Poet Modise Sekgothe ‘strikes a distinct chord' with his theatrical show

News24

3 days ago

Poet Modise Sekgothe was announced as a Standard Bank Young Artist winner earlier this year.
Sekgothe performed at the National Arts Festival, with a show that showcased his autobiographical poetry and also featured music, theatre, and choreography.
The festival takes place from 26 June to 6 July 2025 in Makhanda, Eastern Cape.
In his National Arts Festival production, poet Modise Sekgothe wrestles with masculinity and self-acceptance.
In his poetry show, Gabo Legwala, Sekgothe explores the complicated journey of 'becoming a man' as someone who grew up without a father. He starts off his autobiographical show by telling the audience he doesn't have it all together and that he is 'untethered like fraying fabric.'
He calls his father the 'deadest person' he's ever known, and he recalls his mother's silence while he was growing up.
Sekgothe continues to beautifully recount moments from his youth through raw and arresting poetry. But the production goes beyond his well-crafted words, with live music and sound design also being a crucial part of the show. It features soundscapist Yogin Sullaphen and vocalist Phumla Siyobi, who additionally acts as Sekgothe's mother. The poet also provides musical vocals, which Sullaphen loops live on stage.
READ | 'Life-affirming moment': Soweto poet Modise Sekgothe on his Standard Bank Young Artist honour
Sekgothe delves into excerpts from his boyhood and adolescence, like the fights he was in and when he got surgically circumcised. These moments show how he tried to carve himself into a man, but ultimately, it was his loving mother and three sisters who made him into who he is today.
The show culminates in a poignantly cathartic conclusion, where he pays tribute to his 'four mothers' and finds a sense of self-acceptance. Sekgothe's show is incredibly well put together, from the production design to the storytelling. He can be funny in one verse and make your heartache in the next.
The poet was announced as a Standard Bank Young Artist Winner earlier this year. He says putting together Gabo Legwala was 'a high-pressure process with several challenges on different fronts.'
Joel Ontong/News24
'I had about a month to write 80% of it. And about 2.5 weeks in rehearsal. It was one of the most stressful processes I've ever been in, to be honest,' he shares.
'I like taking my time with work, but the inherent limits in the process pushed me in significant ways that were ultimately very good for me and for the work,' he adds.
He says the reception for the show was amazing.
'The story strikes a distinct chord. The work is very much about the masculine experience but acknowledges the role of the feminine in ways that make it relevant to both polarities,' he says. 'A lot of men have been seeing themselves in the story, and a lot of women express that they've received a greater insight into the lives of the men in their lives.'
Sekgothe says the ambitious creative vision for the show was inspired by the culmination of his different influences and interests.
'As a poet, I've always been interested in the relationship between poetry, music and theatre. I've always been driven by how far the word can go from the page and how much life it can take in the sonic and visual world.'
He continues:
'The minds of musicians Yogin Sullaphen and Phumla Siyobi helped tell the story in the language of sound and melody, while theatre director Mahlatsi Mokgonyana gives it life in the theatre, further expanding the linguistic world of the poetry into a visual, symbolic and living narrative.'