01 Sep 2016

Gaborone International Music Culture Week (GIMC) yesterday at Westwood brought in a night of steaming theatre performance presenting a play of the first President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama.

Award winning Donald Molosi performed an exciting and yet engaging solo as he played his Blue, Black and White production.
Blue, Black and White is about Botswana's first democratically elected President, Sir Seretse Khama who got married to a white  woman, Ruth Williams, while he was still a student, attracting a lot of resistance and criticism  in both Britain and Africa.

Britain and South Aftrica then exerted pressure to have Seretse Khama’s tribal title removed, which they eventually managed to do.
Things  fall into place when Botswana gained independence in 1966 when he became the new country’s president.

In the play, Molosi blends a bit of aesthetic experimentation and appealing storytelling, creating a heartwarming and relatable story.

The award-winning play is a one-man show in Botswana’s history, which explores the powerful interracial love story at the heart of Botswana’s political history.

The award winning and classically trained actor staged and performed his play to the delight of many who attended the show.

The other two segments of solo plays also included A woman of Many Firsts, played by Moletedi Ntseme who tracks Dr Gaositwe Chiepe from childhood stage in her village, Serowe, through her career in education, administration, diplomatic service, politics and right up to her retirement.

It shows the perceptions and challenges which she was able to overcome, as a woman working in a male dominated work industry, an excellent testimony that indeed perseverance pays.

The last play, Morwa – the rising sun, is a thought inciting powerful theatre piece written and performed by the young actor, Tefo Paya. Paya sadly portrays a Motswana young man on his journey into manhood.

The story is based on his personal experiences as he comes to grips with the challenges faced by young men in Africa. ENDS