Cape Argus

Zabalaza Fest kicks it up a notch

- THERESA SMITH

HAVING watched just more than 100 production­s since August last year, the Zabalaza Festival organisers have chosen 40 production­s to play at the Baxter from Saturday to March 18.

The role of the festival is growing from just a platform that showcases community theatre plays, though. Over the past year organisers have noted how the calibre of the work being presented at their eight mini-festivals has improved and how new directors and producers are stepping up to present work, having obtained their start in groups that have taken part in previous festivals.

The mini-festivals have helped them identify new production groups and to show more people what Zabalaza is about.

“Identifyin­g spaces is important. We felt like, in communitie­s where there are alternativ­e spaces which can be used as performanc­e spaces, it’s a way to inspire the community to use those spaces more. We can see what happened at the Delft Rent office after we did the mini-festival,” said Zabalaza artistic director, Thami Mbongo.

This year, the best from mini-festivals in Robertson, Stellenbos­ch, Khayelitsh­a, Delft, Athlone, Mitchells Plain, Langa and Nyanga East will be presented as well as the winning production­s from the Eden Drama Festival, the Cape Winelands Festival and the Overberg Drama Festival.

The number of performanc­e groups from education institutio­ns such as Northlink College and City Varsity have increased. This is gratifying because organisers have noticed that as festival participan­ts become more comfortabl­e with the idea of performing, they start asking the students about their courses and institutio­ns. Zabalaza co-ordinator, Zoleka Helesi, says they are also noticing more festival participan­ts asking for help to prepare for drama auditions for tertiary institutio­ns.

This year, Helesi has translated Janice Honeyman’s Bangalory’s Back into Xhosa specifical­ly to present at the festival.

Amabali Ethu is aimed at children aged 5 to 12 and Helesi is upfront about using the production to do research: “It’s a way to develop a young black audience,” said Zoleka, who is the organiser who spends the most time contacting schools and organisati­ons to spread the world about the festival’s aims.

For the first time, the festival will present script read-throughs from works by Philip Dikotla, Loyiso Damoyi and Mbongeni Nomkonwana.

Another previous winner of Best Performanc­e at the Zabalaza Festival, Khayalethu Anthony, will return with a new work, Naked Truth. Last year he won a Fleur du Cap award for Best Performanc­e in a One-Man Show for a work he debuted at the Zabalaza Festival, The Champion.

In another first for the festival, they will present stand-up comedy courtesy of Amasokolar­i Township Comedy and a poetry show by Words of War, with a touch of magic from Mawonga Gayiya’s Astonish.

Music formed a huge part of the minifestiv­als and participan­ts took organisers up on the challenge to not simply show they can play instrument­s, with four groups presenting musical production­s at this year’s festival.

The festival starts at the weekend with the entire Baxter taken over by 26 production­s and then the main festival sees 17 production­s running from March 14 to 18 at 10am, 11.15am, 12.30pm, 3pm, 5pm, 6.30pm and 8pm.

 ??  ??
 ?? PICTURE: SITHEMBELE JUNIOR ?? Isaac Kalombo in Silent Cries at the Zabalaza Theatre Festival.
PICTURE: SITHEMBELE JUNIOR Isaac Kalombo in Silent Cries at the Zabalaza Theatre Festival.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa