Govt rescues theatre group

SHINGIRAI MADONDO
Correspondent | Thursday August 23, 2012 00:00

The rising theatre group, which took part at the Intwasa Arts Festival in Zimbabwe's city of Bulawayo last year, was on the verge of failing to travel to Malawi due to lack of funding. Lionel Nkosi, the Arts Director from Ghetto Waves Productions and the script writer of the play, The Debt (to be staged at the festival), confirmed that the Department of Arts and Culture has assisted with an undisclosed amount to secure air tickets for the trip.

Ghetto Waves Productions won the rare opportunity to be one of the 38 groups of different genres from all over the world to be at the inaugural Mwezi Wawala International Arts and Theatre Festival in the capital of Malawi. The group had to wait until this week for their journey to the southern African nation when the Department of Arts and Culture finally came to their rescue with money for airfares.'We had reached a point where we nearly abandoned the opportunity since the business community was not forthcoming. It is like the local business community does not understand or value the importance of the arts in the country,' said a relieved Nkosi.

Nkosi said officials at the Department of Arts and Culture managed to negotiate with Air Botswana (AB) for a discount on the air tickets such that a group of seven performers would realise its dream of rubbing shoulders with renowned artists from all over the world.'This is a golden opportunity for the seven performers to mingle with the best in the theatre industry,' he said. Kwenze Poelo Mguni, Tshepo Tom, Mothusi Onneile, Lorraine Monnawapula, Gosego Madziba and Koketso Keolopile will perform The Debt at a festival expected to start from August 28th to September 2nd. Ghetto Waves Productions, the only selected theatre institution from Botswana, will stage a world class theatre presentation entitled - The Debt, a play that centres around a young man who finds himself burdened by debt after being retrenched from work.  The Debt has been performed in Bulawayo for Intwasa Arts Festival 2011 and was launched in Francistown in partnership with other theatre organisations.

The Ghetto Waves Productions crew will also share their skills with other countries by attending a series of workshops on visual arts, music, Dance, theatre and exhibitions that are part of the festival under the theme, 'Culture Within and Beyond.' 'After the festival, artists will have the opportunity to network with officials and artists employed by Theatre Konstanz of Germany. The production house was established in 1607 and it is imperative that our local artists learn and understand the challenges present in the arts industry,' he said. Officials at the arts and culture department confirmed the development but could not be drawn into discussing the matter at length.