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On set with SABC1's new telenovela Uzalo

Written by Tashi from the blog Tashi's TV on 09 Feb 2015
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Uzalo street on set	Uzalo street in the real world

SABC1's new telenovela Uzalo premieres on the channel tonight (Monday, 9 February) for a triple episode run weekly. It airs Mondays to Wednesdays at 20h30 and centres round two families - the Xulus and the Mdletshes - who are bound to each other by their sons - but they don't know it.

Their sons were unknowingly swapped at birth and the action picks up when they're grown up.

I hit KwaZulu-Natal for us last week to explore the set and today I'm pleased to present my discoveries ... take a step onto the set ...

The Xulu Family
Involved in a life of crime.

The interiors of the family homes on the show are filmed on sets while the outer exteriors
are filmed on location in KwaMashu.
This is the outside of the Xulu home. Real people live in it and they're paid a monthly fee
for the outside of their house to be filmed.

The Xulus
Muzi Xulu (Mpumelelo Bhulose) and his wife Lindiwe (Dawn Thandeka King)
with their children Mxolisi (Naymaps Maphalala) - the son who was swapped at birth -
and their daughter Nosipho (Nompilo Maphumulo).

The inside of their home, filmed on set in Newlands, near Umhlanga.

The show's set up their studios in a huge lot which houses all the interior locations - as
you walk through the lot, the outside of the various interiors look like this:

One of the smaller interiors.

The show's set designer Barbara Seane who walked myself and other media through
the different interiors, dishing the inspiration behind things.

Barbara on the design inspiration for the Xulu house: "It's organised chaos in that there's no distinctive style. You've got your circular patterns on the walls, you've got your lines on the wine rack with all the eclectic elements of KZN.

You've got the cow hide on the floor which represents Muzi's wealth, like if he had cattle somewhere that we don't know about because he makes a lot of money so he needs to generate his money in a way that can't be traced.

You've got lots of silvers, lots of gold - his wife might watch Top Billing or other shows about interior decorating so she'll see a trend and take that and be like, "This is what I like," so it's very much new money and flashy and bling.

She doesn't care whether the house matches or whether things complement each other, she's just one for hoarding so she's like, "I've got the latest thing and people must know about it."

The Mdletshe family
A God-fearing family with patriarch pastor Melusi presiding over
the Kingdom of Canaan Church and its choir. The church gives a moral standard
that's in direct conflict with the Xulus.

The exterior of the Mdletshe home, also in KwaMashu.

The interior of their home on set.

Pastor Melusi Mdletshe (Bheki Mkhwane) and his wife Zandile (Leleti Khumalo)
with their children Ayanda (Khumbulani “Kay” Sibiya) - the son who was swapped at birth -
and Nkosinathi (Sipho Mhlongo).

Melusi's study with a ...

... secret room. That Melusi keeps hidden from his family.

Barbara reveals the secret room tucked behind the bookshelves.

Barbara on the inspiration for the Mdletshe home: Like the Xulus have the secrecy of the stolen cars, the Mdletshes have secrets too - there's secrecy behind the church that the dad hides from the family.

The Mdletshe family is more modest than the Xulus -they're more communal, they give back to the community. The dad's very Christian, he's very strict at home - so is his wife - I think she's more strict in some ways than he is.

Their house is more linear than the Xulus so you've got the lines, the half moon shapes which echo the same look as the existing church. You've got the circular arcs which also represents the son who got swapped with the Xulu family.

Somewhere along the line I've designed the Xulus with circular patterns and the Mdletshes with linear lines but you'll find that there are elements of each represented in both their houses because of their sons being swapped at birth. If you see a circle in the Mdletshe house, you know it represents the Xulus and their son.

Melusi's church

The outside of the church on set.

The interior set.

The real world outside of the church in KwaMashu - situated directly across the road from the house
used for the Mdletshes.

The show's been very involved with the KwaMashu community.
They've employed people in the community to spruce up the locations and they've used local artists
to create the surrounding artwork:

Recreating the real world

A set of Uzalo street, just outside the hairdresser - another important location on the show:

It's the only location where a studio set's also been built for the outside shots.

The salon's been created using recycled materials like
this brilliant light that I want - created using cut-out crates strung together
with a flouresecent light through them.

Me touring the sets in a Gusheshe.
The production whipped us between the studio sets and real world locations
in a cool convoy of blaring BMW's.

The Chop Shop

Uzalo street in the real world.

Muzi Xulu's chop shop - the only location
where the outside and inside are filmed in the same place.

Just outside the chop shop, artwork by artists in the community next to ...

... a restaurant - also a set but also used in real life. The cast and crew use it for special
occassions - they celebrated New Year here.
The long term plan is for someone from the community to
take it over once the production ends to run it as a business.

Shows in this post: Uzalo

Channels in this post: SABC1