Assistant Director
A theatre creator, actor, and aspiring researcher, Khanya Ngcuka is finishing her master’s degree in drama at Rhodes University. Her stories have always been primarily motivated by women and the experience of it. She was born in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, and reared by her grandmother and mother. She has been involved as a performer and stage manager during her six years as a student at the Rhodes Drama department. In her third year, Khanya began to shine as a talented young director, and she went on to direct Koleka Putuma’s Mbuzeni, which she received a distinction for. She and her actors created Jikijela, a play about the corrective rape of Lesbian women, for the 2022 National Arts Festival as part of the “Matchbox” double-bill. The group took up the Silver Category Standard Bank Standing Ovation Award. She also served as Masixole Heshu’s assistant director for the play Inkciyo. She is enthusiastic in social justice concerns and thinks that theater and its techniques can help to enable and start social debates.

Cast:
Meet Busisiwe Maphumulo, a 22-year-old Cape Town-born and bred actress. She was bitten by the theatre bug while attending Muizenberg High School and continued to pursue this passion at Rhodes University. During her higher education studies, she graced the stage at the 2019 National Arts Festival in the award-winning production “SALT”, “Marikana the Musical”, “Woman in Waiting” directed by Khanya Ngcuka, and several other productions by the Rhodes Drama Department. Busisiwe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Studies and is currently pursuing a post-graduate qualification in pedagogy. She is thrilled to showcase her talent at the second rendition of PUMLA, which will debut in June 2023 at the National Arts Festival. Don’t miss out on this rising star!

Thumamna Sibhozo is a 22 year old thespian from eCala. He is currently doing his final year in at Rhodes University. He has been in several productions such such Lara Foot’s Tshepang: the Third Testament directed by Reggie Goba, as well as Shakespeares Hamlet (as Marcellus) and A Midsummer’s Night Dream (as Puck) he has also performed in several Rhodes University Drama productions, including the ongoing production “Enyobeni” Thumamna is also a radio personality on Rhodes Music Radio where he hosts the breakfast show (Monday to Sunday from 07:00 – 09:00)

Executive Producer
Nasiphi Thandokazi Mahlati is a journalist, writer, producer, and stage manager who hasrecently completed her Bachelor of Journalism degree at Rhodes University. With a strong background in journalism, she served as the Head of News and producer for Rhodes Music Radio, where she demonstrated her ability to deliver quality news content and produce compelling radio shows. In addition to her journalism work, Nasiphi Thandokazi has also made a significant impact in the world of theater. She completed her Drama degree at Rhodes University, where she worked as
a stage manager for various productions, including: Woman in Waiting, Innovations, and the Rhodes University Orientation production, Orientation Theatre Intervention(OTI). Her passion for theater and multimedia production led her to become an executive producer for Inkciyo, a play that was showcased at the main stage in the 2022 National Arts Festival. Nasiphi Thandokazi is committed to preserving South African heritage and integrating theater
production and multimedia as an archival tool; and being a producer for Pumla is part of fulfilling that purpose.

Project Manager
Actress Akhona Zenande kaNamba has also found success as a writer and director throughout the years. She traveled to the City of Gold in 2013 after earning her degree from Rhodes University, carrying a luggage full of unending aspirations. James Ngcobo and Lesedi Job’s directing at the Market Theatre allowed her to play. In 2016, she also appeared in a cameo on Generations, the Legacy. She took part in the six-month acting workshop Indigo View, taught by acclaimed director Steven Feinstein, because she has always wanted to improve her acting abilities. She felt the urge to go back to Rhodes University in 2021 and fully devote herself to earning her Drama Honours Degree there.
She had the good fortune to act for the well-known poet and director Koleka Putuma’s play Mbuzeni under the direction of Khanya Ngcuka. She served as the coordinator for the Inkciyo in 2022 under the direction of Masixole Heshu. After earning her honors, she set out for the Eastern Cape’s interior to work as a theater teacher at Ugie High School. Here, she fell in love with teaching drama and learned the value of utilizing storytelling to impart knowledge to the younger generation. She is the project manager for the 2023 National Arts Festival production of Pumla.

Masixole Zinzo Patrick Heshu was born in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. He completed a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree, majoring in Politics and International Studies, Economical and Industrial Sociology and Drama. He also obtained his honors degree, specializing in Directing and Applied Theatre. Both degrees completed at Rhodes University, where he is a Masters in Arts degree focused on Creative History. As a director, writer, actor, performer and story-teller, he has won a number of awards, including Standard Bank Ovation Awards for Battle! – Iimfazwe: Transportation to the past. He has directed shows like The Xhosa Chronicles, Dancing with the Dead, The Gruffalo, Ntsiki Speaks, Umnqa: Never Defeated, Inkciyo and The Bridging Communities Project. He is also a workshop facilitator that has worked with the National Schools Festival, Eastern Cape Schools Festival, Sci-Fest Africa, Equity and institutional Culture Unit, Rhodes Alumni and Correctional Services. He recently published a paper for Journal of
Indigenous and Shamanic Studies on “Makhanda: reflections of the past, present and future.” He is currently working for ASSITEJ SA as the Western Cape Provincial Coordinator for the Social Employment Fund Project.