Intwasa 2016 hits and misses

Nkululeko Nkala

GOOD and negative things have been said about the recently ended Intwasa Festival koBulawayo but it wonaï¿½ï¿½t be fair if I donaï¿½ï¿½t add my two cents opinion too.

Lack of Funding- Because of the current economic situation most partners from previous years did not come through for the festival. New ones also faced the same challenges like the previous partners.

There was little to go on with for a festival with budgets going past $100 000 and only having a fifth of the budget to work with for the six-day festival. This adversely affected the festival programming, meaning there would be no growth in terms of quality from the previous year.

Bayethe Concert entrance- Intwasa shutdown concert was by local artists only. Over the years we have had Sulumani Chimbetu and Winky D closing down the festival. This year we deliberately settled for local acts and it worked out well. The City Hall was packed. We had not planned for the congestion, which led to a stampede at the entrance. Also we had not planned a separate entrance for artists meaning they were caught in long queues and unnecessary scuffles at the door.

Shakespeare Exhibition aï¿½ï¿½ This year is Shakespeareaï¿½ï¿½s 400th year anniversary. It was exciting that Intwasa in collaboration with British Council planned something to celebrate the life of an icon and his works. But I think the exhibition was far from hitting the high notes. The visual arts works did not quite tell or do justice to a legendaï¿½ï¿½s works. I was amazed though by a performance by Gallery director Vote Thebe. He surely showed many how to do a top class performance.

Eve Kawadza aï¿½ï¿½ Itaï¿½ï¿½s not every day that you see an artist like Eve. She was part of Women Wine and Words alongside a star-studded line-up which also featured Lady T and Nkwali among others. She took to the stage like the pro she is, had us eating out of her palm. Her control of the audience is amazing. Her voice out of this world. She is the kind of artist you donaï¿½ï¿½t want to come before or after. She just changes the whole game. For me one of the best Intwasa moments was watching Eve Kawadza.

Comedy aï¿½ï¿½ Comedy has become a permanent fixture when it comes to festival programming. In recent years we have had people complain about dirty jokes and poor comedy. This year it was all different. The acts were up to standard.

All of them from Babongile the host, GonyethiAï¿½ , Ntando , Doc Vikela and Q the Boss. Clean intelligent comedy was on offer. The capacity crowd loved every bit of it.

G2G aï¿½ï¿½ I deliberately separated this group from any one particular event. They were the band that plays for Gugothandayo. They asked to open for the Jazz concert and we reluctantly gave them a slot. Boy were they good! The four-piece outfit kept people off their seats, churning hit after hit and taking to the stage with such energy and class. I would not mind watching them again at Intwasa 2017.

Ingwebu Main Stage featuring Andy Muridzo vs Clement Magwaza and Youth Competition -This stage came in on the last minute. We had already cancelled the stage because of lack of funding until a last minute injection by Ingwebu made it possible. It is the face of the festival; it just happening is a plus. Magwaza and Andy Muridzo did not disappoint. I also saw an amazing piece called Shirati, they were eventual winners of the youth competition.Aï¿½ It made Intwasa 2016 amazing.

Bayethe Concert, Ramsey Kasawaya and Mzoe 7 aï¿½ï¿½ The Bayethe concert was the festivals shutdown show. The audiences were impressive. We really filled up City Hall with nothing but local acts. Ramsey Kasawaya though playing covers showed that he is an entertainer par excellence. Mzoe 7 also proved he is one to watch out for in the future. Most acts in the night stood their own.Though a few elements overstayed on the stage and some were evidently drunk, it was a super event. Until next week, be safeaï¿½ï¿½