Jungle Theatre Company in partnership with the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment campaign has developed a new production called How Stories Began based on the retelling of this traditional Zulu folktale by local author Wendy Hartmann.

 How Stories Began will premiere at the Masque Theatre from 29 June to 3 July 2015 between 10h00 and 12h00 daily with a performance and workshop for children 4 years and older.

How Stories Began is set in ancient times on the Wild Coast, before people knew how to tell stories. Manzandaba and Zenzele, a married couple, are two of the first people. They go on an adventure in search of stories that lead to magical creatures under the ocean….... Ntombifuthi Mkhasibe and Vincent Meyburgh bring the story to life in English and isiXhosa with African music, comical characters and masks designed by artist Niel Jonker.

Each performance will be followed by a workshop to give children the opportunity to express the emotions they felt during the show. They will be invited onto the stage to move into the environment of the story, where they can become the characters in the story, sing the songs and dance.

After the workshop, our partner PRAESA, which drives the Nal’ibali campaign, will provide an illustrated and printed version of How Stories Began to the children to take home with them so they can continue to share the magic of the story with their families.

The How Stories Began event will raise funds to take this production on tour to Nal’ibali reading clubs around the Western Cape, inspiring children to read African stories in their mother tongue and building literacy in communities.

Tickets are R70 for the show (45 min) and the subsequent workshop (45 min) is free of charge.

There will be a 15 minute interval between the show and workshop where healthy snacks are available.

For more event info please visit www.jungletheatre.co.za

To book tickets phone: 021 788 1898 or email bookings@masquetheatre.co.za