The war next door
TVPlus - English|14 July 2022
Soso Rungqu chats about how she got the toughest job on TV...making peace between feuding neighbours in Umakhelwane.
GENEVIEVE TERBLANCHE
The war next door

Soso Rungqu (outspoken welder and activist Morongwa Kau in cancelled soapie Isidingo until 2018) laughs as she recalls the toughest audition of her career. "The starting point was me having a meeting with the executive producer and they said, 'This is the idea for the show. It's going to be challenging. It's really demanding because we're dealing with different people, different communities all over the country.

Basically... you're solving problems"." That's an understatement. The show is So%%o Umakhelwane, Sundays on Moja Love (*157) at 20:30- and the problems Soso has to solve involved bitter and sometimes violent conflicts between neighbours.

"I was told I would need to audition for the pilot. And it was a different kind of audition - you don't do it in front of the camera with another guy reading (the other role) for you. It's a reality show, so how they normally audition is they put you out there in the street and give you an episode to do and see how you are going to do that." Soso's face shows clear astonishment as she speaks. "It had a camera crew, it had everybody there. I had a sound check, I had make-up and wardrobe. I did everything! It turned out so great that they even used it as an episode," she adds. "I was nervous. I was a wreck! But I pulled it off." As it turns out, that trial by fire was 100% necessary, because uMakhelwane would go on to present unimaginable challenges. Soso had to be tough as nails.

SOSO TO THE RESCUE

This story is from the 14 July 2022 edition of TVPlus - English.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the 14 July 2022 edition of TVPlus - English.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM TVPLUS - ENGLISHView All
Rattle the cage!
TVPlus - English

Rattle the cage!

Hlengi takes on the underworld as she fights the crooked court system that put stalker Amo back on the street.

time-read
2 mins  |
23 March 2023
Leaving with the Laan
TVPlus - English

Leaving with the Laan

Here's a peek at one of the local soaps who've been with tvplus on this fun-filled ride right from the start: 7de Laan.

time-read
2 mins  |
23 March 2023
Look both ways
TVPlus - English

Look both ways

Muvhango head writer Lynn Kekana shines a spotlight on the soap's bold past and its inspiring future.

time-read
5 mins  |
23 March 2023
Nurturer or murderer?
TVPlus - English

Nurturer or murderer?

A mother's love, an act of desperation, or an act of evil? Nosipho makes a shocking choice that rocks the cradle.

time-read
2 mins  |
23 March 2023
The new guys
TVPlus - English

The new guys

A Moroka heir and a rogue reporter are here to stir the pot in Generations: The Legacy!

time-read
4 mins  |
23 March 2023
Boss Betty!
TVPlus - English

Boss Betty!

uBettina Wethu Executive Producer Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri chats to us about how Betty can get ahead in business, and the business of TV.

time-read
4 mins  |
23 March 2023
SEA change
TVPlus - English

SEA change

A corpse in a crop circle and a 17th century witch await DI Humphrey Goodman as he goes Beyond Paradise.

time-read
2 mins  |
9 March 2023
Hi Queenie
TVPlus - English

Hi Queenie

Princess Elizabeth is orphaned in 1547 and begins her trajectory to the throne in Becoming Elizabeth.

time-read
3 mins  |
9 March 2023
Real local flavour
TVPlus - English

Real local flavour

Lorna Maseko uncovers South Africa’s best kept culinary secrets, from chokka to donkey milk chocolate.

time-read
2 mins  |
9 March 2023
Hands off daddy!
TVPlus - English

Hands off daddy!

When wicked Melita blackmails Mr Kgomo into continuing their affair, Pax decides it’s time for a smackdown.

time-read
2 mins  |
9 March 2023