Feature: Exciting and Raw New Talent on Display at the 12th BAXTER ZABALAZA THEATRE FESTIVAL

On Friday 1 April, the annual BAXTER ZABALAZA THEATRE FESTIVAL kicked off in style. The audience was treated to a snippet of about 20 of the 32 productions that will be showcased over the next week during the festival - and it certainly was a treat. You could feel the excitement of everyone involved as we got to see the raw talent that was ready to take its place as the next generation of theatre makers in South Africa.

The evening started with music and dancing in the Baxter's foyer, followed by a welcome message from the festival curators and producers. Next up, we enjoyed small snippets of the plays that make up this year's festival. There are definitely some intriguing pieces on show this year and I can't wait to see how the productions do when they're on in full.

At the end of the showcase, guest speakers Jennie Reznek and Mark Fleischman stood up to officially open the festival. They used the isiXhosa saying "Akukho ntaka inokubhabha ngephiko elinye" (no bird can fly on one wing) as the foundation of their speech, and it really hit home to me. The pair are so right when they say that theatre is an artform that cannot be created alone - we need our other wings to keep on creating. The support, mentoring and encouragement supplied by the BAXTER ZABALAZA THEATRE FESTIVAL to these young creatives is just that, their second wing to see that their talents fly.

On the topic of supporting these artists and the festival itself, Baxter CEO and artistic director Lara Foot also spoke about the Zabalaza Challenge. The initiative is all about buying tickets in bulk for the performances, which are then donated to those who can't afford to buy for themselves. The challenge is issued to individuals, companies and organisations to buy as many as they can. All the proceeds go back to the artists so that they can produce more work in the future.

The BAXTER ZABALAZA THEATRE FESTIVAL is an incredible initiative and well worth supporting. You'll get to see some exciting new work, and possibly even some future powerhouses in the South African theatre scene. In fact, the last two iterations of the festival produced nominations across eight categories in the recent Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards.

Photo credit: supplied

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The BAXTER ZABALAZA THEATRE FESTIVAL is on at the Baxter Theatre Centre until Friday 8 April, with the awards ceremony on Saturday 9 April. Visit Webtickets to see the full program and to book tickets - only R30 for each performance. If you'd like to assist through the Zabalaza Challenge, click here.

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