adminAuxilia Katongomara Entertainment Correspondent
Bulawayo Arts group Iyasa, which has just returned from a six-month tour of Austria, will soon be taking its performance to a higher level by creating theatre productions for audiences of all age groups. The director of the Bulawayo arts group, Nkululeko Dube said their recent tour was an eye opener as they learnt a thing or two from some of the theatre experiences in the European country.
“This was our second longest tour of Austria and this time we did not only concentrate on performance but focused on collaborations.
“We worked with a number of theatre companies during the tour and we learnt a lot which we feel can be introduced to Zimbabwean theatre,” said Dube.
Iyasa has established a fan base in Austria as they have toured the country countless times.
“We need to break new boundaries and we have noted that in Zimbabwe we create a number of productions but we are not sure if they are suitable for school children, teenagers or adults.
“So we are planning on producing theatre works for the whole family. We also learnt about mobile theatre, a bus which can be made into a small stage where short theatre performances are done. We felt it was a brilliant idea for taking theatre to the people,” said the founder member.
He said the group had already started working on a play for two year olds called Sweet Well, Sweet Moon. This is a silent production which uses more images than sound.
“The month of September was dedicated to Zimbabwean arts in Vienna so the groups shared the stage with the likes of Insingizi and our former group member, Future Ndlovu.”
Apart from the theatre experiences in Austria, Iyasa managed to create a Pan African project which will see it joining hands with countries such as Kenya, South Africa and Zambia for theatre productions.
However, on the local scene, Iyasa is fondly known as a dance group as very few of their theatre productions have been showcased in the country.
“Next year we are going to host all productions we have done in Europe. Iyasa is broader than dance but the problem is that we have exported most of our productions,” said Dube.
The group premiered in its new show Sisonke during the tour.
Dube added that their album Africa was well received and would be available on the local market next month.
Iyasa, is short for Inkululeko Yabatsha School of Arts and was founded at Mpopoma High School in 2000.
Online Reporter