Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Esrom Nyandoro has indicated that when he hangs his boots, he will not go into coaching like most stars, but would take up theatre, his first love.
Nyandoro on Thursday visited artists who were rehearsing Cont Mhlanga’s classic play, Stitsha, at Amakhosi Township Square Cultural Centre.
The play is being reproduced by Bulawayo-based production company, Qhube Productions.
Sihlangu Dlodlo is producing and directing it. In an interview with NewsDay, Nyandoro said as a former artist himself, he knew actors chosen for roles in Stitsha, “had big shoes to fill”.
“I know they will make it to the top,” he said. “I am overwhelmed by what I saw here. This is not like soccer as it needs a lot of training. I have seen performance of this play (Stitsha). I have been here (arts) before and can say we were the first generation. I have seen this play too under the second generation.”
Nyandoro said he still loved theatre and would return to the stage after retiring from soccer.
“I still have love for theatre arts,” he said. “A leopard can never change its spots. I still have love for theatre. When I am in South Africa, I sometimes go to theatres to watch people act. When I am done with soccer, I might go back to theatre. Other soccer players become coaches, but as for me, I might go back to theatre because theatre made me who I am today.”
Nyandoro said in his early days in theatre, he was a shy little boy, but the stage taught him confidence. “I was a shy boy when I started out. But now I am able to stand in front of an audience. It is our responsibility, those of us who did theatre before, to go back to the arts and take up roles in the development of art.”
