SCANDAL’S Grace Medupe is great at making money but
not too good at parenting.
The businesswoman, played by Bathabile Mashigo (38) in the e.tv
soapie, owns a four-star hotel in Newtown, Joburg.
Bathabile said: “Grace is wealthy but her personal life is not a
bed of roses. Her son Romeo, played by Hungani Ndlovu, is a spoilt brat.
“He thinks his mother’s money makes him the king of the world.
Grace lives with a gangster who owns part of her hotel.”
But Grace’s principles have kept her grounded.
Bathabile, on the other hand, grew up playing indigenous games such
as diketo, kgati, dibeke and masikitlana.
“People would listen to me as I told stories through masikitlana.
“The stories I made up were mostly about the conversations between
parents and their children,” said Bathabile, who lives in Soshanguve in
Tshwane.
She also learnt to play the acoustic guitar, but “I was never a
great guitarist, yet the guitar became my good friend and I played during school
assemblies”.
After matric she studied drama at Tshwane University of Technology
for four years, where she learnt a lot about body movement and reactions based
on emotions.
“I learnt how to control my voice, which is the instrument I use to
present my roles.”
After graduating, Bathabile became a nanny in New York as part of a
cultural exchange programme.
“I was placed with a family that hosted me for a year.
“I was there to learn and to teach them about my culture and
traditions.”
The second time Bathabile visited New York, she went to the French
Woods Arts Camp – where she taught African storytelling.
Bathabile has played many roles, such as the HIV-positive Magda on
Generations, and Lerato Mofokeng on the SABC1 mini-series, Death of a Queen.
