NGIVELELWA YINI

Ngivelewa yini? A Zulu Opera explores the complexities of masculinity, homosexuality, and culture, how these concepts intertwine in modern day South Africa and how these concepts are received and tackled in black communities particularly the Zulu culture. It uses elements of operatic melodrama to juxtapose the hypermasculinity that the Zulu culture perpetuates.
The play poses questions like: what is the role of a man in a Zulu household? Is a gay man considered less than if he publicly shares his life with another man? When/where is the line drawn by a woman between submissiveness and disrespect in a hypermasculine Zulu household?