From Soweto to the West End: ‘Inala’ brings South Africa’s voice to London

South Africa’s heritage, culture and music has found its way into the heart of London’s West End in a production called Inala which tells a Zulu story through an immersive, artistic and winery experience. 

The critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Zulu ballet production features music co-written by the late Joseph Shabalala, founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and producer Ella Spira. The production features the Soweto Gospel Choir and has a permanent residency at House of Sisters Grimm in London. 

The venue is run by the production company of the same name and was co-founded by Spira and Pietra Mello-Pittman, a former Royal Ballet dancer. The latest iteration of the production has been enchanting audiences since November 2025 and will run until early April.

The idea was initially conceptualised by Spira and Pittman in 2009, after they recognised the lack of diverse artists across different art forms in London’s theatre scene. 

They sought to instead create a space which celebrated South African culture through collaboration but also to put these artists on a stage that felt as posh as opera but in a contemporary way.

“There wasn’t much cross-pollination and I felt there was a space for us to break down those barriers and bring everybody together,” Spira told the Mail & Guardian. 

“So, Pietra and I started to develop the concept around Inala from that position. We approached Ladysmith Black Mambazo and they were up for the idea.”

“I had an ambition to see Mambazo’s work continue to have a space…the way to make sure that they live on is to find a new contemporary way for those to continue to exist,” she added. 

In essence, the production is a tribute to Shabalala, whose work with Paul Simon on Graceland brought South African music to the world and contributed to cultural shifts during apartheid. Inala was Shabalala’s final international stage work, the producers said. 

It premiered in 2014 and was nominated for a Grammy in 2016. 

The cast is dominated by South African performers who found their way into the international stage to tell the truly South African story. 

“As a South African with aspirations to be a world-renowned performer beyond the Western stage, [it] is one of the most humbling and reassuring things to ever experience,” performer Goitseone ‘Deangelo’ Mogale told the M&G. 

“It’s a Zulu production that speaks through song the entire time and about how the Zulu tribe expresses themselves — vocally, physically, through dance. 

“It’s almost as if you don’t have to stop being yourself outside of South Africa. It’s almost as if they are saying we are taking that version of you and showing the world your beauty, your magnificence and what your people hold,” he added. 

“Everything that started with Ella and Ladysmith Black Mambazo is still intact — the soul, the beauty, the pain, the sadness of the songs is still there.” 

The songs which narrate the ballet were inspired by traditional isicathamiya music — a South African a cappella singing style originating from Zulu migrant workers in the early 20th Century and later popularised by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

The songs revolve around themes of marriage, love, loss and unity.

In Eza Malobolo, the lyrics declare: “I have found the one! I have seen a nice lady and I want to pay the dowry (cattle) and marry her!”

Uhlulekile Umakoti tells a different story: “The cows will be returned. The marriage has failed, they will be returned. All of them!”

And in Usizi, grief and resilience take centre stage: “Grief, we dodge it everywhere. We are focused on where we are heading. We face challenges and obstacles but we keep going.”

The final song, Mzansi Ohmuhle, was written by Milton Diniloxolo Ndlakuse and Ella Spira. It features 51 musicians and singers recorded in South Africa and translates to: “We South Africa are together, we are one!”

Reflecting on her journey to South Africa to develop Inala alongside Shabalala and other members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Spira said that the collaboration with African artists was to “create a new sound together”.  

“One of the most emotional moments in the show was the first piece of music I wrote with Joseph. I was 22 and they hadn’t heard me play the piano before. I sat at this piano in the Durban Playhouse and they all came in to hear it.

“That piece taps into the grief Joseph went through, the trauma he experienced growing up in Ladysmith. He went through a lot.”

“For me that moment was special because it was the only time I think he allowed himself to sit in that grief for a second and let it come out in the music.” 

She added that the song is brought to life by a female vocalist, who said that it was healing and therapeutic. 

“People sob through that piece. They cry a lot. But that’s what music and the arts are there for,” Spira said. 

The ballet was choreographed by Mark Baldwin but South African-born Boemo Tony Banyatsi assumes the role of dance captain. He previously performed in popular local productions including Sarafina and African Footprint. He said his role is challenging and high pressure, because he is tasked with representing South Africa’s dance forms and creativity. 

“It is a responsibility for me to represent South Africa very well, especially in a competitive space like the West End,” Banyatsi told the M&G. 

“As dance captain and contributing choreography, my role has been refining the movement and making sure it suits the West End stage.”

He said performers have to sing and dance at the same time, which is incredibly difficult but affirmed that through the work of the music director, they have tried to maintain the authenticity of the South African story. 

“I don’t think you can find another show in the West End that has this level of authenticity,” he added. 

For performers like Mogale, whose face appears on the posters plastered around London, playing a lead in a production on a global scale was a dream that he worked very hard to achieve. He obtained his degree in Dramatic Arts from the University of Witwatersrand and at the same time honed in on his singing talent by participating in the Wits choir. 

“I worked very hard on my singing ability because initially, when I was at Wits, my acting ability and my dancing ability were at the forefront of my craft.When I discovered that I was a singer, I wanted that as well.”

He performed The Wizard of Oz musical, was part of renowned South African choir Quava Vocal Group, auditioned for The Lion King, Hong Kong and auditioned for Inala in August 2024 before he was flown to London and cast in 2025. 

“I resonate with this particular character because to the same degree I had to find a particular character within myself. I had to figure out who I want to be and hopefully see if I can live that out on stage if I cannot live it in my everyday life,” Mogale said. 

“As this whole production progresses, I realise that I was chosen out of a lot of people who auditioned, not necessarily because I am different or better in any way but simply because I have a particular story to tell. They saw that and wanted to tell that story through me,” he added.

To bolster the unique thesis of Inala, the producers opened an exclusive wine bar — supposedly the first in Europe — that serves South Africa’s prized wines, while the gallery showcases paintings and drawings, done by Spira, of South Africa’s terrains and landscape. 

“The locations were deliberate. They’re reflections of storytelling and landmarks around South Africa that we feel are inherently part of the land,” said Spira, adding that they will expand the gallery scene by collaborating with South African visual artists as well.

The concept is in extending the love affair with South Africa while leaning into the luxury lifestyle and entertainment offering in London, she said. 

“It’s about hitting all the senses — the show, the music, the movement, the wine, the cocktails, the paintings, even the colours on the walls,” Spira said. “Every element of the space has been thought through, [because] we wanted people to feel that it is a refined, luxurious experience celebrating South Africa.”

“Sometimes art forms that come from what people call “world music” aren’t given the space to be seen as refined — this space challenges that,” she added.