The play features two dynamic female characters of complexity that any member of the audience can relate to.
It is a story about two childhood friends, Heather (Ulenga) and Carla (Ndilula), reuniting after 15 years of separation. Their lives have taken very different paths, Carla lives a hand-to-mouth existence while Heather has a high-flying career, husband and a beautiful home.
And yet, here they are in a café having tea and making awkward conversation. That is until Heather presents Carla with a significant amount of money and an unexpected proposition.
“We were really drawn to the depth of the play which allows you to love, hate, root for and against the characters as the story develops. It’s important to have art that reflects the current times. However, it’s just as important to have art that completely transports you from your own life and into the worlds of the characters. This play is the latter, and we wanted to offer that opportunity to a Namibian audience,” said Ulenga.
The duo is ecstatic at the end result, saying they have worked extremely hard since the end of December last year, with that work picking up momentum in February and March. So, seeing their hard work pay off is amazing.
“It’s been so lovely to hear genuine positive responses from the audience. We wanted to allow people to escape from their lives and invite them into the world of the characters and we achieved that. To see people excited to discuss a piece of theatre made everything that much more worth it,” she added.
The play was directed by Ulenga with advice from playwright Ndinomkholo Ndirula, and supported by the Namibia National Arts Council, Gondwana Collection and Wendy’s Creations Events.
NU Theatrics is a black women-led theatre company based in Windhoek, born from the blood, sweat and tears of Namibian thespians who came before them.
Ndilula is a singer-songwriter with an innate talent for music and storytelling. She can play the guitar, ukulele, piano and violin, and her songs are inspired by everyday life. Her passion for storytelling encompasses film, television and theatre as well, and led her to the Identity School of Acting, where she was able to hone her talent.
Ulenga, who has appeared in several local films such as ‘Hand-holder’, ‘Penda’s Dilemma’ and ‘The Funeral’, added that their immediate plans are to transfer the knowledge they have learnt from this production through a workshop. The envisaged workshop will be open to students from various artistic disciplines and beyond, where they can learn from their first-hand experience of producing a play from conceptualisation to execution.
This knowledge exchange is very important, as NU Theatrics’ mission and vision centre quite closely on empowering the next generation of Namibian thespians and creatives.
“We are also looking further into opportunities for a second run of ‘The Wasp’. In addition, there are a few more projects in the pipeline that we are working on. Watch this space,” said Ulenga.