Soweto Theatre is gearing up to play host to another exciting season of the Ishashalazi Theatre Festival this December, which is expected to showcase a splendid selection of shows as well as introduce more of theatre’s raw and up-and-coming talent from all over Gauteng.
The festival has in recent years progressively grown into one of the industry’s must-see performance stages for developing theatre and a crucial tool for the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation to nurture the development of artists, script writers and theatre practitioners, and to support developing theatre in the province.
The Ishashalazi Festival will feature 20 top productions that will be staged from 5 to 10 December 2013. The productions were judged to be among the best during auditions that were held in venues from all regions of Gauteng, thereby qualifying them to take part in the 2013/14 season of the festival.
Gauteng Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC Lebogang Maile has expressed delight with the response from young people to the theatre programme, saying: “It has been encouraging to see how many young people are taking advantage of programmes such as the Ishashalazi Theatre initiative, it is through such programmes as these that we will be able to assist talented individuals to take steps towards realizing their dreams and elevate their craft to the next level, we hope to help build a path for these artists to one day perform at the highest level locally and internationally.”
Selected groups are also undergoing training and intensive workshop sessions with industry experts. The best performers during the festival will be rewarded with various awards and prize monies at the annual Ishashalazi Theatre awards to be held early next year; groups also stand a chance to be selected for an all-expenses paid trip and opportunity to participate at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
For media enquiries:
Nomazwe Ntlokwana
Cell: 083 507 8068
Tel: 011 355 2578
E-mail: nomazwen@gpg.gov.za
