On the eve of its 20th anniversary, Mbongeni Ngema's signature hit musical makes its debut in Africa. In mid-December the revival production of Sarafina! travels to Nigeria for a week each in Lagos and then in Abuja.
We haven't toured the continent, it's so sad, remarked Ngema, who has closed a deal with Blue Breed Limited, a Nigerian events company. The producers approached Committed Artists after seeing House of Shaka at Emperors Palace in June.
They said they'd never seen anything like this and wished they could lift the whole stage and House of Shaka just like that to Nigeria. We persuaded them to take Sarafina!, for the simple reason that the music is known all over Africa.
To mark the second decade of its existence, since its creation in 1986 and premiere at The Market Theatre in 1987, and the 30th anniversary of the Soweto 1976 uprisings, Sarafina! will have a run at Emperors Palace from June 1 2006.
This production, which was revived last year as part of the 10 Years of Democracy celebrations, is also heading for London next year.
At the moment Ngema is rehearsing Nikeziwe, a staged concert of a new CD starring 23-year-old Jumaima Julius from Kimberley, who will perform on The Market's main stage with Ngema, who composed the album for her.
Opening night on November 10 also marks the launch of the Committed Artists Music label which recorded Nikeziwe and My Baby, Ngema's own newest CD.
There is a possibility, said Ngema, that next year he would re-unite with Percy Mtwa on stage in a revival of their now classic workshopped play Woza Albert! which they co-created with Barney Simon in the early 1980s.