TokisoM Writes

Beauty pageants remain a stepping stone for many young women. Rethabile Kolobe, from the Vaal, has ambition to make the most of this platform and she is on a roll starting with her current crown as Miss Vaal 2013. Rethabile is a second year Law student at North West University (Vaal Campus). She is an example to her peers that hard work and dedication help make your dreams come true. From a young age, Rethabile has always been interested in pageants. "It has always been a dream for me do take part in such a pageant and even bigger," said Rethabile. The courage to enter pageants comes with preparation and Rethabile groomed herself until she felt she was ready to enter this very competitive environment. "The journey to Miss Vaal was also accompanied by much preparation in the sense that my mind and my body had to be in the right place. I try to be well rounded; read and keep up with current affair." Winning Miss Vaal is not the end but the ...

“It takes one worm to destroy an apple” – Johnny [Tony Kgoroge] the travelling sales man. The Cast Nongogo, written by Athol Fugard, directed by James Ngcobo – is on at the Market Theatre for a limited season. Set in the 1950s in Queenie’s Shebeen – it is a remarkable tale of love that almost was. Queenie [Masasa Mbangeni] accepted Johnny with his not so pleasant history and a wallet full of dreams – nice way of saying he didn't have money. She opened her home (Shebeen at night), heart and supported his dreams. But when he finds out what she is a reformed hooker – he is disgusted.  What matters most; your mistakes or the person you are trying to be? We all have followed different paths to get to our current positions – some paths were not paved in good decisions – but we live. Why would someone then treat you like a leper because of your history? It’s weird this relationship thing – as in Queenie’s case. It is evident that Blackie [Desmond Dube] loves her ...

We get so caught in pleasing people we deny ourselves the pleasure of pleasing ourselves first! Yes! The pleasure!  I've recently rediscovered myself after spending too much time walking on egg-shells making sure everybody else is happy around me. It is so exhausting!  I was always tired. But now, it's all me! Maybe it's growing up but I'm loving this phase. I feel no need to walk on egg shells for the others. Those that love me - will love me, flaws and all.  I'm learning and unlearning so many things right now. I'm changing my mind and rethinking old teachings. I feel like I'm meeting myself all over again.  I've taken up yoga, pilates and started road running again. My career is going through changes. I'm listening to new music and playing old favourites. I'm reconnecting with friends and making new friends. And all this at a pace I'm loving. No rush. No competition.  I got nothing to prove. I have nothing to explain. ...

It’s been 27-years since one of the giants of South African theatre, Mbongeni Ngema, got on stage –as an actor. For an intense one-hour thirty minutes Ngema uses the beauty and power of story-telling to take us back in time when Zulu warriors, Impi, were a force to be reckoned with. He tells the audience about the legendary Shaka Zulu – from when he was a little boy, until he was a grown man to be assassinated; betrayed by his brothers and bodyguard. It is a well recorded history that Shaka Zulu built a powerful empire and this great African nation has tried to keep afloat within the melting pot of globalisation. The most intriguing part of the story is the main attraction; The Great Battle of Isandlwana (1879) – the greatest victory over the Colonial forces on African Soil. The strategy behind this great battle is intriguing and Ngema really gets the imagination rolling as he describes in great detail how it all happened.   But to bring it closer to home – I was ...