Writer, poet and musician Nomsa Mazwai has announced her departure from Soweto Theatre after five years working as a general manager.
Mazwai, whose last day of her five-year contract was on Friday, says she is looking forward to focusing her energy in building her own initiative called #FunkItImWalking which aims to make it safe for women to walk at any time of day. She walks away from Soweto Theatre with a sense of pride having doubled attendance numbers to the theatre with her team. She managed the facility, leading a team of over 30 people while also making a contribution towards the programming of the theatre.
“It was an honour and a privilege to work at the Soweto Theatre serving the people of Soweto. I was led by two strong women – Xoliswa Nduneni Ngema, my CEO, and Bridget Mashika, my line manager. I grew up as a leader under their stewardship and I will forever be grateful for the contribution they have made in developing me as a leader,” Mazwai said.
She added: “In terms of running the facility, my favourite part was doing the weekly walkabouts around the theatre and monitoring the maintenance of the building. During my time, we planted lawns around our building; as a result, Soweto Theatre really is the diamond of Soweto. In terms of rentals, my favorite rental clients were my sisters. They both brought important performances to the space and paid full price.”
Her older sisters are equaly artistic beings – singer Thandiswa Mazwai, a solo artist and member of popular group Bongo Maffin, and Ntsiki Mazwai who is a poet.
The lawns Nomsa refers to attracted popular outdoor events to the theatre, which further helped market the theatre to locals and visitors to Soweto.
Under her leadership, the Soweto Theatre also strengthened its significance to the Soweto community by staging productions for school setworks. The productions did not only attract school children but parents and other members of the community.
“I worked closely with the community and audience development manager Makhosazana Hlatshwayo to build this programme and while I’ll gladly take the credit, I must be honest, Khosi did most of the heavy lifting.
"Public entities such as the theatre, should strive to assist with nation building. Theatres, I think, make an important contribution to ensuring all learners access learning. Sometimes, a book is easier to understand when seen on stage.”
The outbreak of Convid-19 in the past year denied Mazwai the opportunity to leave with a bang after Soweto Theatre, just like all other arts facilities, experienced closure and restrictions later due to lockdown regulations.
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