KWATHI KE KALOKU
Kwathi ke Kaloku (Once Upon a Time) is a children’s stage production that ran in September 2017 in Cape Town. It celebrated traditional Xhosa storytelling with indigenous music created by award-winning author and storyteller, Sindiwe Magona, and acclaimed traditional South African musician, Bongani Sotshononda and his United Nations of Africa band.
The production combines storytelling, physical theatre, music and song and its purpose is to create healthy, free entertainment for children aged 6-13 years from underserved communities, who do not enjoy an abundance of educational programmes or creative resources presented in their mother tongue.
Kwathi ke Kaloku entertains and educates through the power of imagination and in turn preserves and documents the rich Xhosa tradition of storytelling, as well as the wealth of indigenous Xhosa songs.
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Production Reach.
1450 audience members
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Impact.
18 jobs created including directors, producers, actors, musicians, sound engineer, costume designer, publicist.
“Just as no child in the world should ever be denied the citizenship of the country of her birth, no child should ever be denied or deprived of the privilege of their mother tongue.”
- Dr Sindiwe Magona, award-winning Author & Activist
Performer engaging with audience members during live show ©CTMA
Children attending live performance of Kwathi Ke Kaloku ©CTMA
Performers of the Kwathi Ke Kaloku production ©CTMA