Yizo Yizo

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Yizo Yizo
GenreTeen drama
Directed byTeboho Mahlatsi
Angus Gibson
Country of originSouth Africa
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes39
Production
ProducerDesiree Markgraaff
Production locationsDaveyton, South Africa
Running time30 mins (series 1)
48 mins (series 2 & 3)[1]
Production companiesLaduma Film Factory (series 1)
Bomb Productions (series 2 & 3)
Original release
NetworkSABC 1
Release27 January 1999 (1999-01-27) –
1 July 2004 (2004-07-01)

Yizo Yizo was a South African television teen drama series which aired from 27 January 1999 to 1 July 2004 on SABC 1.

Synopsis[edit]

The series was set in a fictional school, Supatsela High, in a township of Johannesburg.

In the first series, the school's dictatorial principal, Mr. Mthembu, is forced to leave after beating a pupil. His successor, Ken Mokoena, is weak and corrupt and allows the school to be taken over by gangs, until he is replaced by Grace Letsatsi, who works with the school community to rebuild the school and expel the criminal elements.[2]

Cast[edit]

  • Meshack Mavuso – Jabulani "Javas" Nyembe[3]
  • Tshepo Ngwane – Thabo Nonyane (Thiza)
  • Charmaine Mtinta – Nomsa (series 1)[4]
  • Nomonde Gongxeka – Hazel (series 1)[5]
  • Noluthando Maleka – Dudu (series 1)[6]
  • Lorraine Mphephi – Mantwa[7]
  • Dumisane Khumalo – Sticks[8]
  • Christopher Kubheka – Gunman
  • Ernest Msibi – Chester Serote
  • Ronnie Nyakale – Ben "Papa Action" Mokoena (series 1)[9]
  • Bonginkosi Dlamini – Papa Action (series 2)[10]
  • Sthandiwe Kgoroge – Zoe Cele[11]

Production[edit]

Yizo Yizo was commissioned by the South African Department of Education to address problems in township schools as part of a campaign called Culture of Learning, Teaching and Service (COLTS). The series aimed to provide positive role models and depict the process of restoring a typical urban school in a South African township.[12] The Department worked with the education division of the South African Broadcasting Corporation to develop storylines, then commissioned Laduma Film Factory (later renamed Bomb Productions) to produce the series.[13]

The series was filmed in the township of Daveyton.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Yizo Yizo". SABC International Sales. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Yizo Yizo Series 1". SABC. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Mavuso Magabane". TVSA. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Charmaine Mtinta". TVSA. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Nomonde Gongxeka". TVSA. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Noluthando Maleka". TVSA. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Lorraine Mphephi". TVSA. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Dumisane Khumalo". TVSA. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Get to know your favourite bad boy | DRUM". DRUM. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  10. ^ a b Neate, Patrick (14 April 2006). "Zola: the townships' beating heart". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Sthandiwe Kgoroge | TVSA". www.tvsa.co.za. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  12. ^ Modisane, Litheko (Summer 2011). "The Visual black Atlantic? Trope- (ing) Black Identity in Yizo Yizo (1999, 2001)". Gefame Journal of African Studies. 8 (2). Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. ^ Modisane, Litheko (2013). South Africa's Renegade Reels: The Making and Public Lives of Black-Centered Films. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1137027029.

External links[edit]