Magnet Theatre

AYANDA KA NOBAKABONWA
'In all walks of life, I believe, for a complete communication of an idea, nothing surpasses a dramatic representation of the idea you want to convey. I am an artist who is wholeheartedly open to growth on a daily basis. I am a tenacious and inquisitive, with an eye for uncommon angles and a drive to tell a story in a manner beyond imagination. Personally, I believe that as artists we are duty bound to always challenge the unchallengeable and inspire the uninspired by bringing to life stories that take one out of one’s comfort zone.'

By trade, Ayanda is a theatre maker, arts and crafter, writer and an art facilitator (shadow puppets). Over the years Ayanda has decided to pursue his love of art through storytelling and that love led him to Magnet Theatre to sharpen the skill.

MOJALEFA KOYANA

Mojalefa Koyana is a Goldsmiths (University of London, UK) trained and qualified Art Psychotherapist. Prior to attaining his MA in 2017, Mojalefa worked in South Africa’s arts industry for 15 years as a theatre director, professional performer and visual artist. He facilitated arts mostly in marginalised townships and rural communities in the Eastern Cape. Mojalefa rapidly achieved national recognition as a theatre director and performance artist, earning himself the opportunity to travel abroad with his work. He ran workshops, performed & exhibited in the UK, and toured the UK in a two-hander piece called “The Journey”. He also conducted 2nd & 3rd year student workshops in the University of Middlesbrough and Newcastle University and has vast experience in facilitating Arts intercultural educational workshops. He facilitated in the remix Laboratory Programme at National Arts Festival, and administered, wrote, directed and managed numerous other productions and projects, including the sold-out “Fabric” SA & UK tour with his own international Duka Dance Company in 2013, PE Opera House’s highly acclaimed “Andiyondoda” in 2014, and directed Keiskamma Trust’s Musical “Indalo” SA tour in 2015 with music academy Orchestra, directed a theatre production in an international exchange program of Swallows partnership working with highly professional performers from 7 different countries.

After qualifying with his MA, Mojalefa was employed into a multi-disciplinary team of professionals in London’s Kensington community who designed and set-up art therapy hubs of intervention for traumatised victims of the notorious Grenfell fire. He exhibited his ceramic works & sculptures in London’s prominent exhibition ‘Exhibit Here’ from 2015-2018, with a sold-out tag in the latter. In 2017, at London’s Newcross Theatre, he collaborated on a two-hander of Butoh-dance and African movement called “Ingulo” with Dr Micheal Perry where he co-directed the workshopping of the piece that’s currently being scripted.

Later, upon his return to South Africa (2018-2023), Mojalefa returned to his position as Co-Director of the Intlantsi Creative Development Project in the Eastern Cape. There he designed and delivered arts activity facilitation training to unemployed young adults in remote rural villages. It is a groundbreaking community development initiative he started that aims to build a provincial platform for contextually relevant, formally recognised arts therapy training. In 2024 Mojalefa worked as a Stage-Manager and Set-Builder in a piece called "Tiro's Toughloop Testimony”, which has been nominated and played at numerous festivals across South Africa.

MLULEKI TITI

Mluleki Titi is a stage technician and set designer from Khayelitsha, Cape Town. He trained at Artscape Theatre (2017 - 2018) as a stage technician where he developed skills in lighting, sound, audio visuals, stage management, set designing, and technical maintenance. In 2019, he worked at the National Arts Festival as a sound technician for various shows including Zombie in the Dark (2019) directed by Gaetan Schmid. In 2020, he got an opportunity to lead a technical team for Makukhanye Art Room in Khayelitsha. Between the years 2020 and 2022 he worked for a number of shows such as Ndinxaniwe (2020), directed by Qondiswa James, House of Truth (2022) directed by Siphenathi Siqwayi, Ithuna (2022) directed by Buhle T Stefane. As an LX technician, he recently worked for the ICA Live Art Festival 2024.

Mluleki currently works as a production assistant at Magnet Theatre where he has expanded his skills and knowledge beyond the technical, he also experiments with graphic design for this organisation. In the near future he wants to establish a theatre NPO that will be based in the township of Khayelitsha.