Local theatre company to hit Australia and Scotland, yet no funding.
Black Curtain Theatre Movement, a Jozi-based theatre company is set to   showcase their flagship production, "Waiting for Thandiwe" on two major world stages! The play is set in King William's Town a small town in the Eastern Cape. The main character, Lulu, is a young man who studies drama at UCT drama school in Cape Town. He is now home for the holidays and the love of his life, Thandiwe, a well-travelled, cosmopolitan woman (who doesn't speak a stich of his home language, Xhosa) is visiting for the first time.

Lulu is frantic. Thandiwe has never been to King William's Town and he's not sure if what her impression thereof will be. He constantly morphs into varied characters in pursuit of the ideal persona to assume prior to Thandiwe's arrival.

"This play is a slight derivation of my own life experiences, being someone from a small town and having moved away from home to further my studies. I was faced with the stark differences and perhaps part of my inspiration for writing this play was to remove myself from my anxieties through comedy," says Lulama Masimini; writer, director and lead performer of "Waiting for Thandiwe".

Although all the necessary preparations are underway, the major stumbling block at the moment is funding. To date all proposals sent for consideration have been rejected; which is a major problem for a small theatre company that is reliant on arts-focused grants and patronage.

" We have approached some corporates and the Department of Arts and Culture. It's quite disheartening when you get a letter of rejection that does not even highlight what was amiss in the proposal… you do not know how you can in future present an idea or proposal that is in line with their key focus areas, " says producer, Kgauhelo Dube.

The tour kicks off late July in Brisbane, Australia where "Waiting for Thandiwe" is the only African production showcased in the Brisbane Festival's inaugural fringe, Under The Radar. They will then move on to the world's biggest theatre festival, The Edinburgh Fringe festival, where they will have 15 shows throughout August.

"I believe I wrote a play that South Africa can be proud of… now all it needs is a patron that is interested in fresh artistic expression. Theatre companies will only start being sustainable with such support, we are doing this to show the world another face of South Africa and most importantly, to build our credibility as world players in the
arts." concludes Masimini.

For more information contact Kgauhelo Dube This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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