For theatre-maker Zimkitha Kumbaca, bringing Confessions of a Blacklisted Woman: She Bellows to KuGompo City is about much more than staging a play, it is about returning to where some of her deepest experiences began and reclaiming her voice.
The provocative production will be presented as a one-night-only interactive theatre experience on August 22 at Legends Showcase Exclusive Venue in Berea.
Kumbaca, 38, who was born in Qonce, says the play relays her experiences of patriarchy and the silence surrounding the treatment of women and girls. She recalls being called ugly and being insulted simply for rejecting a man’s advances before she had even turned 13.
“I was provoked by the silence, shame and adult responsibilities women are often expected to carry from childhood,” she said.
Her concerns extend to the objectification and sexualisation of girls, grooming in homes and professional spaces, and the way women who speak out can be isolated or discredited.
Kumbaca says the production is especially relevant today because violence against women has intensified, while platforms for spreading harmful stereotypes and misinformation about women have also grown.
“I need African women to remember they are not the help of the world. I need them to remember they are human and that their pain matters too,” she said.
The play uses five dolls and a doll master to explore how women and girls are shaped by patriarchal expectations.
The dolls are manufactured to satisfy men and are programmed to serve them, representing women who are expected to suppress their personalities, opinions and independence.
For Kumbaca, theatre provides the ideal space to confront these uncomfortable realities.
A professional actress and musician, she describes theatre as one of the oldest ways of communicating ideas, stories, history and dreams, while creating an environment where audiences can experience laughter, rage and tears in real time.
The production draws on Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, transforming audience members from passive spectators into active “spect-actors”.
Through this format, audiences will be encouraged to engage in dialogue, unpack scenarios from the play, share experiences and explore solutions.
The production will also provide a platform for emerging Eastern Cape performers from the Sonwa Sakuba Institute for the Performing Arts.
Having grown up surrounded by talent in the province, Kumbaca says she understands the challenges young artists face when opportunities are limited.
“I struggled for years before finding my way. I’ve been knocking on doors since 2009 and I’m only finding my way now,” she said.
She hopes the opportunity will provide the young performers with both exposure and future work opportunities.
The production’s striking poster, featuring a young black girl wearing a blonde wig, red dress and oversized heels, further reinforces its themes.
Kumbaca says the image represents how black girls can be forced to grow up too soon, with the wig symbolising the shame imposed around natural hair, the oversized heels representing adult responsibilities placed on young girls, and the red dress reflecting the sexualisation and objectification of their bodies. A barcode represents the idea that black girls can be treated as commodities.
After being staged at major venues and the National Arts Festival, bringing it home carries a deeply personal meaning for Kumbaca: “It means I get to bring back the play to where my triggers began,” she said. “I get to reclaim a voice that was once taken away from me.”
She hopes the interactive experience will encourage honest conversations about consent, sex, desirability, purity culture, toxic relationships and the ways families can enable abusers.
Kumbaca promises an emotionally charged 90-minute experience that combines comedy with difficult conversations.
Early bird tickets are R100 via Webtickets, and R150 at the door. The show starts at 6pm.
