MZANSI’S favourite duo, Popeye and Spinach, are celebrating 33 years of working together.
The actors whose real names are Kere Nyawo and Thulani Didi have worked together behind the scenes and on TV shows such as Zone 14, Yizo Yizo and most recently Isitha: The Enemy on e.tv.
Kere and Thulani spoke to Daily Sun about their journey together.”Back in 1990, I was doing a show about victims of political violence called Tears and Suffering. There were actresses I worked with, and they met Thulani somewhere. They told me they had met someone who worked on Sarafina!
“That interested me because the drama I was working on was a musical drama; it was just theatre. Then, I thought the production with music would be better, and that’s how I met Thulani. I asked him to direct it, and he agreed. Now he’s my brother; we’re like twins,” Kere said.
Besides working on TV together, they have been creating theatre shows together, and it’s not always smooth.”Sometimes we don’t get along, and most of our fights are caused by Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. But we come back and work together. Our job brings us back together.
“Another instance is when I wrote a theatre play called Devil’s Protest. When I called him to direct that show, he looked at the script, and he said he didn’t want to go to hell. I forced him to direct it, and he eventually did,” Kere said.
Thulani said their journey in the industry hasn’t been easy.
“We’ve been training people since 1991. Some of these people are the ones we call celebrities today. Although we’ve been in the industry for so long, we still can’t get funding. We are victims of corruption in South Africa; we know how it makes people struggle. But fortunately, other companies came and hired us,” he said.
They just returned on TV on Isitha: The Enemy as Stivovo and Malume Bulelani on e.tv.
“We’re working for Black Brain Pictures now, and they know our struggles. We’re trying to take Isitha to a better level. We’re so excited. It’s like a new beginning for us after these years. We’re also friends on this show.
“We started shooting in January. And now that we are back together on TV it’s about to be exciting. People must watch us again. Like us in real life, Stivovo and Bulelani and we’ll be bringing our bond on TV,” she said.
The actors said their favourite characters they played together were Popeye and Spinach on Zone 14.
“It was a big platform. We did Yizo Yizo as Ma7 and 38; those gangster characters were fun to play. But the production that gave us our big break. We appreciate the opportunity Angus Gibson and Desiree Markgraaff gave us,” Thulani said.