Mpho Molepo is popularly known as Fats Tselapedi on Rhythm City, and indeed one of the country’s best loved television personalities.
It is a somewhat comic but streetwise character with a peaceful disposition, a far cry from Digger, the ruthless drug dealer and spoilt brat he portrayed on Zone 14. However, in real life, the mischievous but likeable Kilowatt barman on the e.tv soapie is an artist of many talents. He is also a musician who sings, plays the guitar, harmonica and pennywhistle.
Although Molepo is remarkable for his all-round artistic abilities on stage and screen, what is generally unknown about him is that he is also a cultural activist dedicated to documenting the country’s rich heritage in performance spaces. Following the death of Gibson Kente in 2004, he became a founder member of the Gibson Kente Foundation alongside fellow artists Marah Louw, Duma Ndlovu and Maishe Maponya. One of the foundation’s primary objective was to preserve Kente’s works through researching and documenting scripts of his classic plays like Sikalo (1966), Lifa (1968) and How Long? (1973).
Despite a demanding schedule, his dedication to theatre as a medium of addressing social ills is unwavering. Under the aegis of his company, Molepo Theatre Projects, he has penned and directed theatre productions such as Diphala, Silver Town and Mama, I Want The Black That You Are.
The latter deals with challenges of living with albinism, society’s prejudices against those who have the condition and toxic myths it has inspired. The play was written by his father, actor and musician Arthur Molepo (Captain Malebana on Skeem Saam).
Originally starring Puleng Molebatsi, Alistair Dube, Harriet Manamela (Meikie Maputla on Skeem Saam), Regina Ndlovu and Ntsoaki Mathiba, the play had a successful run at the State Theatre in the spring of 2016. Another season last year included a performance at a Tembisa high school in Ekurhuleni.
Albinism is a serious matter in the black community, but this is the first time that someone has decided to tackle the issue on stage. Unfortunately, the producers have been struggling to secure funding for a national tour of schools.
Molepo (38) was introduced to the arts at an early age in an environment that was populated by thespians such as the late Ramolao Makhene. During his formative stages in the early 1990s, his first television jobs included lending his voice to cartoon characters on SABC productions. His involvement with theatre - which began at community level in his Diepkloof, Soweto home town - was formalised when he co-founded Mangava Theatre Group with childhood friend and fellow actor, Obed Baloyi, Tsutsuma on the SABC2 sitcom Ga Re Dumele.
Although the Gibson Kente Foundation is sadly now defunct, Molepo is working with fellow artists like Vanessa Cooke and Josias Moleele on Segopotso, a heritage project that curates the works of senior actors such as the late David Phetoe - a commendable initiative in a country where the neglect of cultural heritage has sadly become a norm.
Rhythm City airs on e.tv at 7pm, weekdays.