Peter Makurube Steve Biko, the action man of black consciousness, inspired a whole generation of strong, intelligent people who are now giving much to the development of the country. Playwright Matsemela Manaka is one of them, a tireless worker in the townships, where the brain-drain has left a huge gap in the community.
He toils there because people live there, more people than in the city with its bright lights, cold pavements and even colder hearts. “It is important for those who have moved out of the townships to make an effort to remain part of their roots. Many have since abandoned their folks,” says Manaka.
He opened the first gallery in Soweto, and has now taken his ideas further, opening the ghetto’s first real theatre, the Calabash Heritage Theatre. It is at the famed Club 707 Centre, a stone’s throw away from Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela’s old houses. This venue was built more than 10 years ago and became home to Soweto entertainment.
It is good that someone like Manaka is operating his own production house in his own theatre. It is more than just a business, it’s an investment in people. The potential for theatre in the townships is vast.
It is good that kids who have an interest in theatre can hop into a taxi and enjoy themselves in their own backyard. Many are within walking distance of the centre.
Manaka intends working with anyone who believes they’ve got what it takes – playwrights, actors or backroom specialists. Workshops will be given plenty of space and time, to fine-tune raw talent. Yet he is determined not to make the “mistake that many have made by concentrating on the youth. Everything seems to revolve around the youth in this country. What do they know about culture?”
Manaka feels there’s a “need for regeneration in our society”. During a long stay in Harlem, New York, in the United States, he learned about the need for professionals to “give back” to the people in the ghettoes. The poet Amiri Baraka is working to stop his former nieghbourhood rotting away. “Amiri’s house is the meeting place for progressive kids and adults, who work for the preservation and development of the ‘hood and its culture,” he says.
The Calabash is run by Rich Nzimande, himself an accomplished actor and broadcaster. He is a Sowetan through and through and has a long history of working with the youth and adults in the township.
The Calabash will cater for the whole township. “This is where the youth are going to learn from the old; where the respect between the generations will be revived through the arts,” says Manaka.
And without government or corporate assistance. “My attitude has always been ‘Do your thing’; take time to develop and nurture it. If someone wishes to finance the theatre in the future, they can. Now we push on our own.”