Raisedon Baya on mission to revive reading culture

The Chronicle

Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
INTWASA Arts Festival koBulawayo director Raisedon Baya has reiterated his love for local content and has been encouraging locals to join him in improving the reading culture.

Baya, a multi-award-winning playwright in his own right, believes that cultivating the reading culture among locals is critical in buttressing the social fabric.

The Shut Your Eyes and Run author shared his reading culture opinions with Chronicle Showbiz.

“We actually need to make a conscious effort to encourage young people to read. If you don’t read at a young age, it’ll be difficult to start reading when you’re old. We must catch them young,” he said.

This comes after Baya has been encouraging people on social media to attend the launch of two plays by Richard Ndlovu and veteran actor Memory Kumbota.

“This is a double bill. Launching two plays on the same day, venue, and time. The Legend of a Black Heroine is a play about fighting for freedom and the part played by women.

It’s based on the collapsed legends of Nehanda, Lozikeyi and other spiritual women that were at the forefront of fighting for the liberation of their people.

The play mixes three generations of actors and features the likes of Zenzo Nyathi, Lady Tshawe, Charmaine Mudau, Musa Sibanda, and the able and award-winning Umkhathi cast.

This is a collaborative effort between Intwasa Arts Festival and Umkhathi. The show is directed by veteran artiste Memory Kumbota.

“The dance piece was conceived and choreographed by Richard Ndlovu. It is a provocative piece about family and how a man, father, plays the provider role.

There is an obvious link between literary arts and performing arts. Both tell stories. Both want active spectators. However, the beauty of performing arts is that you enjoy the performances as a group. And this allows socialisation and even interaction with the actors,” said Baya.

He went on to state that the launch of the Intwasa Short Stories anthology would be held in March so as to coincide with Intwasa’s Book Festival.

The Intwasa director also underscored the need for veteran creatives to help budding ones just like he has been doing for the up-and-coming author, Grace Maguri.

“It’s very important. We need each other. But more importantly, writers will only thrive where there’s a proper reading culture.

Readers must read many writers’ works, not just their friends’ or relatives’. That’s why I’m always pushing other writers too,” he said. – @eMKlass_49

Article Source: The Chronicle

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