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 calledInalawhich 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 theMail & Guardian. “So, Pietra and I started to develop the concept around Inala from that position.

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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 onGracelandbrought 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 theM&G.

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