AMAZA to Help Prepare Learners for Exams at the Artscape Theatre

Cape Town learners will be highly prepared when stepping into the exam room in June, following the return of the Grade 11 and 12 isiXhosa set-work play, AMAZA, an Artscape youth development skills production at the Artscape Theatre. Endorsed by the Western Cape Education Department and support from the HCI Foundation, AMAZA forms part of the Artscape educational youth development programme that aims to promote social cohesion, good citizenship and empowerment through the arts.

The high quality production, by Z.S. Qangule, is in its sixth consecutive season and will allow learners to have the opportunity to experience the play in their own language and further equip them with essential skills to become performers. The two-hour play, brought to life by a cast of 17 actors, will once again be presented as a full stage production that will also appeal to the general public.

Directed by Thokozile Ntshinga, AMAZA is a thriller set in a rural village in the Transkei. A police detective stationed in Port Elizabeth is investigating a private and personal matter. This case takes him back to the village from which he and the woman he married came. His visit there coincides with the double funeral of a couple that were mysteriously murdered in Johannesburg. Adultery, deceit and lies are just some of the ingredients of this intriguing tale. His investigation takes him to Johannesburg, then to Swaziland and back to Port Elizabeth. As he is trying to solve the mystery, he stumbles across the evidence he was looking for in the first place.

The Chief Executive Officer for Artscape Theatre, Marlene Le Roux, comments on the produciton:

The purpose of the educational programme is to assist Grade 11 and 12 learners academically by presenting plays which are taught as literature on a theatre stage, therefore putting it in its intended setting. We will also be introducing learners to theatre and drama production of a high quality, thereby building the audience of the future.

Performances of AMAZA take place between 18 May and 2 June, with performances taking place at 10:30 and 14:00. For a complete production schedule and information on ticket bookings, at R40.00 per person, contact Artscape School Liaison Unit Manager Sedrico Husselman on 021 410 9927. Bookings can also be made through Computicket.