Through thought-provoking storytelling, Buhle Ngaba is carving out a distinctive space in South Africa’s creative industry. We speak to the acclaimed writer, playwright and actor about her journey, challenges and inspirations.
Q: You act, you write and create plays – which role feels most natural to you?
A: Every single role feels integral to what I consider myself to be: a storyteller.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in storytelling and the arts?
A: I’ve always been drawn to the arts for expression and truth. Many people assume I’m an extrovert because of my work as a performer, but in essence I’m an introverted extrovert. Since I was little, I’ve always found forms of expression that could illustrate my inner world. My father’s passing when I was six definitely triggered a need to express a deep grief in some way or the other that was beyond my vocabulary at the time. I have continued to follow that path.
Q: Is there a dream theatre or stage in the world where you’d love your work to be performed one day?
A: Yes, the Swan Theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. I was awarded the Brett Goldin Bursary – which funds young South African actors to study with the RSC. I spent a few weeks there… and dreamt so much of performing on that stage. She wrote the play Swan Song during this time, described by one critic as “achingly beautiful and fearlessly honest.”
Q: Apart from writing and performing, what’s something people would be surprised to learn you enjoy?
A: I love to craft!
Q: Your acclaimed solo play BLING! resonated with audiences in SA and abroad for its bold themes and powerful storytelling. What inspired it?
A: I started thinking about this idea in 2021 when Beyoncé and Jay-Z released their ‘About Love Tiffany & Co’ campaign. I recognised the bright, sparkling, canary-yellow diamond as one of the many that have been extracted from Africa and paraded across the world. It is known as the ‘Tiffany Diamond’ and was found in 1877 in the Kimberley Mine of South Africa. My mother’s family is from that region, so I felt a strange connection to the diamond. I remember thinking: “I wonder if I will ever get a chance to wear it… or even see it in person?” Surely it isn’t such a ridiculous notion – that someone associated with the very place from which it was extracted should be able to wear it? I found that notion hilarious and so I became determined to make or wear a diamond, maybe even become a diamond!
Q: What conversations were you hoping to start through the play?
A: I hoped to start conversations around reparations.
Q: What’s been one of the biggest challenge: in your career, and how did you overcome it?
A: Creating BLING! because people couldn’t begin to imagine how work as an archivist, researcher, writer, performer and producer could culminate into something dazzling. I overcame this by gathering a fierce, independent, tiny team of four women to bring it to life – and that’s what we did.
@buhlengaba GUY I DID A FABLISS THING AND SHOWED UP AS A DIAMOND TO THE @kykNET FIESTAS (where I was also a best actress nominee!!!!) and launched our early bird ticket sales for the upcoming seasons of my show #BLING! which will be playing at #homecomingcentre in Cape Town (15 – 21 May) and #marketlaboratory in Joburg (28 – 31 May). It was all things raucous, peachy and shiny and BLING! and thank you to the humans who scanned my booty😂💎 I don’t know how to put the ticket links here so go find them on my IG bio I beg! #thebiggestdiamondintheworld #BLING ♬ original sound – Buhle Ngaba
Q: What advice do you have for young creatives who want to break into acting or writing?
A: “Godspeed!”
Words: Aaliyah Omar
Photography: Supplied
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