27 Aug 2009 During the month of September the Southern African Theatre Initiative in partnership with Arts Alive will roll out the Arts Alive Alternative Spaces programme aimed at creating a platform for community theatre practitioners to share and exchange their work.

Launching on the 28th August 2009 at the Afronova Gallery in Newtown, the project converts spaces such as community halls, churches and parks into theatres or professional performance spaces with a stage, lights, sound and other features synonymous with a professional performance theatre.

The project kicks off with performances in Diepsloot Township on the 28th, 29th and 30th August followed by Alexandra on the 4th, 5th, and 6th September;  Soweto on the 11th, 12th, and 13th September and  Orange Farm on the 18th, 19th and 20th September 2009.

In each township, at least 20 productions will audition for a place in the programme, where 5 productions will be selected to showcase their work to a public audience over a weekend in each township.

After the township showcase, one group from each region, i.e., Diepsloot, Alexandra, Soweto and Orange Farm, will be selected to perform at the “Best of the Best” main festival showcasing at the Market Theatre Laboratory on the 25th, 26th and 27th September 2009.

“This is an exciting initiative for township theatre and SATI is very proud to be associated with an initiative that will show-off the hidden talent that can be found in our townships”, says Eugene Marillier-Malotana, Executive Director of the Southern African Theatre Initiative.

The objective of launching the Arts Alive Programme is to revive the once popular culture of township theatre made popular by theatre legends such as Gibson Kente and others who used to perform in spaces such as churches and community halls. This culture of township theatre was very popular in the late 70’s and early 80’, but with the end of apartheid, this culture started fading as black productions were slowly being accepted into mainstream theatres such as The Market, The State Theatre and other previously white and other popular city based theatres.

This phenomenon unfortunately saw a decline in professional theatre being performed in these spaces, depriving township audiences of the good theatre they’d become accustomed to in the 70’s and 80’s.  This initiative aims at reviving this culture and giving township audiences a taste of professional theatre on their doorstep.

Marillier-Malotana added: “This is also a wonderful opportunity for theatre producers to scout for great theatre at the Best of the Best festival, and we hope to see some of these works given an opportunity to be staged on our mainstream theatre stages around Johannesburg and the country”.

As SATI and Zanusi Arts Alive revive township theatre in all the Johannesburg regions, township audiences must brace themselves for a blast of amazing theatre by their own for their own!

For more information, kindly contact SATI at 011- 838 8932 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.