The Market Theatre curated a series of 30-minute online productions under the banner of Salute the Playwright, shot in high definition that premiered 10 April 2021. Diaparo Tsa Mama 26 May– 27
is the third production of a series of 10 that will be produced under this banner for this season. Salute the Playwright presents a mixture of South Africa and Continental works that will be online throughout the year as part of the 45 years of the Market Theatre celebration.
New to the Market Theatre writing sphere is writer and director Rorisang Motuba who brings us this heart-warming drama Diaparo Tsa Mama.
On the eve of their mother’s funeral, two sisters, aged 23 and 29, sort through their beloved matriarch’s clothes in search of the perfect outfit to bury her in. Their sensitive nostalgia morphs into harrowing discoveries about death, grief, and survival.
Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, moments that are part of you and the things that you never want to forget, the sisters debate culture, duty and motherhood as they sort through their deceased Mother’s clothes. One sister must choose their mother’s final resting clothes whilst the other navigates her grief and guilt in a one-act play that is mediation through loss, life and the pursuit of closure.
Written and directed by passionate and gifted young director Rorisang Motuba, she studied Drama, Political Science and Film & Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, where she starred in and produced a number of projects.
Following her graduation, she was accepted to the prestigious New York Film Academy and Baron/Brown Studio in Los Angeles, US, where she studied and graduated Magna Cum Laude at the aforementioned institution.
After her three-year stint studying Acting and Writing for Film, she returned to Johannesburg where she began pursuing a career in the arts. Since then, she has written and starred in numerous South African and international productions and continue to honour her heritage as a natural-born storyteller.
The explosion of online theatre productions during the pandemic has provided an alternative space for theatres. The curation of theatre online has allowed for more audiences to engage with the work.
The Market Theatre’s initiative to interplay between live and digital shows has brought about innovation that is driven by the quest of widening audience reach. This new production for digital consumption has left us with a gift of a parallel industry.