Vinette Ebrahim hooked on Ellen Pakkies

Well-known South African actress, Vinette Ebrahim was in Windhoek last weekend where she starred in the play, ‘My name is Ellen Pakkies’.

Ellen Pakkies from Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats caused a stir in 2007 when she strangled her tik (methamphetamine) addicted son to death. The play tells the true horror story of a mother who tries to come to terms with her son’s growing addiction as well as the abuse she suffered as a child, and again, as a mother at the hands of her own child.Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up in Cape Town, a long time ago. I lived in England for a short while, but returned to South Africa because my mom was home sick and my dad wanted to be part of the political changes taking place at the time. We’re talking about the 60s here. Even though I had friends as a child, I often chose to be on my own because my games were not conventional children’s games. I made up my own stories and played them out with my dolls, teddy bears and dogs! My brothers, Vincent an actor living in London (you may have seen him in ‘The Kumars at No 42’) and Ivan, a computer engineer who lives in Cape Town, are both older than me and I was the only girl. I was often left to my own devices, given that, and my huge imagination – it is not surprising that I became an actress. Were you always a performer, even back then?Oh yes, I was but not the class clown type rather I was always looking for a way to perform. I was the one who initiated school plays and drama projects. In playschool I was too fat to play Sleeping Beauty so I made the teacher make me the story teller. I wore a flower-girl’s dress and was on stage the entire time. At primary school I re-wrote the Nativity, inventing a story about a blind girl who dreamt about witnessing the birth of Jesus and when she woke up, on Christmas morning – she could see! My teachers were so impressed, they allowed me to direct it as well. I was only 12.In high school, drama was not part of the syllabus, so I organised drama classes after school and did a play with a few other students which was recommended to be performed for the South African Black Students Association’s first national congress. We were voted highlight of the weekend. I attended the Yvonne Bryceland School of Acting at the Space Theatre on Saturdays and holidays, as well as after I completed school. I was both bookish and rebellious – you have to know the facts to be able to raise the right kind of hell!How did your love for drama and performing start?It all began with my dad, I guess. He was part of an amateur drama society. Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Genet, Byron, Keats, Shelley were names I grew up with. I remember sneaking into the garage where my dad stored all the costumes and props and what hit me straight between the eyes was the smell. It conjured images of red velvet curtains, beautiful décor and sets and words that touch the soul and lights that create a kind of magic, leaving you spellbound and wanting more. I was eight and I already knew then that I wanted to act. The late Yvonne Bryceland and her husband, Brian Astbury who now lives in London are my mentors, they gave me my first break. The Space Theatre was where I cut my teeth – I went through the whole shebang – stage management, theatre admin, lighting, sound and finally performance. Tell us about your most memorable roles?These have come in the later stage of my life – Poppie Nongena, Boesman and Lena, Miss South Africa, Ellen Pakkies and a few more up my sleeve! I’d like to do more classical work, Shakespeare and the Greek plays. In this business it is bad luck to talk about projects before they are signed and sealed. I have been very privileged to have worked with some of South Africa’s finest – both young and more senior – from Pieter Dirk Uys, Wilna Snyman, Lizz Meiring, Zane Meas, Denise Newman and my partner, Ivan D Lucas, to name but a few!As a Coloured actress in South Africa – what obstacles have you had to overcome?I hate the term ‘Coloured’. If I am to be known by a colour, then I want to be known as a brown South African. I tried for so long to be black, politically, but that proved to be a misnomer. The present South African government also refers to us as ‘you people’. Funny how history repeats itself. Do you find that roles for Coloureds are often typecast as either motherly or homely or uneducated skelms?It’s the result of lazy writing. People with no imagination. It’s easy to cast a brown person as a skelm because of social indoctrination and prejudicial perception, but give that skelm a proper story, character or background and you move away from the cheap, typical stereotypes that one tends to be embarrassed by. Incidentally, I have no problem playing the motherly or homely type – Charmaine on ‘7de Laan’ is exactly that, and she’s a household name and Vinette is an actress with a job that most actresses my age would love!Why did ‘My Name is Ellen Pakkies’ appeal to you?It’s a play about more than just drugs. It’s a play about motherly love, familial interaction and forgiveness. It challenges every emotion that one has and poses uncomfortable questions and contrary to what I imagined theatre to be as a little girl, it delves into your very soul and makes you face a reality that perhaps you have wanted to hide in your back room, or maybe, were not aware of.Have you met Ellen Pakkies? I met Ellen. I’ve been to her house and it was difficult for me not to be completely drawn to her as a person. I think she is amazing! She and I have regular contact and I draw from her a strength which is inexplicable. I would not be able to do this play time and time again and walk away whole afterwards, if I had not met her.She has seen the play. We invited her to a rehearsal, before we opened at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. It was an extremely emotionally charged experience, she sat through most of it with her eyes closed, just listening. At the end, I burst into tears and she walked onto the stage and just held me. Christo Davids (Errol from ‘7de Laan’) who played the original Abie, sat down and wept as well. Ellen prayed and thanked God. She was there on our opening night and again on a charity night that we arranged for her, so we have her blessing.Is tik still such a major problem in the Cape area? The perception that tik is a problem in the Western Cape only, is totally incorrect. methamphetamine or crystal meth as it is also known, is a problem world wide. It is the most easy to come by drug and can actually be manufactured in your own kitchen, bleach being one of the main ingredients. How do do you reduce any disease? You go to the root of the problem. But it is human instinct to turn away from a problem when it seems insurmountable.Describe the experience of acting on ‘7de Laan’ for so many years?I’ve been on ‘7de Laan since it’s inception – 12 years now! I am up at 05h00, at the studio at 07h00 for breakfast and a quick chat because work starts at 07h30. We start with blocking the episode (the director telling you were to move on which line etc), and then it’s make-up and hair and rehearsals. Sometimes you’re lucky and have one or two scenes for the day and you’re finished by noon, other days you may have lots of scenes and get home after dark! It is said that ‘7de Laan’ is one of the friendliest soaps to work on, and I’m proud of that fact. we are very tight as a cast and crew, perhaps like family.What ambitions do you still have?I have plenty of travel plans and my new thing is cruises! I’m doing a test run from Cape Town to Walvis Bay in December and if that goes well, I want to do one to Italy next near! New York, Spain and India are also on the cards. Other than that, lots more theatre and hopefully to stay with the ‘7de Laan’ for a while longer!Tell us something deeper about yourself that many people would be surprised to know?I live by very simple rules: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I will go to the ends of the earth to help others, but the minute I detect I’m being taken advantage of, well…. I also like tattoos.

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