The story line on popular SABC 1 soapie Generations: The Legacy is about to take a new twist with the introduction of a new actress.
 

 

 

Thandeka Shangase will join the soapie in what will be her biggest breakthrough since she decided to become an actress.

Her first episode airs on Monday, and while Shangase said she couldn’t share many details, she did say it was an emotional episode.

As a child growing up in Umlazi, Shangase had her first exposure to the acting world in a theatre production while in Grade 7.

“I had no clue of the world I had just set foot in and had even less of a clue about the technicalities required to pull off a production. All I knew was that I was the star, and about 2500 people had come to see me perform,” she said.

“I did sports and was part of the debating team and thought acting was amazing, but still didn’t know if I could turn it into a career. When I started my drama and production studies at the Durban University of Technology, I knew that acting was my calling, and it was more than just a dream,” she said.

In 2017, Shangase moved to Johannesburg to pursue acting until one day, after what felt like countless callbacks, she was cast on the television show called Next of Next Week.

This was where her confidence grew and she pushed even harder.

“In 2020, I got the part to do my first commercial advert for Absa Insurances, which ran for a whole year, and then they renewed it for another year. After that, I was involved in a few other projects from radio drama, educational theatre and more adverts,” she said.

Shangase said it was mentally taxing to attend auditions, only to get told you were not good enough for the job.

Shooting began on August 10, only a week after she was told that she had landed the part. She said when she read the script, it was humbling to know that a whole creative team created a character without meeting her.