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Shaka Zulu | |
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Genre | Historical Novel |
Created by | Ed Harper |
Based on | Shaka Zulu by Joshua Sinclair |
Written by |
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Directed by | William C. Faure |
Starring |
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Opening theme | "We Are Growing", performed by Margaret Singana |
Composer | Dave Pollecutt |
Country of origin | South Africa |
Original languages |
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No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Leon Rautenbach |
Production locations | Natal, South Africa |
Editors |
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Running time | 54–55 minutes |
Production company | South African Broadcasting Corporation |
Original release | |
Network | SABC TV2/TV3 [1] |
Release | 24 October – 19 December 1986 |
Shaka Zulu is a 1986 South African television series directed by William C. Faure and written by Joshua Sinclair for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), based on his 1985 novel of the same name.
It focuses on the rise of the Zulu, and their leader, Shaka, his wars, and the British administration. The series consists of 10 episodes of approximately 55 minutes each. It was aired in South Africa from October, and in the United States in syndication from November.
The series is based on the story of the king of the Zulu, Shaka (reigned 1816 to 1828), and the writings of the British traders with whom he interacted. It also covers the broader Mfecane period alongside the rapid expansion of the Zulu state. The story is described primarily via flashbacks by Dr Henry Fynn, an Irish doctor. [2]
The series was written for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) by Joshua Sinclair, based on his 1985 novel of the same name. [3] Harmony Gold USA partly funded and distributed Shaka Zulu in spite of the economic sanctions at the time. [4] It was directed by William C Faure. The executive producer was Leon Rautenbach, and the composer was Dave Pollecutt.
Lead actor Henry Cele was an international star, performing in his native South Africa and in the United States as well. He was selected for the role after performing the same role in a South African stage production of the same name. [5]
Cele appeared again in 2001 as Shaka in the 3-hour 2-part miniseries, also written and directed by Sinclair, called Shaka Zulu: The Citadel. Set in winter 1827, Fox also reprised his role as Farewell, and also starred David Hasselhoff and Karen Allen. It was also released in a 2-hour telemovie version called Shaka Zulu: The Last Great Warrior. [6]
Simon Sabela also organised the dance routines in the original 1964 Zulu film, and played Cetshwayo in Zulu Dawn in 1979.
No. | Directed by | Written by | Runtime | Original air date | US air date | |
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1 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 55 minutes | 24 October 1986 | 24 November 1986 | |
Commencing in 1823, it introduces the main characters, including Shaka, Lieutenant Francis Farewell and Dr. Henry Fynn, against a background of increasing fear of a Zulu attack on the Cape Colony. | ||||||
2 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 55 minutes | 31 October 1986 | 1 December 1986 | |
After Farewell's expedition is shipwrecked, they are taken to Shaka's capital, Kwa Bulawayo. Here, cultures clash as Shaka seeks to master their technology. | ||||||
3 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 55 minutes | 7 November 1986 | 8 December 1986 | |
Fynn narrates the backstory of Shaka's illegitimate birth in 1787, to Senzangakona, a prince of the Zulu, and Nandi, a woman of the Elangeni. | ||||||
4 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 55 minutes | 14 November 1986 | 15 December 1986 | |
Nandi's tribe compels Senzangakona to accept her as a second wife. However, after nine further marriages in as many years, she is often humiliated by Senzangakhona and goes back to the Elangeni kingdom where she and Shaka are constantly humiliated and flees into exile with her children and her mother who dies of starvation. Nandi and her children take refuge among the Qwabe people. | ||||||
5 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 55 minutes | 21 November 1986 | 22 December 1986 | |
As Shaka grows up, he is forced to flee his home among the Qwabe when his father, Senzangakhona and his people are looking for him. In 1815, he is helped by Dingiswayo of the Mtetwa, where he begins formulating his new military disciplines. | ||||||
6 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 55 minutes | 28 November 1986 | 29 December 1986 | |
Shaka trains his new military unit into an elite fighting force. After his father dies, in 1817, his half-brother becomes king but Shaka assassinates him at his initiation and assumes total control. | ||||||
7 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 55 minutes | 5 December 1986 | 5 January 1987 | |
The story moves ahead to 1824 when an attempt is made on Shaka's life by his half-brother. Surviving with the help of Fynn, Shaka grants Farewell lands and trading rights in perpetuity. | ||||||
8 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 54 minutes | 12 December 1986 | 12 January 1987 | |
Realising the legacy power of the written word, Shaka begins narrating stories of his rise, including surreal and occult aspects, to Fynn. It also covers the beheading of Dingiswayo during the conflict with Zwide. | ||||||
9 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 54 minutes | 19 December 1986 | 19 January 1987 | |
In 1827, the sailors at Port Natal build a boat, with Zulu assistance, and sail envoys to Cape Town where they are poorly received. Meanwhile, Shaka has his illegitimate son killed and his mother becomes ill. | ||||||
10 | William C. Faure | William C. Faure Joshua Sinclair | 54 minutes | 19 December 1986 | 26 January 1987 | |
Nandi dies, sending Shaka into a dangerous mindset where the Zulu nation should suffer too. Farewell's party returns in 1828 to find widespread chaos and devastation, culminating in Shaka's assassination. |
Although popular, the series was criticised by The Los Angeles Times for its character portrayals and focus on violence. [2] The New York Times reviewed it positively, describing the series as an "enthralling television exercise" but noted public suspicion of it at the time due to the financial support the series received from then apartheid government of South Africa. [8]
Donald Morris wrote that it was one of the most repeatedly viewed miniseries in North American television at the time having been watched by over 350 million viewers. [9]
When Shaka Zulu was broadcast in Singapore on SBC 12 in 1986, it was praised by arts enthusiasts as an example of "quality production" after the local authorities banned a performance by topless African dancers at that year's Singapore Arts Festival, which has since revoked. [10]
In 2021, NewRetroWave gave it a positive review for its cinematography and strong acting performances. [11]
The theme song of the series, "We Are Growing", was sung by Margaret Singana.
Chart (1987) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [12] | 62 |
Shaka kaSenzangakhona, also known as Shaka Zulu and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that reorganized the military into a formidable force.
Zulu people are a native people of Southern Africa of the Nguni. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 14.39 million people, in total of which 13.78 million people live in South Africa, mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Nandi KaBhebhe was a daughter of Bhebhe, a past Elangeni chief and the mother of Shaka kaSenzangakhona, King of the Zulus.
Durban is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean, Durban is South Africa's busiest port and was formerly named Port Natal. North of the harbour and city centre lies the mouth of the Umgeni River; the flat city centre rises to the hills of the Berea on the west; and to the south, running along the coast, is the Bluff. Durban is the seat of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which spans an area of 2,556 km2 (987 sq mi) and had a population of 4.2 million in 2022, making the metropolitan population one of Africa's largest on the Indian Ocean. Within the city limits, Durban's population was 595,061 in 2011. The city has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, wet summers and mild, dry winters.
Television in South Africa was introduced in 1976. The country is notable for the late introduction of widespread television broadcasting.
Cetshwayo kaMpande was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1884 and its Commander in Chief during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo. Cetshwayo consistently opposed the war and sought fruitlessly to make peace with the British and was defeated and exiled following the Zulu defeat in the war. He was later allowed to return to Zululand, where he died in 1884.
Zulu Dawn is a 1979 American adventure war film directed by Douglas Hickox and written by Anthony Storey and Cy Endfield, based on Endfield's book of the same name about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa.
Great South Africans was a South African television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and Denis Beckett. In September 2004, thousands of South Africans took part in an informal nationwide poll to determine the "100 Greatest South Africans" of all time. Votes were cast by telephone, SMS, and the website of the state-run South African Broadcasting Corporation television channel, SABC3, which aired a series of profiles and documentaries in the weeks leading up to the announcement of the top 100. The programme was modelled on the BBC's Greatest Britons series By Helen Joseph
Harmony Gold USA, Inc. is an American film and television production company. It was founded in 1983 by Egyptian-born Frank Agrama and is managed by his daughter, Jehan F. Agrama.
Nathaniel Isaacs (1808–1872) was an English adventurer who played a part in the history of Natal, South Africa. He wrote a memoir spread over two volumes called Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa (1836). This book subsequently became one of the principal sources quoted by writers of the history of Natal, including Morris , Ritter and Bulpin.
Henry Cele was a South African football player and actor. In the 1960s Cele became a goal keeper for the South African Soccer League and played the sport until 1978. In 1981, he was asked to audition for the role of the Zulu Warrior King Shaka kaSenzangakhona on stage for a production that played for a year. For the 1986 television miniseries Shaka Zulu, he reprised the role and gained significant fame worldwide.
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The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to the Pongola River in the north.
Daphney Hlomuka was a South African television, film, radio and stage actress. On the small screen, Hlomuka was perhaps best known to audiences for her role as MaMkhize in the television drama series, Hlala Kwabafileyo, and as Sis May in the comedy, S’gudi S’naysi, opposite Joe Mafela.
uMabatha is a 1970 play written by South African playwright Welcome Msomi. It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth set in the Zulu Kingdom during the early 19th century, and details how Mabatha overthrows Dangane.
Charles Rawden Maclean, also known as "John Ross", was born on 17 August 1815 in Fraserburgh and died 13 August 1880 at sea on the RMS Larne while en route to Southampton. In a tribute to him during the re-dedication of his grave in Southampton in 2009, the Zulu War author and broadcaster Ian Knight said:
Maclean was a champion of liberty and his stone will be one of the few inscriptions in a British cemetery which commemorates a positive interaction between the British and Zulu people; most existing memorials commemorate individuals who were involved in Anglo-Zulu conflict.
William C. (Bill) Faure was a South African film director and writer, best known for directing Shaka Zulu, a 1986 television mini-series. The show still has a massive following in South Africa and worldwide.
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