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MOTLHANA AND INKUNGU
SOUTH AFRICAN STATE THEATRE AND LUTHANDO ARTS ACADEMY PRESENT MOTLHANA AND INKUNGU IN A POWERFUL DANCE DOUBLE BILL
PRETORIA – September 2026: The South African State Theatre (SAST), in association with Luthando Arts Academy, proudly presents Motlhana and Inkungu, a compelling dance double bill that journeys through loss, uncertainty, human connection and the deeply personal search for self.
Presented as part of the Kucheza Afrika Festival, the double bill takes to the Sibusiso Khwinana Theatre from 8–11 October 2026, bringing together two distinct choreographic voices: Katlego Dlamini, choreographer of Motlhana, and Sabata Mofokeng, choreographer of Inkungu.
While different in their artistic enquiries, the two works meet in an evocative landscape of vulnerability. One confronts what remains when a vital source of nurture and connection disappears; the other enters the uncomfortable mist of uncertainty, where the answers we desperately seek outside ourselves may ultimately lie within.
MOTLHANA: WHEN THE SOURCE OF LIFE IS NO LONGER THERE
In Setswana, “Motlhana” means placenta. The work draws its central metaphor from this unique organ that forms to sustain new life, nourishing, protecting, connecting and supporting it. The production extends this metaphor to women, particularly in their roles as mothers, mentors, leaders and builders of families and communities.
Motlhana then poses a difficult and deeply human question: what happens when hope, love, peace and happiness are lost through a tragic moment that changes everything forever?
Through a trio of men, the production embarks on a journey that unfolds the story of life without Motlhana, women. Through movement, the work explores absence and loss while reflecting on the significance of those who nurture, sustain and connect us.
The placenta therefore becomes more than the inspiration for the title. It becomes a theatrical metaphor through which the production considers life, connection and what remains when a source of support is suddenly absent.