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has again been shelved, this time due to financial problems.
The project has been plagued by problems since the death of one of its lead characters, Givens Dube, in December. Dube’s death meant all episodes that had already been shot had to be re-done, a development the producers were not financially ready for.
In an interview, director Cont Mhlanga said production had come to a standstill as they had failed to come up with the funds to reshoot the scenes that had already been done, hence the show’s long layoff.
“The death of Dube really affected the project because it meant that we had to do again all those episodes that had already been shot. So far we have failed to come up with sponsors willing to help us with the project but that may soon change as we are already in talks with people who seem keen to come on board with us,” he said.
Mhlanga said they were working under pressure from the national broadcaster, ZBC, who wanted to flight the show as soon as possible. He said the show would likely be aired during the broadcaster’s mid season or at the start of the next.
“We have been under pressure from ZBC who wanted to know how far we were with the project because we have been putting it off for some time. We are working flat out to get everything in order so we can have the show up and running before the end of this season or the start of the next one,” he said.
Mhlanga said the national broadcaster was also keen on flighting Amakhosi’s flagship theatre project, Theatre on Sundays. He said that this was a great move that could lead to the revival of television viewership in the country.
“ZBC has proposed to air episodes of some of the plays we showcase on Theatre on Sundays which will be great for us in terms of audience building. The reason why I think that TV viewership has died is because we allowed theatre to crumble. Theatre is the basis of tv so I think this is potentially a good move for both Amakhosi and ZBC,” he said.
The availability of plays good enough to be shown on tv and the costs of production were the only challenges in the way of Amakhosi getting plays on Sunday to be aired on national television.
“The challenge now is for young playwrights out there to give us material that is of an appropriate standard for television consumption. Another challenge we face is in the costs associated with the production of the show but I think we can solve this problem if we can get a small budget just for this project. This and fixing Nyami Nyami are Amakhosi’s main objectives for now,” he said.
Online Reporter