There were
three of them,
two black
men
and a
Flemish theatre producer.
We met each
other
On a sunny
terrace of a guest house
In Pretoria, South
Africa.
They wanted
to talk to me and Edith Leerkes
about a
small plan for Soweto,
the biggest
township on the African continent.
They
represent the non-profitable Tsele Creative Society,
a
theatrical group which concerns themselves with the creation and production
of
educational street theatre programmes
for, and
often with children.
Impressions
of the daily events
of the
African tradition
such as
rape, aids and robberies.
They would
like to be able to perform during bad weather conditions,
a place
with a roof,
a place
with walls
a theatre,
and asked
us for financial support.
We made an
appointment to find out
where such
a hall could be built.
They
suggested an area in the heart of Soweto
White City Jabavu.
There were
once the black uprising began.
We promised
each other
that we
will build the theatre and call it The Miracle.
It will be
build in the existing,
well
managed and protected Ipelegen Community Centre.
We have
been busy with this project for three years
Trying to
arrange and plan everything,
But it is
not simple.
The biggest
problem is not the building of the theatre.
The laying
of bricks is actually a piece of cake.
The real
work is to ensure that the Ipelegen Community Centre
gets a
proper administration and management,
so that
there is 100% ownership of
backup and
support,
in order
for the theatre to be properly managed
and become
a success.
To provide
a good Miracle management
(financial,
administrative, programming, marketing,
logistic,
maintenance and security),
means to
find qualified and dedicated people
and
creating a realistic marketing plan
as well as
making sure
that the rest
of the Ipelegen Centre gets a facelift
so that the
renovated theatre doesn’t become an eyesore.
It takes
time.
Sometimes I
want things to move faster than what is possible,
‘You can’t
make bricks without straw, that’s not the way it works,’
Says Harmen
Oostra, our man at the scene.
‘This is a
different country with a past which still has an influence on the present
and where
things need time
and it has
a different pace than in the well organised Holland.
We hope to
be able to perform before the World cup, if not during.
Mafika, one
of the men who has been working from the beginning, will not be there.
He recently
died at a young age, no one knows how.
He will
live in our hearts forever.
If, when The Miracle is no longer only a dream.