OUTSIDE the 9-TO-5

From a pet psychic to a human lie detector, these four women have eschewed traditional careers to pursue unusual interests.

- CHARIS TORRANCE

String theory

Siphokazi Mpofu describes what she does as bringing objects to life on the stage. ‘I remember watching my first puppet show at 19,’ she says. ‘There was a magic that came off the puppet, the way it woke up. I was amazed.’

Born in Banzi Poort, a village in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape, Siphokazi moved to Cape Town in search of an education. While in college, she had a friend who was with Unima SA, an art and social development organisation focused on the art of puppetry, and she would tag along to events and rehearsals. He encouraged her to audition. ‘I received a call-back and got a part in a children’s production working with Muppet puppets.’

While at Unima, Siphokazi was lucky enough to get a coveted spot interning for The Handspring Puppet Company. She graduated from Muppets to bunraku – traditional Japanese puppet theatre. ‘From only having to worry about the mouth, I now needed to learn to manipulate the head, eyes, hands…’

This is where she met Luyanda Nogodlwana, Ncedile Daki and Sipho Ngxola, with whom she would create the Ukwanda Puppets & Design Art Collective.

‘In 2014, Handspring told us they were closing down the company in South Africa. They encouraged us to start our own puppet company, which they would support.’

Handspring supports them to this day, as does the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape.

Ukwanda’s first show, Qhawe: A Xhosa Fairytale, debuted at the 2015 Grahamstown Arts Festival, and they won the Standard Bank Encore Ovation Award. They’ve since lost Ncedile, who died in a hijacking, but the group is keeping his memory alive with the work they do.