The Soweto Theatre is set to honour and celebrate the legacy of Gibson Kente for his immense contribution to the arts and theatre industry.
The theatre giant will be honoured with the renaming of the Soweto Theatre’s The Red Theatre to Gibson Kente Theatre (Auditorium) on February 26.
The historical renaming will include an inaugural annual Gibson Kente Lecture and Gibson Kente curated gallery that is dedicated to the memory of the playwright.
“‘We are so delighted with this honour , given to this prolific writer and director,” Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema, the chief executive officer of Joburg City Theatres, said.
“His footprints are visible everywhere, there is a litany of stars that were trained by this iconic man of words. He had buckets of generosity, was able to mentor the young and helped so many to hone their voices.”
Kente will be honoured by a musical tribute featuring a star-studded line-up including renowned South African performers Dieketseng Mnisi, Hlengiwe Dlamini and Gugu Shezi.
They will be accompanied by a 4-piece band directed by music director, arranger, producer and violinist Tshepo Mngoma.
This musical programme will also feature the Soweto Theatre Youth Orchestra playing “some of the finest show-tunes” that were composed by “Bra Gib“ and will incorporate selected acts from Kente’s famous plays with more of his popular music.
“This will showcase carefully constructed melodies, spectacular instrumentals and thoroughly constructed lyrics evoking memories of the times and life of ‘Bra Gib’, simply taking us down memory lane,” the press statement on the event reads.
Best known as the “Father of black theatre”, Kente made township theatre popular and attracted international audiences during the apartheid era, using it as a form of expression during a time when black people were subject to oppression with no human rights.
In the 1960s he started a theatre company and become the founding father of “Township Theatre” where he produced some of his notable work at the time, such as “Manana, The Jazz Prophet”, “Sikalo, How Long - in the 1970s”, which referenced the Soweto Uprising, and a musical in the late 1980s called “Sekunjalo”.
His musicals were a break from township life which became an inspiration for a generation of artists who followed, including Peter Se-Puma, Sello Maake Ka Ncube, Mbongeni Ngema, and the late Brenda Fassie.
Before his untimely passing in 2004, It is estimated that Kente trained about 400 artists and produced about 23 plays and three television dramas between 1963 and 1992.
His impact on many black South Africans during apartheid and post-apartheid will always play a crucial role in the country’s painful history.
The curated Gibson Kente Gallery will be exclusively open for media previews from February 20 and the official renaming ceremony is on February 26 at Soweto Theatre.