Coming clean
The day of reckoning finally arrives for Turfloop’s firestarter Noah (Austin Mothapo). Following almost two years of a messy cat-and-mouse game between police and a handful of suspects, Noah is ready to own up to his role in setting the Maphosa Nuts factory blaze in July 2019. “He’s gotten to a point where he feels that it’s best to tell the truth,” explains Austin. “Noah wants to do what’s right and he knows that he can’t hide such a truth forever.” But how will his confession go down with those around him?
A HEAVY BURDEN
Sadly, Noah’s mother Mokgadi (Pebetsi Matlaila) and grandmother Mary (Motshabi Tyelele) don’t share Noah’s need for honesty. Instead, they’re still fighting hard to keep their young family member quiet and out of jail. “They don’t think he belongs in prison, and that his initial intention wasn’t to hurt anyone in (Tshepo Senatle) mom (Suzan Nakedi Leshabane) perished in the devastating fire? All of this has been a heavy burden for Noah to carry and, according to Austin, he’s had enough of the lies. “He might just feel a weight lifted from his shoulders,” explains the actor of his character’s willingness to come clean. “The consequences in the future might also have a negative effect on his mental state – it’s not easy living a normal life knowing that you’re the cause of a life lost. It’s just too bad that ’fessing up won’t bring his friend’s mother back to life…”
