A Woman In Waiting

When Nelson Mandela was released from jail in 1990, one of the first people to greet him was Thembi Mtshali. As an actress made famous by her role in the township TV sitcom It's Good, It's Nice, she herself had become a beacon of hope to the man who symbolised the fight against apartheid, and as he came to meet her, he said: 'Thank you so much for entertaining me while I was in jail, I always watched you.'

Now Mtshali has come to London to share her own experiences of apartheid with audience members. It is a deceptively simple and poetic account, focusing on her memories both of childhood and motherhood, interspersed with songs where the melodies are shaped with pain and hope.

Like the highly acclaimed Bogus Woman, which painted a detailed and tightly researched portrait of an African woman seeking asylum in this country, A Woman in Waiting was hailed as a triumph at last year's Edinburgh Festival. The similarities extend beyond the obvious: although the plays deal with different manifestations of prejudice, both are marked out by starkly simple staging, contrasting with the poetic opulence of the language with which each woman's ordeal is depicted.

Mtshali is first revealed to the audience in a large box. Curled up in the foetal position, as if the box were some giant womb, she tells the story of how she was born in a storm, and named "Heavy Gale". The protective cosiness of her childhood narrative is quickly cut into by her account of how she has to live separated from her parents: and then of her own separation through work from the child she has when a teenager. Looming in the political background are the night raids in the townships, and the massacre of the children in Soweto in 1976.

It would be difficult not to warm to the deep-hearted humanity of this piece, even though Mtshali's story would benefit from better structuring and could gain interest by carrying more political detail. However, the combination of her vocal talents and gently alluring stage-presence makes this a touching evening out.

A Woman In Waiting