Award-winning actress and presenter Thembisa Mdoda-Nxumalo is part of the impressive cast of 1Magic’s new drama series “1802: Love Defies Time”.
Mdoda-Nxumalo stars as MamThembu, King Jonginamba’s (Sello Ramolahloane) second wife and his favourite. “1802: Love Defies Time” is a Xhosa love story that shifts between the 1800s and the present day.
Mdoda-Nxumalo first auditioned for the role of Nkosazana Khosi’s mother but ended up being cast as soft-spoken, calm yet confident, and firm MamThembu.
The actress admitted that slipping into the skin of MamThembu took a while. She researched shows about queens and strong women and drew inspiration from “Desperate Housewives” character Bree Van De Kamp and plenty of K-Dramas.
“It’s so difficult because once you get on set you are supposed to have all the answers and with her. I didn't. I had to find her. I had to search for her and now I have a MamThembu book.”
This role is different to the other roles Mdoda-Nxumalo has tackled.
“Compared to a lot of characters that I’ve played, a lot of her comes from inside. A lot of the characters that we play, the make-up and the clothing help us to get there. With her, the work comes from her by finding her and her story.
“It was very difficult, at first, because you don’t have a lot of references in terms of queens and kingdoms in isiXhosa and I did the research and found a few. I, with the help of the writing team, producer and director, had to build her from scratch.”
Mdoda-Nxumalo has a book in which she jots down everything that is MamThembu, to remind herself of her essence.
The three-time Safta winner prayed for a role that would stretch her as an artist and she got exactly that with MamThembu.
“This character has stripped me bare and not just the make-up, the hair.
“It has stripped me bare, mentally and emotionally, there is nowhere to hide with this character, so the work has to be done off-camera daily.”
Mdoda-Nxumalo says viewers can expect a multifaceted queen in MamThembu.
“I think she leads by her heart mostly, so whatever is going on in her home, marriage and with her son drives her to do the things she does. But she is a sweet woman. She is compassionate but she surprises you.”
Speaking of the growth of the industry, Mdoda-Nxumalo said there would always be a place for a person who was willing to learn and tell stories.
“There’s a lot of changes happening, big players are coming in, new stories are coming up. There are different ways to tell stories and you can't help but be excited, but also you need to get on the bus to be a part of that change.
“You can’t stand on the sidelines and be like, ‘What about me?’
“You also need to be technical, you must know how to tell stories, direct or write them, find new ways to get on the bus and not just wait for your bus as an actor.”
Mdoda-Nxumalo returned to work last year after a short break while she recovered from Covid-19 complications. She has since been cast in e.tv’s “House of Zwide” and is gearing up for season two of “Suxoka”.
On a personal note, she shared that she had chosen to step back from the public eye to focus on her family, herself, and to do production work such as writing.
Screen and theatre actor Pakamisa Zwedala also stars in “1802: Time Defies Love” and made his debut as King Tshawe on Monday.
For this role he gets to move away from his usual bad guy characters, playing a king whose daughter has been promised to Prince Melisizwe.
“For the first time, I am playing someone who doesn't think of himself.
“He thinks about his daughter and, for me, that was a beautiful thing because I’m always playing the bad guy. Now it’s a father who loves his daughter.”
The character also came with a small challenge with the language. While Zwedala is a native isiXhosa speaker, he had to adapt to the language that would have been used in the 1800s.
Mdoda-Nxumalo and Zwedala praised the costumes made for the show – the regal hats and gowns they wear embrace the Xhosa culture.
Zwedala said: “This story is just us going home. No matter how far you go, you should always come home.
“Which is why I think it’s a beautiful balance of we get to home in 1802, we get to see how life was simple and then it transitions to the present day, where it is layered with so many things.”
∎ “1802: Love Defies Time” airs on 1Magic (DStv channel 103) at 8.30pm from Monday to Wednesday.