Kwela Bafana + at Artscape

This scintillating musical story brings to life the sights and sounds of South Africa in the 50’s. The 1950’s was characterised as an era of vibrancy, music, colour, dance and bravery. One of the most evocative sounds of this era is the penny-whistle, or “kwela” (Zulu for ‘get-up’). The young men who played the penny whistle on street corners acted as lookouts to warn revellers in the shebeens of the arrival of the police. People’s hopes, and the shebeens, were kept alive by the vibrancy of that sound and music.