With a career that spans more than 27 years as a creative director, playwright and performer Napo Masheane will be curating her first-ever local festival dubbed HerStory International Theatre Festival.
This legacy work, as she describes it, is a collaborative week-long production between 200 other creatives, 150 of them South African and the rest from 17 countries; these include Madagascar, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Canada.
The festival will launch its first showcase at the Soweto Theatre in August, SA's Women's Month, with the aim of positioning female creatives and their voices in storytelling without being apologetic, says Masheane. “This is such a big festival that aims to amplify the voices of womxn creatives.”
She prefers womxn, a spelling alternative to women which is fast gaining currency and acceptance with individuals and groups advocating for complete independence of womanhood.
And as someone who was born in Soweto, before moving to Qwa-Qwa, she also sees this festival as a homecoming story for her.
“The vision is to amplify the voices of womxn creatives from across the world who have always used their artistic voices to inspire and empower others to evolve, create change and inspire growth within the theatre landscape globally.
"HerStory International Theatre Festival is yet another way to further re-shape and re-mould womxn stories as interpreted by us, for us, with us in them.”
With an inclusive outlook for everyone who identifies as a woman, the festival will feature an array of creatives such as dancers, musicians, poets, comedians, composers and festival curators.
“Our opening theme will be Rising from Trauma. Considering how many creatives, colleagues, family members and friends we have lost in the past two years, coupled with how long platforms like festivals and theatres have been shut – we need a space to exhale.
"We need to rise from that by coming together on one stage in our individual abilities. So this festival offers women, who are always at an disadvantage, a unique space to reclaim their voices through all that we have faced.
“On August 2, it’ll be just South African productions as a teaser of everything to come, and allowing the visitors to watch what we do best as local creatives. I will not be on the stage myself but will be directing the opening night and the return of The Ten Fat Black Women Sing which is the closing production for the theatre section of the festival.”
Masheane emphasises that over and above performing, creatives will be required to give masterclasses where they can impart information and leave a seed for young creatives from the community of Soweto and around Gauteng.
“As someone who grew up watching my mother and grandmother communing with other women, coming from a community of women who would come together to peel [vegetables] and cook, the principle of women coming together to create their own table has always resonated with me.
"That principle has always been strong within the arts that I am not an island and that it takes a whole village to put our stories to the limelight.
“Collaborations, networks, links ... are the best thing to guarantee your sustainability as an artist,” and this festival speaks to that."
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