“KOLOBEJA” created with the young in mind

By Nelson Mapako

Year by year Intwasa Arts Festival ko Bulawayo continues to cater for the needs of the school going audiences. Meeting the needs of the festival’s young audience has now developed to being a norm and one of the visible priorities in programming the festival’s events. This year for the young audiences, patrons will witness an introduction of our traditional heritage of storytelling to the now popular Live literature project as well as the Plan High Schools Drama Competitions.

Dubbed Kolobeja the presentation is a variety of mesmerizing tales inherited from our forefathers and brought to life by the Schools Playwrights and Actors Academy (SPAA) of Nhimbe Trust as well as the renowned community theatre group Bambelela Arts Ensemble.

While this presentation is targeting the pre and primary school kids it is suitable for all age groups especially for those who want to relieve the art of storytelling and trigger those old memories when we used to sit by the bonfire at night with our grannies keeping as awake with beautifully crafted tales well into the middle of the night.

The definition of proper theatre for children is when we have theatre being done by children for children. Children play a core role in creating stories as well as presenting them to their peers and adults. Kolobeja by SPAA is one production that can best be described as child centered.  Young people get into the shoes of our grannies and astonishingly narrate the orature with eloquence and clarity. The tone, tempo and twists of the story will startle the always eager young ones and keep the elderly on the edge of their seats.

Sharing the stage with SPAA will be Bambelela Arts Ensemble a tried and tested community theatre group that has survived through the years when most community theatre groups collapsed or switched over to dance which has a bigger ready market.  Bambelela has stuck to their identity of community theatre and one of the arts genres that they have pursued with some excellence is story telling.

The cast consist of seasoned artists who some of them are naturally comedians while others have mastered the craft of an orator such that one is left asking for more. The fusion of narration, dramatization and song in communication adds value to Bambelela  Arts’ presentation. The ensemble has a vast experience working with pre- schools and primary schools and they know what exactly to offer to their audiences.

Make a date on Wednesday 25^th September and on Friday the 27^th of September. The show starts at 10AM on both days at the Bulawayo Theatre.