Our audiences were predominantly French-speaking children (only 20% of the population speaks English) so we were concermed that with Snake Magic being in English, that some of the children may not understand the words of the narrative. I was delighted to be proven wrong. During one of our performances, the children became so emotionally engaged with the story that when Nikiwe runs from her village hurt and scared, many of the childen stood up and told her how very sorry they were and some even gave her fruit and snacks to help her on her journey. It brought tears to my eyes that in a country where poverty surrounds everybody, such generosity exists. Other highlights were meeting and interacting with other festival delegates, as well as hearing their responses to our piece, which has allowed the play to develop further in an exciting way. We, the cast of Snake Magic are a group of people from very different backgrounds and cultures – this sometimes led to misunderstandings – I believe that during our time in Cameroon we have started to be more honest with one another and that it was the beginning of a deepening of relationships and understanding.
Année : 2008
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Snake Magic, An African Musical based on an ancient African Folk Tale produced by MORE children’s theatre was performed at the African Theatre Festival for Children and Young People (7th-14th November) in Yaounde, Cameroon. Snake Magic provides children and young people with a reflection on many of the issues that they are faced with on a daily basis, some of these being : gender issues, bullying and physical abuse. It equally hopes to inspire respect within children through highlighting the value of their environment, ‘mother earth’ and the value of being kind, honest and caring within our family and our community. The Manager of FATEJ, Etoundi Zeyang suggested that we approach AMA for our travel funds.
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Type de projet
Départ: Cape Town, South Africa (Southern Africa)
Destination : Yaounde, Cameroon (Central Africa)