Revenge is Keeping Score’s main theme as former Generations star’s character clings to bitterness and has a mental breakdown
|||WHETHER she is on the red carpet or the small screen, Sonia Mbele isn’t short of admirers.
The actress left Generations, on which she played Ntombi Khumalo, four years ago. But that doesn’t mean she has been absent from the industry. Besides running her own production company, and weathering some personal storms, she has been keeping fairly busy.
The last time Tonight spoke to Mbele, she was about to make her debut in a very Cookie Lyon-esque role on Gold Diggers. And she was sharing the limelight with Sibusiso Dlomo, her Generations co-star. Mbele had a blast with that role and pushed the envelope with her character, Thuli. Now she is back on the small screen to leave an indelible impression with her role as Mmamosa in SABC2’s freshly-scripted telenovela, Keeping Score.
Revenge is the dominating theme of the series, which unfolds at an all-African sports academy. Twenty-five years earlier, Mmamosa was unceremoniously dumped by someone she thought she had a future with. Sadly, the academy threatens to become collateral damage in her vendetta against this man. On giving the nod to this role, Mbele recalls: “I found out about this role about two years ago. Then it went quiet and I moved on. When they came back, they changed the character’s ethnic background from Zulu to Sotho. For me, it was very exciting learning the different nuances that you have to bring on board.
“Mmamosa’s festering anger has made her a very bitter woman. In terms of imbuing all her negative traits, Mbele reveals: “There wasn’t much research on that as I grew up in the township and the woman next door was such a character. She was that busybody. She was conniving and manipulative. When I read that character, I knew I could reference it to that person whom I had to deal with during my teenage years.
“That said, when she eventually goes to a mental institute, I had to look into that. I wanted to go to a mental hospital and just observe for a few days because you have to portray that in an authentic light as far as possible.”
Mbele has been shooting her scenes for about three months. They have shot all over Joburg. While her character’s redeeming qualities aren’t apparent, there is a sort of justification for her current emotional state. She defends: “She is that kind of woman whose life has toughened her. Anybody who has been hurt or disappointed wants to get their own back.”
Mbele suspects that viewers might, much later in the story when she is broken and has lost her mind, feel for Mmamosa. Given the world in which this story lives, a large part of the cast are newbies. She praises: “They are up-and-coming and starting out, which is great for the way the story is written.”
Mbele was impressed by the youngsters she is working with: “They are all talented. Shalima (Mkongi) and Siyabonga (Sepotokele) are going to blaze the screens.”
As for her character’s wardrobe, she reveals: “She is slaying. She doesn’t have a bad day. She is always in high heels, has perfect hair and manicured nails.”
Given the overview of her character, Mmamosa is a vortex of mayhem. Mbele hints: “She tries to manipulate and influence everyone right from the start. She is not going down without a fight. She is a mother of two big boys and ?has raised them with an iron fist. If you thought Ntombi was tough, Mmamosa is unbreakable.”
Keeping Score airs on SABC2 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9.30pm.