The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu
ALTHOUGH it ran under the banner of Intwasa last year, this will not be the case again this year with the year end festivities which are set to run simply as Arts Extra.
The Intwasa Arts Extra was hailed for providing alternative entertainment after its first edition, featuring highlights like the main festival’s signature show, Women, Words and Wine and Umkhathi’s play Ihloka.
Against all odds, Intwasa Arts Extra gave art lovers the sort of entertainment that some thought would not be desired by party chasing audiences at the end of the year, confounding expectations with good crowds registered at most of the shows.
To encourage wider participation from other partners this year, one of the organisers of Arts Extra Raisedon Baya said they would be dropping Intwasa from their arts extravaganza’s name.
“This year it will just run as Arts Extra and we’re dropping the Intwasa part. We’re doing this because we want other producers to come on board if they can. If we say it’s the Intwasa Arts Extra some just fold their arms and say this is just an Intwasa thing and there’s no reason for us to be involved. So we’re encouraging everyone that wants to come on board to do so,” Baya said.
Baya said the first edition of Arts Extra had taught them that not everyone wanted to party during the festive season, as some preferred a mellow kind of entertainment.
“Our first lesson from last year was that when people think about the festive season they think of big gigs in stadiums or in pubs. That’s not always the case. Some people want to enjoy with their families and so that sort of environment is not conducive.
“Another thing is that we need to do a tough screening of the artistes that we bring on board. If we’re expecting people to pay for entertainment then it has to be of high quality,” Baya said.
