We are coming to Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal - FEB 2024

Umkhosi Wenala: A Festival of Abundance

Tracking history and re-imagining futures in Northern Zululand.

                 A scene from the theatre production Umkhosi Wenala which is touring Zululand from 10th to 17th February

You are invited to attend a free performance of the acclaimed theatre production Umkhosi Wenala (The Festival of Abundance) an Empatheatre collaboration with Mbazwana Creative Arts (MCA) 

Empatheatre ( www.empatheatre.com) and Mbazwana Creative Arts (MCA) are proud to present a musical production Umkhosi Wenala  which will be touring Zululand from the 10th February to the 17th 2024 after a hugely successful initial run in the Mbazwana region in 2022. The 2024 tour of the production will see it traveling to Mbazwana, Hluhluwe, Nibela and St Lucia.

Well-known television and stage actress Mpume Mthombeni heads up the cast which features a range of young performers from The Mbazwana Creative Arts Programme. The production is directed by award-winning director Neil Coppen with design by Dylan McGarry in collaboration with craftsmen and women from the Sodwana bay region.

The 80 minute musical (told in isiZulu and English) tells the story of two twins, a brother Nkosana and sister Makhosazana who inherit a kingdom after the disappearance of their grandmother, a queen, said to have drowned in the ocean. The two Nkosi’s, destined to rule together, are divided by circumstance and political forces beyond their control. After two decades of betrayal and conflict between their competing kingdoms, the situation further escalates with the arrival of a fence which cuts the communities off from their village and resources and resurfaces past tensions and new resentments. 

Umkhosi Wenala weaves together many relevant moments from the last century of Northern Zululand’s history and uses humor, pathos, satire, puppetry, ritual and song to tell its story.

Umkhosi Wenala is a theatre-making/storytelling project that aims to create an innovative democratic decision-making space for youth in northern KZN, South Africa through the process of restorative public storytelling. Over a period of 18 months the team has been listening to stories of elders, youth and everyone in between in Northern KZN to surface the rich and diverse histories of this region. With the legacies of apartheid many perspectives and histories have been excluded in decision making, and this play aims to re-map these lost histories and memories through the leadership of KZN youth. 

At the conclusion of each performance, audiences are invited to remain behind for a facilitated

conversation and discussion with the performers and creative team.

Umkhosi Wenala  features 13-young theatre-makers and storytellers in the region, and works to mobilize their existing capacities and talents towards democratic governance and social-justice issues arising for them. Specifically entering into a collaboration with  aims to support, nourish and mobilise these capacities with these young activists/artists. The two collaborating organizations Empatheatre and the Mbazwana Creative Arts (MCA)share a combined vision for forging inclusive creative processes and spaces where community artists/writers/musicians and performers are located center-stage of their own stories and histories. 

The production features the talents of Mpume Mthombeni, Sphamandla Mzobe, Dumasani Ngubane, Phindile Gumede, Njabulo Zikhali , Mbali Ntuli, Siphamandla Vusi Mafuleka, Noxolo Thandeka Mlungwana,, Nokubonga Zikhali, Nolwazi Zulu, Thembi Nxumalo, Busisiwe Nxumalo, Nomthandazo Nxumalo. Umkhosi Wenala  was devised and co-created by the award-winning Empatheatre team of Mpume Mthombeni, Dylan McGarry and Neil Coppen in collaboration with Mbazwana Creative Arts members.

Umkhosi Wenala  has been made  possible through generous support from the  Bertha Foundation (Bertha Artivism Award), NAC (National Arts Council), The One Ocean HUB and ACEP DEEP CONNECTIONS project.

The production will be touring ….

FEB 2024

Sat 10th - Mbazwana Arts Centre  (3 PM) 

Sun 11th  -  Nibela - Ntulabakayise Schooll Hall (11 AM & 3 PM) 

Mon 12th -  Hluhluwe  Hluhluwe Primary school ( 5 PM) 

Wed 14th - Mbazwana Arts Centre (12h00) 

Thur 15th - St Lucia Ezemvelo Auditorium (11am & 5pm) 

Sat 17 Manguzi 1 Manguzi Multipurpose Centre - 11am

Entrance to the production is free.

For more information contact Neil on 0837811459 or ncoppen@gmail.com 

To watch a short documentary of the making of the production please visit 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb6pS_fIZH0&ab_channel=Empatheatre

Quotes: 

“The production weaves together many relevant moments from the last century of Northern Zululand’s history, using humor, pathos, satire, puppetry, ritual, and music to tell its story.”  Mpume Mthombeni, Empatheatre co-Founder

“With the legacies of apartheid, many perspectives and histories have been excluded in decision-making.” - Neil Coppen, Empatheatre co-founder

“Feedback from elders, youth, and most importantly young women in our first tour of the play, showed they were deeply engaged and attentive to the nuances found within the story. One young woman remarked that the most unbelievable part of the production was not a mystical coelacanth carrying an ancestor emerging from the sea, but rather a moment in one of the final scenes when a young woman stands up and speaks in a public meeting, as this never happens in real life in her community. She later reflected in a feedback form that watching the lead female protagonist speak her mind had given her the courage to do the same in the post-show discussion”. Dr. Philile Mbata, One Ocean Hub Deputy Director. 

“It’s a rare moment when Indigenous and scientific research works closely together and is led by local people, in the language of that place…”- Dr. Dylan McGarry, Empatheatre co-Founder and Senior Research at the University Currently known as Rhodes