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Wakhumbata ploughs on
By
Jack McBrams - 22-01-2003 |
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February 24 this year marks four years since theatre maestro Du Chisiza Jr. died.
But, Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre, the drama group that he founded in 1987, says although his absence is glaringly present, the going has been fine without the legend.
With stage goddess Gertrude Kamkwatira at the helm, Wakhumbata, which retained the best drama group honours for last year, has staged 14 plays and has managed to retain most of the audience that Du built a relationship with over the years.
Explained Kamkwatira:
“From the very beginning, there was scepticism from both the artists that I have worked with and the audience. Even me, I didn’t have the confidence that we would succeed but people encouraged us.
“The biggest challenge was to convince the people that without Du, we could do it, which we have done. The other challenge was to keep up with Du’s standards while in our while at the same time we were cautious of the audience’s approval of our performances without Du. But we have overcome.”
Kamkwatira remarked that since most of the actors and actresses that work with Wakhumbata were mentored by Du, what they do is not any different from what they did when Du was alive.
“What we do now is not any different from what we did with Du. So even our performances are not different. With the support of the people around us and the audience, they have made our journey easy. We have managed to stay at the top which to us is an achievement,” she said.
She added: “We have also managed to cross the borders to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia where our plays have been well received. And there are also many hopefuls when we audition actors for Wakhumbata’s performances which is an indicator that a lot of people want to take part in our plays.”
Nonetheless, Kamkwatira confessed that it cannot be denied that Du’s gap is felt. Reason?
“Du was a great artist, he was an inspiration, someone who had patience especially when it came to teaching people—he gave himself all the way,” she said, “He was humble too.”
And does she think Du is replaceable?
“Of course, no matter what a person can say, whether they got training form overseas or underseas, they cannot replace Du, especially for people like me who worked with him in many productions, I can feel the gap that he left behind,” Kamkwatira, who has taken part in over 60 Wakhumbata productions explained.
“Even when I work with other people and imagine if it could have been Du, I know it could have been done in a different manner. But I soon realise that you cannot push people to do things that they can’t do.”
Kamkwatira, who is the group’s managing and artistic director, disclosed that the Wakhumbata has had no permanent members since Du’s time.
“All along, we have been hiring actors when production is on after which they are free to do anything,” she explained.
But why the familiar faces?
“Because some people snooze around when a production is pending and they are often lucky to be picked up for successive productions.”
And what does she think the future holds for Wakhumbata?
“As of now, no comment!”
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