The Sunday News
Ntombiyolwandle Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
IYASA is arguably the most travelled arts group in Zimbabwe and have always made it a point to raise the country’s flag high through their dazzling acts.
They have bagged multiple awards through their remarkable talent and on the international stage; they have proved to be a cut above the rest. Next month Iyasa will mark its 14th annual tour since 2002. However, very few people are familiar with the man who introduced Iyasa to Europe.
The man in question, Stephan Rabl (49), a renowned director of Austrian children’s theatre Dschungel Wien, spoke to Sunday Life about how he came into contact with the reputable dance outfit.
“I met Iyasa in Harare at a special festival that focused on young audiences in 2001 where I was the only international guest,” said Rabl.
This is where he said ties were created.
“While there I felt that I needed to invite one company to one of my festivals in Vienna of which I got Iyasa. I then invited them for their first ever European tour in 2002. That was the beginning of our relationship, till to date, as I have made sure that they come to Europe to showcase their beautiful arts skills,” he said.
Rabl said the idea to take Iyasa on board was motivated by his interest to bringing arts from different parts of the world, particularly Africa under one roof.
“I was interested in bringing together various theatre performances not only in festivals but also schools and theatre clubs. I was also interested in bringing people from all over Africa with their African background to tell their true story through art,” said Rabl.
Iyasa has extensively toured Europe, showcasing their traditional skills and have also managed to collaborate with foreign artistes on different productions.
“We have been making productions with Iyasa and our first production was called African Fairy Tales, which is a childhood story and I had to visit Bulawayo trying to find how people here live. After it was done we took it to many countries and it was a success,” he said.
Rabl, who is presently in Bulawayo working on another project with Iyasa, said he would forever cherish the relationship he has with Iyasa.
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Iyasa has made good collaboration with some groups from Vienna but now are working on a new project titled Farm House, which depicts the life of a farm boy,” he said.
Rabl, who is the director of the production, said he was inspired and motivated to work on the new production by the fact that he grew up on a farm.
“I was born on a farm and spent a lot of my time there and I fully understand how life is on a farm. Now we want to bring together a story about life there, as you know that life on a farm is the same all over the world,” Rabl said.
The production, which will be made up of a cast of 10 members — all drawn from Iyasa, will premiere on 24 March this year in Austria. The group is set to embark on its annual tour of Europe on 15 March.
“I am a theatre director in Vienna, Austria, I run a theatre house for young audiences and it is a huge arts complex in Vienna, one of the largest in the world. We have dance theatre, music theatre and we have about 80 000 visitors per year.
“My theatre house accommodates artistes as young as two years old to older age groups. We specialise in contemporary arts. What I believe is that if you make a very good production for kids that same production, will equally be appealing to adults,” he said.
Rabl said he has been running his theatre house Dschungel Wien in Austria for the past 12 years and has conducted numerous international festivals for the past 25 years from the time he was 24.
“I started hosting festivals when I was 24-years-old and it has been quite a long journey. I have conducted 50 international festivals in and outside Austria and have been travelling a lot all over the world trying to invite people to the festivals,” he said.
