Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater is an electrifying and acclaimed one-woman show brought to life by actress Mpume Mthombeni and theatre maker Neil Coppen, through their award-winning company Empatheatre. The play is inspired by the true story of a woman who served as a political assassin for the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the build-up to South Africa’s first democratic election. Zenzile Maseko, the protagonist, is a 60-year-old Zulu grandmother living in a small women’s hostel in downtown Durban. Falsely declared dead by the Department of Home Affairs, she finds herself cast into a Kafkaesque nightmare that forces her to confront her past as a hitwoman during the 1980’s, in the fierce battle between the IFP and the ANC. Through modes of magical realism and African folklore, the play explores KwaZulu-Natal’s turbulent history of violence and revenge, but above all, it looks at the remarkable resilience and reinvention of its protagonist. Winner of the Woordtrofee for Best Performance: Technical and Design, Best Performance: Solo, and Best Original South African Script at the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees (2024).