Through her one-woman show The Joke Was On Me, Swankie Mafoko transforms personal struggles with addiction and loss into a story of resilience, laughter, and self-discovery.
Johannesburg, South Africa (10 December 2025) – For Swankie Mafoko, art has always been more than just performance. It is the way she works through life’s challenges. That belief guided her recent one-woman show, The Joke Was On Me, staged at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein. This is where she shared her personal journey of addiction, grief, and recovery.
“It’s basically a story of resurrection,” Swankie explains. “It’s a story of finding oneself, of coming to oneself, one finally coming home.”
The performance traced her path from struggling with alcoholism, mourning the loss of her father and brother, to rediscovering herself through art, faith, and laughter.
Writing and performing the play forced Swankie to confront long-buried memories, including traumatic experiences and painful losses.
“I had to search deeply in parts of myself I didn’t even know existed. Our bodies are the archives of knowledge, just being able to search in my body, sit in my body to write the piece and perform it, I think was really, really healing for me.”
Balancing humour with such heavy themes came naturally to Swankie.
“I like to laugh a lot. I was laughing, hence the joke was on me.”
Get it?
While humour was included through the performance, it never overshadowed the raw truths of addiction and grief, giving audiences a way to engage with the story without being overwhelmed.
Although it was a one-woman show, Swankie was far from alone. She collaborated with director Khutjo Green and NSA students, who she describes as “professional, understanding, and beyond their time.” The experience created a sense of community, reflecting Swankie’s belief in the importance of women supporting women.
“It was a beautiful exchange of stories.”
Swankie hopes audiences left with introspection.
“I wanted people to sit with themselves and really think: do I have a problem? Does someone in my life have a problem?”
With The Joke Was On Me, Swankie not only reclaimed her narrative but also opened a space for reflection and conversation. Through art, she shows that healing is possible and that sharing one’s story can inspire others to do the same.
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