Unholy matrimony
There’s a seductress in the house, but the wife doesn’t care as long as she’s in control. Talk about Scandal ...
|||IT’S ONE thing to have designs on your ex. Especially, when you move back in with him. But what happens when his wife, with whom he has a long-distance marriage, arrives on his doorstep?
This is the dilemma of Yvonne Thebe (Kgomotso Christopher), who was planning to use her feminine wiles on Kingsley Siseko Langa (Hlomla Dandala). However, his wife, Boniswa (Lusanda Mbane), arrives and puts the kibosh on her planned seduction. While Boniswa is completely unfazed by Yvonne, the same can’t be said of “the other woman” in this rather awkward scenario.
In a chat with Tonight, Mbane says: “Yvonne is just someone in the house who amuses me every now and again.”
Before delving more into this Jacob Zuma-esque relationship dynamic, Mbane says she was approached to audition for this role. She reveals: “What happened is I auditioned for Scandal last year. But it was for another character and I didn’t get the role and kind of forgot about it. Then on Worker’s Day this year, I got a call saying that they had written this character and would I be interested in auditioning.”
With this character coming from the Eastern Cape and Mbane born and raised in Butterworth in that province, she could connect with her. She proudly admits: “She is very Xhosa. Anyone who has watched the episodes so far, I speak Xhosa with the idioms as well. Boniswa is very proud of her background and very grounded. She is usually smiling and making people feel welcome. She generally wants to see the best in people. She has strong traditional values and things like loyalty and honesty are very important to her. Bottom line: there is no grey area when it comes to morals. She is always ambitious and runs a school.”
As much as she has her own career and is very independent, she is also confident in her marriage. She explains: “She doesn’t need validation from her husband. There are no insecurities there. They trust each other. Their relationship might seem odd to me, as a person, but not Boniswa.”
Although she is a little bit puzzled by Yvonne’s presence in her husband’s home, Yvonne is more unsettled by Boniswa. Mbane says, at this stage, the tension is very one-sided. She maintains: “Boniswa doesn’t take her too seriously.”
And even though Yvonne suffers many foot-in-mouth moments trying to mark her territory, Boniswa finds her limp attempts most entertaining. Of course, at some point, something’s gotta give. But I’m sure the writers have plenty up their sleeve with this love triangle. Meanwhile, Mbane is most impressed with Dandala and Christopher. She shares: “It was my first time working with both of them. They made it so easy for me and I have to admit, I was nervous, at first. I have always juggled acting with being an entrepreneur (she runs her own recruitment agency). And they are established actors. I remember, Hlomla came in singing a Xhosa song I have known since I was a kid. I joined in from the second line, and we hadn’t even said ‘hello’ as yet. We just hit it off. Kgomotso is very unassuming and genuinely interested in what you have to say and generous with her praise, too.”
In her time on TV, Mbane has explored myriad diverse roles, not by design, though. She laughs: “No, I haven’t been involved enough to have the luxury of strategising which roles I want to play. But I do love the fact that I’m not typecast in any role. I enjoy playing characters that are far removed from me. One of my favourites was playing a crazy domestic worker in Abo Mzala.”
Although Boniswa seems to have a firm handle on the situation at home, it might only be a matter of time before Yvonne starts getting under the skin. After all, she may be a tolerant and nice person, but when it comes to people messing with her family, all bets are off and the claws could come out!
Scandal, e.tv, 7.30pm, weekdays.