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Showbiz Reporter
THE much anticipated Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo kicked off on a high note yesterday with the play Lion and the Jewel commanding a full house at Bulawayo Theatre. The festival will be officially launched today at the Large City Hall car park with groups including Siyaya, Bambelela, Ezimnyama Dance Troupe and Amakhosi Centre for Development set to perform.

Lion and the Jewel was performed twice yesterday by the Centre for Talent Development, a vibrant young group of Bulawayo actors whose acting kept the crowd alive. The play by the Nigerian Akinwande Oluwole “Wole” Soyinka drew more than 350 students from Amhlophe High School, Emganwini High School, Eastview High School, Northlea High School and David Livingstone High School.

Speaking to Chronicle Showbiz after the performance, play director Thabani Moyo said he was delighted by the high turnout from students who came to witness the epic play.
He said a well-trained cast had been used to deliver the play as they wanted to help students understand the play. “The play has been showing at Intwasa Arts Festival since 2010 and is meant to give students a theatrical experience. Most students who are studying literature in schools have not seen the plays that they are doing in their literature studies.
“When students see the characters on stage they will understand the plays better; they will recall when they finally write examinations,” he said.

The hilarious satire in the play juxtaposes modernisation against African culture and shows how the continent’s culture has been corrupted by foreign influences.
Other theatre productions to look out for at Intwasa include The importance of being ernest, Mbiko kaMadlenya and For Generations. The Intwasa festival action continues today with Plan High Schools Drama finals being held at Bulawayo Theatre at 9AM followed by Jason Mphepo’s A Thousand Miles.

The main event of the day, the official opening, will close the day’s activities on the Chibuku Stage.