UZALO actor Khaya Ngema brings schoolbooks to life on stage.
In a world where many people prefer visuals and audio, actor, playwright, and director Khaya has a solution for pupils.
Khaya, who has appeared in many of Mzansi's top productions including Imbewu: The Seed, believes visualising and dramatising school textbooks is the solution to make pupils understand their books.
He said dramatising the literature textbook with humour helps pupils to memorise their work, even when they write exams.
Khaya, from Verulam in the north of Durban, is dramatising literature textbooks at the Bat Centre in Durban, where he has turned many prescribed books into theatre plays. He directs the plays and also acts alongside his cast.
On Thursday, 5 March, he performed for several schools from Durban, including Siyabonga Secondary School and Strelitzia Secondary School.
He told the Daily Sun that he believes his contribution to dramatising books played a big role in KZN becoming number one in the 2025 matric pass rate.
ALSO READ | MultiChoice shuts down Showmax!Opens in new window
Khaya said his main aim is to make pupils love textbooks in a world where people do not want to read.
"Our purpose is to make pupils love and understand this textbook. We added humour and music, so pupils do not forget it.
"What we have noticed is that many pupils don't like to read. Now many things have been turned to visuals. We have TikTok, Facebook and all of that provides visuals. We also have audiobooks, and that's why we decided to visualise the books for pupils," he said.
Khaya said in 2026 they're celebrating 25 years of performing for pupils in town halls.
"We started in the early 2000s visiting schools. We started here in Durban but now we have expanded to four provinces: Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and KZN. We are doing isiZulu, isiXhosa, and English. We want pupils to feel these books.
"There's excitement in pupils and teachers because we add spice to make sure that pupils love and understand it. Even if the books are supplied late at the schools, pupils get a chance to learn about it here," he said.
They perform many books, including Impi Yabomdabu Isethunjini and My Children! My Africa! for grade 12, as well as short stories. They also perform Sophiatown for grade 11.
He added that they've performed in many town halls across the four provinces. They will end on Wednesday, 18 December, at the Bat Centre to rest, before resuming in April.
