MultiChoice has been at the forefront when it comes to taking South African talent and putting it on a global scale.

Words by Sizwe Shabalala

With Expo 2020 Dubai taking place from 1 October, South Africa will be participating with various stakeholders including MultiChoice, as official broadcast partner to Team SA. As part of their participation and bid to draw in investment and opportunities for the country, Team SA will be taking along various talent to showcase on this global stage, Thando Thabethe being one of them.

Thando is no stranger to working with MultiChoice. In fact, her first production via MultiChoice was on the hit show, Housekeepers a couple of years ago. “We went on to do two seasons of the show and looking back, it was a very important show for my career. I was able delve into a role that I previously had not an opportunity to do and I was able to show my range.”

Thando made her first acting debut in theatre before getting her first television role at the age of 14. Now having been in the industry for over a decade and with many years of experience in both theatre and television, she says it’s hard to choose between the two.

“As people in general, we want to know that whatever we are doing, we doing well and so, the beauty of theatre is that the feedback is basically instantaneous. With television and movies, you have to wait until the project comes out and then you see the feedback from the people. However, I think both of them have things I love and so, I couldn’t choose between the two.”

*Image Credit: Courtesy of Duma Collective*

Thando has played roles that are fun, light-hearted and also very serious, heartbreaking roles like her Linda Ndlovu character on Housekeepers. To be able to mentally prepare for some of those serious roles is no easy task.

“It requires you to imagine what that character would be going through. It’s borrowing from people’s experience that you know or drawing from your own personal experiences and going into places that I think most people have a hard time going back to. Housekeepers was a difficult one.”

In swimming, there’s this feeling one sometimes gets after being in the pool for a long time. Feeling like you’re still floating a bit even after you are out the water. For some actors, it is sometimes difficult to separate themselves from the characters they play on screen. Thando says, she used to think actors were being dramatic when they say this but now, she fully understands it.

“There were times I would be at home after set and still be crying because, as actors, we sometimes get invested in these characters. People aren’t machines and so, I would be lying if I said there weren’t days that were really dark and difficult. I consciously try stay in that state of mind for the duration we are shooting and only once the season has been wrapped up do I then begin the process of unlearning and unpacking those emotions. It’s easier said than done but it is part of my process.”

While being an actor may have its challenges, for the most part, Thando says it is the most fulfilling thing. She says she took for granted how therapeutic this medium could be, not only for her but for viewers as well.

“There are roles that require you to go to places within yourself that you wouldn’t ordinarily go. A job well-done is when people can see your work and be able to see themselves through your work. It makes people feel seen. I’ve seen how this changes people’s lives. It also serves as a form of escapism because we have the gift of taking people away from their problems for a while and make them feel and focus on other things besides their problems.”

Through consistent hard work and respect for the craft, Thando has been able to land life-changing roles on the new Reyka series as well as the much-anticipated Blood Psalms, which is a Showmax original co-production with Canal+. These two shows are the most recent global productions by MultiChoice. Even though the stakes are much higher on productions of this nature, Thando says remains cognisant about the way she approaches her roles.

“Obviously, the bigger the production, the bigger the expectations and so, you have to psyche yourself up for the moment. However, for the most part, I don’t think about it too much. Just like kids, there is a level of naivety that they have in relation to things that adults may deem as being a big deal — there needs to be some level of naivety because there is a danger in getting too caught up in the grandness of the moment. Acting just asks of you to play and if you end up overthinking things, you end up not being present and you miss out on the fun.”

When speaking about her role and experience on the 8-part African thriller series, Reyka, she recalls it as being one of her best experiences on set.

“The experience was probably the best of my career thus far. We shot for 5 months and so, the feeling of having to speed up the process of getting into your character was absent. The production level was a landmark for where we should be as a country and where we are going. I also got to work with the best of the best as far as talent is concerned.”

The hit show is co-produced by Freemantle and Thando stars alongside Kim Engelbrecht (Dominion, The Flash) and Iain Glen (Game of Thrones). The other MultiChoice blockbuster show she is involved in is Blood Psalms and she describes it as a dream come true for her.

“The quality of production for this show is mind-blowing. When the Director and Producer took us to one of the sets for the first time, it genuinely felt like I had just walked onto the set of Game of Thrones. I lost my mind. It’s just amazing and inspiring. I am just so inspired by the audacity of Jahmil XT Qubeka and Layla Swart to create something on this scale. I think it’s an actor’s dream to be a part of something like this.”

With more shows being told from our own African perspectives, being produced by entities that care about African stories like MultiChoice, the rest of the world will get to see how much the continent has to offer. MultiChoice has committed itself to showcasing South African talent at this global stage with various events that will take place throughout the Expo.

“The portrayal of Africans internationally is hardly ever accurate. This thing of portraying us as really poor or uneducated could not be further from the truth. However, I do think that now, because we are owning our own stories, we are changing the narrative. They can see that we actually know what we’re doing. Also, if we already have this level of acting on a much smaller budget, imagine what we could do with a big budget!”

As Expo 2020 Dubai gets underway, Thando is set to represent South Africa on the global stage along with other formidable players in our growing industry. As a story-teller herself, Thando says, aligning with MultiChoice for such an important cause is crucial in the journey of shifting the narrative of how our stories are told and represented on a global stage.

“I will get to host one of the red carpets for MultiChoice at the expo, where the whole world is convening to celebrate art in all its forms. There will be a screening for Reyka as well as Blood Psalms. Ultimately, this moment is about shining a beacon of light on South African talent and showing the world what we are capable of.”

As the official broadcast partner of Team South Africa’s participation at the Expo 2020 Dubai, MultiChoice aims to use this partnership to further entrench MultiChoice’s positioning as South Africa’s most loved storyteller. Thando has had quite journey with MultiChoice over the years and when she looks back on it now, she finds joy and gratitude in how the relationship has evolved and grown over the years. From Housekeepers and now, years later, being a part of productions on a scale we, as a country, have not really seen before.

“I started doing a show like Housekeepers a few years ago and now it’s gotten to the point where they are trusting me with their international productions. I think, also, the fact that they are doing so many of these international co-productions and giving South Africans a chance to shine on a global stage is incredible.”

MultiChoice’s commitment to investing in original productions of authentic stories and talent across the country, remains a key priority. Thando is just one success story but there are many other talented creatives who have been on this journey with MultiChoice — doing everything to elevate the standard of work we send out to the world. MultiChoice is one of the country’s biggest investors in local talent and the development of the entertainment industry in South Africa.