NUL PREEMINENT ENTERTAINERS
They are incomparable when it comes to entertainment! Since their establishment at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) academic year 2009/10, they have simply been blowing us away with dance, drama, singing, stand-up comedy, poetry monologues and other theatrical aspects. They are none other than Mankabelane Theatre Club.
This is an established theatre club started by the NUL theatre students with the aim of doing practical for their school work, without knowledge that it would become a megahit a few years later.
“We come from different walks of life, and we don’t know what tomorrow has in store for us, but some of us might find themselves working in a theatrical field’’, well put by the president of the club, Miss Malehloa Letsie, a final year theatre student who has been with the club since 2014.
Today, the club is built on NUL students from different Faculties and programmes brought together by the love of entertainment and theatre.
The club has 40 members studying; BA (Statistics), BA (Economics), BA (French and Theatre), BA (Theatre and development studies) BSc (biology and chemistry) BSc (Statistics) etc.
They are pulled by a complex beautiful art which requires the coming together of many elements; a story to be told, a dramatization of the story, a meeting place for performance.
Theirs is an art which dates back to ancient times. It uses actors as tools to fulfil the vision of a playwright through the hard work of directors.
Mankabelane has not only been wowing NUL crowds, they have been performing in front of adoring crowds outside the campus.
They stole the show at the ‘’Condoms Are Cool’’ Campaign which took place at the Maseru Club. The arts week held at the National Convention Centre (NCC) wasn’t an event to miss, especially with the presence of this prodigious crew.
During the event, they performed contemporary dance, liphotha, and a carnival; dressed in butterfly costumes and dancing as they moved from the NCC, down the Kingsway Road to Maseru Club.
A carnival in Lesotho! Amazing!
“A carnival is a festival whereby there is a mixture of cultural activities in a form of a march," one crew member difined their group. "We moved from one place to another, doing different dances while there were other activities taking place.”
"Mankabelane manesa pula!" Many Basotho are familiar with the legendary song. Mankebelane is bird also known as swallows in English. The bird indicates the coming of the rain by its presence in Lesotho's mystical narrative.
This is the bird the crew were named after. And surely their presence around the campus, dressed in funny costume always indicates the coming of rain-like entertainment to the Student Union members.
Mankabelane's entertainment is rather pervasive. It has also performed on campus stage; at the famous Miss NUL Pegeant, the Rotary Fundraising, Fresher’s Party, and Teachers’ Day events at the Netherlands Hall.
The Club is clearly determined to grow in terms of their expertise as they have attended workshops of their own and one at the University of the Free State (UFS), having attended the latter with ‘’acting” students and Prof. Nico Luwes, a playwright, actor, director and Professor of Drama at the University.
Clearly, with enough support, the sky is the limit for this bunch. When it comes to entertaining us, a lot is yet to transpire in the NUL campus and hopefully the world at large.
The club is yet to surprise everyone more with a number of shows this semester. Come end of February and witness pure talent in what they call the main show; a show composed of a variety of acts such as dance, poetry monologues, singing and liphotha.
One interviewee who is now an NUL graduate and a former member of the club disclosed that clubs like this allow students to de-stress and lose their everyday individuality and experience jollity and a heightened sense of social unity.
The university is indeed full of talent and members of this club are the exact example.
Another member of the club Mr Ts’epo Monts’i said he joined the club because he had passion for dance and was looking for a platform where he could express himself through dance.
“I saw posters that asked people to come and audition according to their different talents, so I thought I should go and audition, and I found a lot of interesting things there”.
There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory! To prepare for the coming events; the main show and valentine extravaganza, everybody puts in effort during rehearsals, which takes place on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
Their message to all SU members, ‘’Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success; continue doing what you love and success will follow”.