Theatrical fairy tales come true in Khayelitsha

The Khayelitsha Theatre Street Festival, brainchild of the Fairy Tales Organisation, hit the streets of Harare on 22 March.

“We wanted to take theatre out of community halls and theatres and to the streets,” says Fairy Tales’ member Zimasa May.

First up was the Thabang Cultural Dance group made up of children from around Khayelitsha. It was an electric performance in the middle of the Harare Hubspace with the community cheering and singing along.

The second act was a monologue by Khayalethu Anthony, sharing the story of a young man who grew up in an unstable home with various father figures.

“The story highlights the struggles young men face when they are raised by single parents and how it affects them finding their character as a man,” said Anthony.

“I would have loved to see more artists here. Maybe the event was not marketed well or maybe it’s the pride amongst artists”, said Anthony, who has been acting for 15 years.

A piece performed by Divine Productions in front of the Harare Library explored the situation some women find themselves in. Thandi Wona, Nozuko Xorile and Zukiswa Xorile played the roles of young women in prison. All three are in prison after abuse by uncles or abuse by partners has led to them murdering their abusers.

“The piece is there to show the reasons some women end up in all sorts of situations. It is also there to alert women in similar situations to leave before they also end up in prison or worse,” said actress Thandi Wona.

Next, a performance of clowning by Unima had the crowd in stitches. In a humorous way it highlighted the dangers of substance abuse.

Photo by Dumisani Dabadini.

“Unima is a puppetry organisation. We have recently introduced clowning in our acts,” said actress Siphokazi Mpofu.

The festival closed with TDM, all the way from Paarl. In an open field in Harare, they presented an entertaining piece of puppetry also about substance abuse. The main character, Thando, suddenly changes when he falls under the influence of drug user uncle whom he has always looked up to. Thando ends up as a thug to support his addiction. The puppetry certainly appealed to the young crowd.

The organisers were happy with the turnout for the first edition, though they wished there were more artists participating in the festival.

“The concept of the Street Festival was motivated by the protest theatre march we did from Site C to Khayelitsha Mall in 2011,” says May.

African Tales hopes to grow the Khayelitsha Street Theatre Festival, but it will not be possible on the current limited resources. “We struggle financially to have everything we want because of the costs, as we have to transport artists, feed them and all the other expenses,” says May. The organisation will be sending out dates of the next edition of the festival as soon as it is confirmed.