ACTOR
Buhle performed in the world premiere of John Kani’s play Missing at the Baxter Theatre (SA) and went on to tour internationally with the production earning her nominations for the “Best Supporting Actress” for the South African Fleur Du Cap Theatre Awards as well as the Naledi Theatre Awards. She wrote her first play Swan Song during her time at the Royal Shakespeare Company(Stratford) and since its premiere in 2017, Ngaba has won two South African Kanna Theatre Awards including “Best Upcoming Artist”. The production was adapted into a screenplay streamed globally during the course of the National Arts Festival 2020 : https://vimeo.com/609818724 . The production has received rave reviews and boasts sold out seasons at Suidooster Kunstefees (South Africa,2021), Wiener Festwochen (Vienna,2022) and Basel Theater Festival (Switzerland,2022). As part of the RAW performance dinner series at Wiener Festwochen, Buhle also wrote and debuted the character “Angela Solie” (inspired by the history of afro-Austrian slave Angelo Soliman,1721 – 1796).
“Touching, gripping and contemporary” “Theatre-maker Buhle Ngaba from South Africa enchants with her solo performance “Swan Song” she knows exactly how to tell a story”
Die Presse Newspaper, Vienna, 2022
“Swan Song mixes the hope of love with the curse of being different in societies conditioned to conform. The young woman catches herself, but the surgical scars stand for losses: wings gone. Ngaba made a touching play out of this pain”
Weiner Zeitung Newspaper, Vienna, 2022
As a result of COVID19, the National Arts Festival had less than 100 days to go from the late stages of planning a live festival to creating an online reiteration. Ngaba and her team saw the #VNaf programme as an opportunity to #adaptorfly and reimagine Swan Song for screen. This migration saw the show undergo metamorphoses in transition to screen, and Swan Song — an intimate and intricately crafted production — was perfectly placed to become a flagship as the National Arts Festival pivoted to virtual mode, was received with roaring success and named one of the “unmissable” shows at festival.
More recently, true to its #AdaptorFly motto, Swan Song has taken on a new audio form thanks to Fizzy Sherbet Plays; an international platform for womxn writers and directors. Find #FizzySherbet on @ApplePodcasts and @spotifypodcasts to hear Buhle Ngaba performing the radio drama with score and direction by Ilana Cilliers.