uMabatha is a 1970 play written by South African playwright Welcome Msomi.[1] It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth set in the Zulu Kingdom during the early 19th century, and details how Mabatha overthrows Dangane.
Described as Msomi's "most famous" work,[2] 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,[3] and has subsequently been performed in Italy, Scotland, Zimbabwe, and throughout America,[4] including a "very successful off-Broadway season in 1978".[5]
Peter Ustinov said that, before seeing uMabatha, he did not truly understand Macbeth,[6] while Gregory Doran stated that the 1995 Johannesburg production of uMabatha was "the best production of [Macbeth]" he had ever seen.[7]
In response to the 1995 Johannesburg production, Nelson Mandela told Msomi 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."[4]
