Theatre event to celebrate Afro-soul star

Bongani Maseko tional Arts Festival, Nobesuthu Rayi said: “She will be supported with extensive rehearsals in bringing her script to the stage. Ibuhlungu le Ndawo will debut at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda in July 2023. This is an important theatrical showcase that acts as a springboard for new talent and shines a spotlight on a new voice in South African scriptwriting. We hope her work will be picked up by producers with a view to staging it across the country so it can be shared widely with South African audiences.”

Busa Music and Joburg Theatre will present a Decade Celebration event with Brenda Mtambo, celebrating her decade in the music industry on 7 and 8 December.

After runs she had at Joburg Theatre doing projects including the Jozi Food Saturdays music that kept the theatre alive during the lockdown, she is back to transport patrons through the power of music.

Marketing manager of the Distell corporate brand, Phumza Rengqe said: “We are a long-time supporter of the performing arts and understand the importance of nourishing new voices and providing an enabling environment for them to flourish. We believe that to advance playwriting talent is an important step towards enhancing our ability as South Africans to better relate to each other.”

Mama said she has found the initial mentorship offered by the award organisers to be an important way of becoming acquainted with the theatre way of storytelling, helping her to learn and think like a playwright and a theatre maker. It has also instilled the discipline of working to a deadline, she adds.

Monageng Motshabi who served as co-ordinator of the judges and matched the finalists with their mentors, is a theatrical and TV script writer and director. This year’s judges were scriptwriter, actor and festival director, Themba Mkhoma; Namatshego Khutsoane, an arts activist; and Kgafela oa Magogodi, a writer, musician, playwright and stage director. Creative Feel

Mtambo will be telling stories through her musical works. Diversity comes naturally to her, as she wants to speak not only to Africa but the world. A thread of African soul and jazz makes its way into the sounds, which allows variety in her writing.

Mtambo has one of the most powerful and soulful voices in the world. At the tender age of five years she began belting out notes and spent her teens singing choral music, and never looked back from there.

After initiating a music project called Sisters of Joy, she joined multi award winning gospel group Joyous Celebration, with whom she recorded and toured Africa. She then released her debut album titled Inspired in 2013, which gained great reviews.

She has performed in many festivals and events such as the annual Jazz on the Lake for Joburg Art Festival, the

Feather Awards, Basadi in Music Awards and the Durban Jazz Festival.

The remarkable track Ixesha Lami is Mtambo’s first single off her album So Much More. It reflects on an unhealthy relationship, which she dared to walk away from.

Not just an anthem for women, this is a song for everyone who just had enough of something that has been working against their joy.

The album includes songs such as Busezweni, Ungayeki and Themba Njalo. All of these are currently being played in high rotation on national radio stations. So Much More is a departure from Mtambo’s gospel roots, allowing her to express her distinctive Afro-soul voice.