BY SHARON SIBINDI
SUNDUZA Dance Theatre says it feels honoured to take part for the first time in this year’s Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo slated for September 24 to 29.
At the festival, the group will present its trending production, The Adventures of Robert Moffat, which focuses on the arrival of Scottish pioneer missionary Moffat in Zimbabwe and Matabeleland in particular.
The group will have its debut performance on September 29 at the Bulawayo Theatre after participating at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in Eastern Cape, South Africa recently.
The Adventures of Robert Moffat reflects on the life of the Scottish missionary and his attempts at converting Mzilikazi to Christianity. It’s based on a review of the Diaries of Robert Moffat, adapted for the stage by the late Mandla Sibanda.
“It is a great honour that we are going to stage our production during this year’s Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo. We are so excited to be part of it and we hope to gain synergies through the festival,” said Sunduza director Charles Banda.
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“Our works and efforts in theatre performance have grown in a positive way to attract an invitation to such a big and great festival.”
Banda said it has been their wish to take part at the fete but they were turned down in previous shows as they could not meet set standards.
“It has always been our wish to be part of it but our applications in the previous years were not accepted. We look forward to gaining exposure, experience and more opportunities,” he said.
Leeroy Sibanda, a member of the group, said the outfit will mark 35 years of touring next year and will launch its Singing for Change music book with over 130 pages of Sunduza music and traditional songs, which will be made available to university music departments worldwide.