Masote’s Dream

At the age of eleven, Mike Masote is profoundly moved by a performance by the white classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin in his hometown of Sophiatown. From that moment on, Masote has only one dream: to make music himself. Using nothing but a plank of wood and a stick, he teaches himself to play the violin. Against all odds, he manages to turn his dream into reality under the oppressive system of apartheid. Later in life, he makes classical music and classical music education accessible to Black children who had previously been denied access to it. He is instrumental in establishing 400 choirs and, during his imprisonment, adapts Handel’s Messiah into a version incorporating South Africa’s eleven official languages. This version later became known as The Black Messiah and served as a major source of inspiration for this production. Dutch director Dagmar Slagmolen meets Masote in April 2014 and is deeply impressed by his perseverance. Because Slagmolen specialises in storytelling in which music takes the role of the principal storyteller, Masote entrusts her with his compelling life story. Together with his son Kutlwano Masote, Orkater’s artistic team, and nine South African actors and musicians, Slagmolen creates a production about one man, a dream, and the struggle against an absurd regime.

The project was made possible through a collaboration between the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) in Bloemfontein, music theatre company Orkater in Amsterdam, the Soweto Theatre, and the National Arts Festival (NAF) in Grahamstown, brought together and produced by Thambo Theatre Producers.

Masote’s Dream premiered at the National Arts Festival (NAF) in the summer of 2015, followed by a tour through South Africa.

Masote’s Dream was nominated for two Naledi Theatre Awards in 2016:

Best Score & Best Cutting-Edge Production.