


Mbuzeni is a magical realism play created and performed by black women theatre-makers from Cape Town, South Africa.
Mbuzeni has been invited to showcase at the prestigious Edinburgh International Children’s Festival taking place 27 May – 2 June in Scotland.
WHO ARE WE?
We are five young, black independent women theatre practitioners living and making theatre in Cape Town.
Mbuzeni is our first production as a collective.
ABOUT MBUZENI
MBUZENI is a play about four girl orphans and their fixation with burials. The play is performed in isiXhosa and told through physical theatre, imagery, song and poetic text.
It was created specifically for girls aged 17-25 years old and aims to shift and challenge the stereotypical representations of the contemporary South African black female narrative on stage and in playwriting.
MBUZENI has been read at the Assitej African Youth Theatre and Dance Festival in 2015. The director, Koleka Putuma was one of 5 South African playwrights selected to develop their play further at the New Visions/New Voices week-long biennial workshop/festival at the University of Maryland and Kennedy Centre in Washington DC in 2016.
MBUZENI has recently showcased the Assitej Cradle of Creativity International Festival, At the Artscape Theatre in 2017.
Scotland will be Mbuzeni’s first fully staged international debut.
WHY SHOULD YOU SUPPORT MBUZENI?
Currently, most government funding for the arts is minimal or has been cut significantly, which makes finding funding and creating work in South Africa incredibly difficult, particularly if you are an independent artist who self-funds their work. Supporting Mbuzeni would not only help us with production costs but also ensure we get to Scotland and represent the South African theatre for young audience’s industry.
We have been given 50% funding by the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival and we need to raise the rest for flights, visas, and insurance.
Thanking you in advance.