Nomzamo Mbatha chats about her role on 'Shaka iLembe' and directing the series

Nomzamo Mbatha has stepped into a different phase in her career where she is not just the leading lady of a show but also an executive director  and she is killing it. 

While visiting the production set of Mzansi Magic's Shaka iLembe, TshisaLIVE got to witness the actress in action.

The drama series, set in the late 1700s and 1800s, tells the story of iconic African king Shaka Zulu, documenting his early childhood and through to adulthood.

Nomzamo, who plays Queen Nandi, the revered mother of Shaka, also wore the executive producer's hat in the making of the show.

When she's in costume she is Nandi and performs the assertive character with pride, but when she is not acting she is Nomzamo, making sure her cast and crew members have what they need to make the show.

“It hasn't been an easy transition,” she says.

“Especially because my fellow actors know me as an actor, so I always just tread as a little wool flower, but learning more than talking ... For me it's been a very nerve wracking, stretching and learning experience [with] lots of pressure to be able to be authentic, truthful and of excellence.”  

The magnitude of the set is what we would call a Hollywood blockbuster scale and Nomzamo says she's excited to be part of the production.

“It's always been something that's close to my heart. I just didn't realise how big it is, so we're literally going into uncharted territory. The show is huge scale, it's something that has never been done before by its own people.”

For her, it's about telling the story correctly and as authentic as possible.

It took nearly six years for the Bomb production team to research to make sure they pay attention to even the smallest detail when putting the show together, from it being narrated in isiZulu to the costume designs.

“I don't say it would have done the story justice if we wanted to sanitise it. We're not sanitising language, we're not sanitising the way of life ... I think if we wanted to give it a different eye that is more European, it would take away from the authenticity and that would immediately be jarring to the viewer. 

“So the fact that we're remaining authentic to it is paramount for us. Language has been at the helm and at the heart of it, because I do say the preservation of language is the preservation of culture. We're not just telling a fictional story ... these are people that lived.”

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