ONE STEP PRODUCTIONS CC
- TICKET PRICE: R50.00
- DURATION: 1hr 55mins
- AGE RECOMMENDATION: PG
- GENRE: Musical Theatre
- LANGUAGE: English with SeTswana, IsiZulu and IsiXhosa
- Watch Link: nationalartsfestival
Umshado tells the story of a young man s journey from the village of Moruleng in Rustenburg to Mamelodi in Pretoria.The play opens during a ceremonial preparation for his entrance into manhood and it captures this initiation – Rite of Passage. Confronted by the traditional practice of Lobola, the young man, as many before him, has to leave his village to find work in the city. On arriving in Mamelodi he becomes a bricklayer. Here for the first time he makes contact with people of other races, cultures, traditions and languages.He is amazed by the ability of this people from various cultures to work productively together. He learns about their music and enjoys a repertoire of performance styles that carries strong and rich traditional melodies.He eventually falls in love with a Zulu domestic worker. Traditionally he arranges with his elders to go to negotiate and offer lobola on his behalf. The bride’s father becomes adamant that he will not allow his Zulu daughter to wed a Tswana. Eventually Emissaries settle the dispute and manage to unite the two families. Their wedding becomes a celebration displaying the various cultures and capturing the magic of Africans which is social cohesion.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Bogosi Bolokwe: Creative Director , script and designer
Eddie Mathiba: Musical Director and Composer
Lennox Sibisi: Choreographer
Gladman Balintulo: Sound Designer
Source: Website – National Arts Festival
