Hugh Masikela To Direct A Theatre Play About Regina Brooks

Legendary musician Hugh Masekela has been in the industry for more than 4 decades and he is still making best of his music. Masekela had gone through some life threatening illnesses that led to him undergoing medical procedures. At some point he was obliged to cancel his shows because he had to go through a surgery to repair tendon and ligament damage in his shoulder. The Jazz musician  is currently working as a director to tell the story of controversial Regina Brooks through a theater play called, Gone Native – The Life and Times of Regina Brooks. Hugh went on to explain to TshisaLive of what motivated him to do a theatre play about Regina Brooks.

“The story of Regina Brooks always fascinated me. It happened when I was a teenager, in 1954 when I was 15. We all had a crush on her because she was so beautiful. And we all hated Richard Kumalo because he was a cop. So, I was always interested in her story, so one day about eight years ago, I told a friend of mine, Alf Kumalo. I asked him, ‘do you remember Regina Brooks? I would love to meet her and maybe create a project like either a documentary or film or just something. Then he took me to her, and I was so happy to meet her and she told me she knew me from back when I was starting out,” Hugh said.

The 78 Year old spoke of how passionate he is about music and that he is no longer making music for money but to give out the knowledge to South Africans and to help preserve culture.“I am a scholar of music and particularly SA music. I know the music, the mood and style of that time,”he said.

Jazz Fans will catch Gone Native: The Life and Times of Regina Brooks in Soweto Theatre from August 8 until August 20.