Umubatha

uMabatha is a 1970 play written by South African playwright Welcome Msomi. It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth into the tribal Zulu culture of the early 19th century, and details how Mabatha overthrows Dangane.

Described as Msomi's "most famous" work,uMabatha was written when Msomi was a student at the University of Natal; it was first performed at the University's open-air theater in 1971. In 1972, it was performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Aldwych Theatre as part of that year's World Theatre Season, and has subsequently been performed in Italy, Scotland, Zimbabwe, and throughout America, including a "very successful off-Broadway season in 1978".

Peter Ustinov said that, before seeing uMabatha, he did not truly understand Macbeth.

Nelson Mandela said that "(t)he similarities between Shakespeare's Macbeth and our own Shaka become a glaring reminder that the world is, philosophically, a very small place."

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