March 14, 2003
By Bongani Majola
REGARDED as Johannesburg's breeding ground for young playwrights, the Windybrow Theatre kicked off its annual Arts Festival this week.
Since its inception as a purely in-house showcase of theatre productions through the festival, the Windybrow, situated in the throes of the inner city, continues to provide the important event on the cultural calendar of Johannesburg.
The festival features participation of theatre companies from as far as Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Belgium, United States, Japan and Cuba.
It opens at the Adcock Ingram with jazz artists Khaya Mahlangu and Prince Lengoasa, as well as the up and coming jazz pianist, Mduduzi Mtshali. Having cut his musical teeth as a keyboard player and pianist on the theatre's production of The Milkbird and Blue Monk respectively, Mtshali looks set to expand his horizons through further exposure and education.
The poetry programme includes a new generation of poets headed by Masoja Msiza. Msiza is a playwright, cartoonist, an actor and a dancer. He has performed in prisons, hospitals, schools, clinics and social gatherings around Johannesburg, sharing a stage with such luminaries as Mutabaruka, Sarah Jones, Mzwakhe Mbuli, Don Mattera and US theatre director Del Hamilton.
Drama productions to be presented at the festival include "Crime Passionel" by Zakes Mofokeng, "Tastes like Strawberries" by Seputla Sebogodi and "Shanty Town", by Mpho Molepo.
Shanty Town is a tragic comedy that reflects the life of squatters in an informal settlement near Soweto. Structured in three phases, the play stars Ramoloa Makhene, Mpho Molepo, Ntokozo Dhlamini and Harriet Lehabe, all proud products of the Windybrow.
The Young Writers Programme features inner-city youth who have found poetry and fiction to be perfect vehicles for self-expression. And they have produced work that is performance-orientated.
The Windybrow Arts Festival runs from March 13 to March 29 at the Windybrow Centre for the Arts. For a programme of daily events, phone the centre on 011 720 0003 or 011 720 7009.
