Mmabatho Mogomotsi give Tshedza pictures their flowers
Veteran actress Mmabatho Mogomotsi is the new queen pin on the block. The actress, with years of experience and an impressive CV under her belt, will star alongside an array of local acts in a new Tshedza Pictures series Outlaws, which premieres on Showmax September 6th, 2023.
Saying yes to this production was partly inspired by the production house itself, with Mmabatho saying: “even before I knew what the script was about, I knew I wanted to work with Tshedza,” she said.
“I had just finished working with Tshedza on The River when this came. While doing The River, I realised what an amazing production house they were and how well they handled people. They care for their people more than anyone I had worked with in the past and they support them. That became a reflection of the type of environment I’d be working in and I knew I would thrive. Saying yes was easy ” she said.
The other half of the yes came from the huge opportunity to lead in the production. An opportunity, she said, didn’t come her way that often within her career.
“I had been getting a lot of supporting roles, coming in to support or being roped into an already existing story. But here, I felt like I belonged. I was given the opportunity to be at the forefront and lead alongside other greats in telling a story that is different and riveting,” she said.
Mmabatho portrays the role of Moretlo, a Basotho queen pin of the largest cattle raiding syndicate in Lesotho. She’s the bane of the Zulu, cattle-farming Biyela clan across the border in KwaZulu-Natal.
This modern-day Western series unfolds a story of two families who are at loggerheads over continued cattle theft.
Moretlo is the matriarch of the Ts’eole family who has two sides to her. The community builder and a thief.
Stepping into this role felt fresh for the actress. “It felt like I was doing this for the first time. The many years within the acting industry, and the experience that I have collected, have anchored me differently and that meant seeing acting in a different light. It stopped being a hustle for me. It now became a ministry, and that is what I brought to Moretlo. It took a different kind of package to bring this kind of actress out of me. It was delivered differently because of it,” she said proudly, dubbing the entire filming experience as fun.
The Motswana speaking actress has proven to be multilingual, diving into this heavy SeSotho speaking role with ease and admits to attracting a lot of similar roles over the years.
“Moretlo is a thief and saint rolled up in one,” she said laughing. “Her queen pin character manifests in what she does and how she does it but never has to do her own dirty work. But when she is among other people, she blends in and becomes a normal mother/neighbour within her community who works for her people.
“Now having to step into this character required a lot of mental preparation for me. That is what drama therapy taught me, that how you perceive, sit and reflect on a character is important to become one with it.
The well spoken actress chose to push herself beyond her own limits to bring out a performance like no other. A performance that she is proud of.
“I see how the many articles that are coming out keep referring to that Yizo Yizo actress, sort of saying ‘from that to here’. But a lot has happened in between those years, a lot that is personal and a lot within my craft. The failures, the wins, life experiences and teachings that all came together in building this actress that has taken on such a powerful character like this one. I was centered differently for this role, I really was. It felt like I was a new actress who has years of experience, because I brought everything that I had never brought before on any set,” she said.
“Everybody brought their A-game and I can simply attribute it to the healthy environment that we all worked in. Tshedza has inspired me to be my best and I am excited with the many other roles I am yet to portray. I feel like I have grown and I am ready to unveil so much in this new acting journey of mine. As my brand new self,” she said.