September 9, 2003
By Bongani Majola
CHALLENGING dramas, traditional dances and stirring music will be given space at the Windybrow Centre for the Arts in Hillbrow for the next three weeks, as the Ishashalazi festival takes to the stage.
Launched at the weekend, the Ishashalazi festival is "a celebration of the richness of Johannesburg's unique cultural experience", says Andrew Makhanya of the Gauteng Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture.
The rhythms of traditional dancers Izintombi Zeshashalazi formally opened the Ishashalazi festival on Friday evening, and their rousing performance was followed by Julian Seleke Mokoto's play Mary the Unfaithful Woman. The work investigates the relationships between men and women.
Mokoto's play set the tone for the rest of the festival, with directors and playwrights placing centre stage the issues of the battle of the sexes and of women abuse, and the challenges facing South Africans day-to-day.
Dramas, including Selaelo Maredi's God Will Come, Duma Mnembe's Lubricate, Kibi Nchejana's Taba Ke Mazimba and Calvin Ngqaku's The Sacrifice, are in the festival line-up.
"The festival has grown into one of the most memorable cultural showcases ever presented by Gauteng," says Gauteng Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture director Vuyani Mpofu.
"The festival showcases both development and mainstream theatre and it is a bold step towards the development and promotion of Gauteng theatre," Mpofu adds.
Director and playwright Nomthandazo Hlongwane's Mazibuy'emasisweni also features prominently among the dramas directed by women. Other theatrical works include Bongani Linda's Guilty Yet Free, Thandazile Khanyile's Wangenza Mngani Wami, Thulani Didi's Devils Protest, Matlakala Motaung's The First Travel, Pula Setime's Still My Views, Israel Mokae's Siyashizila Majita and Mahlodi Nape's Mantatise.
The festival ends with Thokoza, musical play investigating the role of women in old times. Written by FNB Vita Award winner Dieketseng Nkosi, the play deals with issue of women abuse and the tests women face in South Africa today.
Hosted by the Gauteng Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, the festival is part of the province's Heritage Month celebrations.
"From the ancient drums and buffalo horns of the great African kingdoms, to the modern global arts trends, Gauteng's arts and culture landscape blossoms with innovation and diversity," says Makhanya.
Click here for a schedule of the Ishashalazi festival.
Contact the Windybrow Centre for the Arts on 011 720 0003/4/9 for more information.
