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Nkululeko Nkala . .
Gango — a mixed relish dish has taken the country by storm. It’s a fantastic mixture of meats mixed together and served in one dish and in that spirit Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo 2018 is an artistic gango.
The festival began on Tuesday with a scintillating performance from Umkhathi Theatre entitled Bloom Bloom. The 25-member cast took to dance and music with the usual ease and finesse synonymous with award winning ensemble Umkhathi Theatre. The almost full house audience loved every bit of the energetic performance. The cast is a mixture of Umkhathi Theatre, former Siyaya Arts members and Iyasa cast. The variety in talent makes for interesting viewing.
The show which premièred at Intwasa on Tuesday is on its way to Taiwan for a two-week run. If anything, there is guarantee that Zimbabwe will be represented well in Taiwan. The show is a mixture of traditional dances from Muchongoyo, Indlame and culminates into a blooming finish of Setape dance which Umkhathi does even better than most of the Tswana outfits.
Day two of Intwasa began with a Children’s Poetry Workshop centering on the girl child. Fifteen schools brought in three girls each into a poetry workshop facilitated by Lady T (Nomashawekazi Damasane) and Tinashe Tafirenyika who are both renowned poets in their own right.
We were not ready for the afternoon programme though. Thanks to Nhimbe Trust theatre schools Nketa High, Gifford High, King George VI and professional outfit Chipawo from Harare who took turns to entertain the more than half the house Bulawayo Theatre. You should have seen King George defying disability and cementing that art knows no language or boundaries. We were entertained.
The evening was even better with Blood Tongue closing our Wednesday; it is amazing how they have managed to develop the script from its first run in 2016. The new cast has added a new dimension to the musical and watching it again was quite exhilarating.
This is the longest running play in Bulawayo and for it to run for two successive years tells the calibre of the act — it is classy and one worth every dollar of the ticket. Maybe the extra life comes from its malleability to suit the current political situation of its running time. The cast too is changing by the day and is buoyed by the amazing talents and push factor of artistes like Musa Sibanda , Agnes Ncube and Lady T. This cast features renowned artist Delma Chiwerera from Harare.
Thursday saw a women in arts workshop and women challenging the status quo workshop. Unfortunately by virtue of being a man I could not attend the two workshops. Bulawayo Theatre played host to two potentially amazing productions Rachel 19 by Victory Siyanqoba and then The Hostel by Umthombo Arts which has an amazing cast featuring seasoned artistes like Zenzo Nyathi , Gift Chakuvinga and Nomvuyiso Mabi among others .
On Friday Intwasa will hold an arts teachers workshop and a visual arts exhibition before shutting down Friday with Comedy night and music at the City Hall Car park.
The shut down show begins with a workshop by Doctor C Tsodzo and is sandwiched with a book launch by Sue Nyathi (The Gold Diggers) which will culminate into the ultimate shut down show dubbed Umcimbi Wabantu featuring Soul Brothers.
Until next week, be safe . . . @nkuenkala 0772214373
Online Reporter