admin“ALL men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible,” wrote T. E Lawrence.
Yes, big things happen to those who dream big, those whose dreams do not confine them to things that they see but to things that are far and beyond their reach.
Those who have had the chance of watching this year’s Zambezi Express musical, which was held as part of Siyaya Arts Ensemble’s 25th anniversary whose concept was born out of a dream by a village boy to move to the big city where big things happen can testify that time, energy and resources were committed for a worthy cause.
They can as well testify that the brains behind the 10-day musical did not belong to one who waits for the night to sleep and dream but to the dangerous dreamers of the day who act on their dreams with open eyes.
It therefore did not come as an accident — a surprise, neither is it by coincidence that Siyaya Arts’ Zambezi Express has become the next big thing in the Bulawayo arts calendar after Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo, at least according to many who appreciate the arts.
The show was a marvel to watch, it was splendid and very far from the big yawns that the people of Bulawayo are always subjected to by people who think arts lovers are always hungry and do not know quality and some other novice artistes who will be trying their luck in the industry.
And the Intwasa team should work extra hard to put everything in place if they are to remain the best thing in town because naturally people are to use the superb display by the Zambezi Express as a yardstick for quality.
There is no doubt that this year’s musical was bigger, bolder and better than the previous two shows that were held before the show that kicked off in 2010 took some sabbatical.
The show was held at the Bulawayo Theatre and it sold out, with the white community dominating the numbers for the better time of the show.
In an interview, Siyaya Arts Ensemble director Saimon Mambazo Phiri told Sunday Leisure that he was happy with the way things went.
He confirmed that the show sold out although he called for more corporate support in the arts industry.
“It is true that the show sold out. The attendance was really good. I admit that this year’s show was bigger and better than the previous shows although we committed a lot of our own resources into it. The corporate world is still very reluctant to support the arts and it’s just unfortunate even when there are ready brand marketing benefits for them. We therefore bankrolled the show from our own pockets,” he said.
Asked to explain the musical concept, Mambazo said the use of the name Zambezi was two-edged. He said it was Zambezi the river that supplies Africa with water and Zambezi as fictitious train that crosses the river to the big city where there was an assumed better life.
The story he said was of a village boy, a talented soccer player whose dream was to play for the big team in the city — Big City Chiefs.
And when he got to the city it was not as easy as he thought it would be. There were trials and tribulations but he kept the dream and finally made it. The concept was born after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He said the idea was to tell stories from the townships and package them with local dances while at the same time spicing them up with good lighting and quality sound to come up with the right product.
“That the show sold out is a loud testimony that with the right attitude and right product people will always come out in their numbers to support the arts. So I think it’s basically about quality and not personalities. We are planning on embarking on international tours where we will take the musical to Italy and America. We have a lot of pressure from people in Harare but we are worried about the costs especially that there are no ready sponsors,” he said.
The musical is derived from 20 songs but it is the dances, the sound quality, lighting and the general acts that are mouth watering and leave even the hard-to-please and doubting Thomases nodding in approval.
Zambezi Express is just a not to miss show and schools that are into the same arts productions such as Falcon College brought their team to learn a thing or two from one of the most travelled arts groups in the country Siyaya Arts Ensemble.
Online Reporter