Nakhane

Nakhane was born Nakhane Lubabalo Mavuso[1] in Alice, a small rural town in South Africa's Eastern Cape, raised by his grandmother until he was five years old.[9] At seven he was adopted by his aunt,[10] whom he has said is “to all intents and purposes” his mother,[10] and her husband, growing up with them in Port Elizabeth, attending a racially-integrated school,[10] where he learnt to speak English. A few years later he changed his surname to theirs, Mahlakahlaka,[10] and, affirming a more distinctive identity, dropped his commonplace middle name.[10]

At 15 he moved to Johannesburg.[11] Having known he was gay for a few years,[12] at 17 he came out to his friends and cousins.[13] At 18 he began reading the work of James Baldwin, strongly identifying with the black queer characters;[12] Baldwin became a substantial influence. Nakhane studied two degrees at college – film music composition and acting, then literature, leaving both after a year.[12] At 19, an ex-girlfriend's mother outed Nakhane to his aunt,[14] who took him to prophets who encouraged him to renounce his homosexuality.[15] Meeting a pastor's son, he became devoutly religious, joined a conservative Baptist Church, regularly attended bible studies, undertook gay conversion therapy, and preached against homosexuality.[16]

Throughout five years of attempting to deny his homosexuality,[17] during which time he would secretly visit gay clubs,[18] he suffered guilt, fear and self-hatred.[12] He began to doubt the existence of God,[19] and at 25 had a breakdown, sleeping on sofas[20] thanks to compassionate friends the church had told him to cut ties with.[21] He extricated himself from the church[3] and became more black-conscious.[22]

Following the release of Brave Confusion, film director John Trengove contacted Nakhane, asking him if he'd consider making the music for his 2017 film Inxeba (The Wound).[38] After they met, Trengove asked him if he'd audition to play the lead role of factory worker Xolani in the film,[38] which deals with ulwaluko – an Xhosa initiation into manhood involving circumcision, which Nakhane had undertaken aged 20.[39]

Due to protests, intimidation and vandalism in response to the film in South Africa, many cinemas cancelled screenings.[40] Having initially been classified as a 16LS, it was then reclassified as X18,[41] a certification usually reserved for hardcore pornography. In response, on social media Nakhane wrote of homophobia, saying he refused ‘to live in shame for your patriarchy to keep on living.'[42] Following “an onslaught”[21] of graphic death threats for his part in the film,[18] he resolved to speak out in the media as much as possible.[21] Despite media perception that he left South Africa because of the threats, he said that he moved to London in order to tour Europe less expensively, but admitted that ‘times were not necessarily nice for me in South Africa,' and said the death threats made it hard to return to the Eastern Cape.[17]

The film was selected as the South African entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at 2018's 90th Academy Awards, making the top-nine shortlist.[43] Nakhane won awards for Best Actor at Durban International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, South African Film And Television Awards, and Valencia International Film Festival Cinema Jove.[44] The Hollywood Reporter called his performance ‘an impressive screen debut.'[45] The Playlist wrote that he was ‘incredibly affecting as this quiet, secretive, lonely soul.'[46]

After watching Inxeba (The Wound) and then listening to his music, John Cameron Mitchell cast Nakhane as Jairo, ‘a young man who struggles with a host of demons', in 2019's Anthem: Homunculus podcast musical.[47]

In 2015, Nakhane's debut novel Piggy Boy's Blues was published, set in his hometowns of Alice and Port Elizabeth and portraying a Xhosa royal family.[48] It was nominated for the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize and the Etisalat Prize for Fiction.[12]