Theatre to be added to the list of events at this year’s GIMC

Musicians Jonathan Butler and Black Coffee to headline the show

LAME BOGATSU

Organizer of the Gaborone International Culture and Music Week, Thapelo Pabalinga says they have decided to add theater in the list of events in this year’s music and culture festival which will take place on the 27th of August and end on the 3rd of September.
Artists to be featured are Donald Molosi with his play, Blue Black and White and Tefo Paya who will perfrom  Morwa Rising Son.
“This year we are excited to add theatre to the list of events under GIMC. We will have two of Botswana’s best theatre artists perform plays relevant to us as a nation…these two heavyweights will then act together for the first time in Botswana,” said Pabalinga. He said they felt it was necessary to add theatre because it was a growing form of art.
International jazz giant Jonathan Butler who is famous for songs like Surrender, Sing Me Your Love Song and Lies among others will headline the event together with house Dj Black Coffee. The festival, according to Pabalinga, will feature international artists from countries like Uganda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as local artists.
“Our selection of artists is based on the best the world has to offer. Jonathan Butler is certainly one of the best Jazz artists in the world who will play against Botswana’s best artists, Sereetsi and the Natives as well as a Re Batswana Music Ensemble made up of Ndingo Johwa, Banjo Mosele, Lekofi Sejeso, Lister Boleseng and Nnunu Ramogotsi,” he added.
Dj Fresh who just returned from Ultra Miami, the biggest EDM festival in the world with Black Coffee will also be part of the line up, and this Pabalinga says is testimony that GIMC is based on local and global appeal.
He also guaranteed that local artists would make the majority of the festival, saying that an 80/20 would apply: “For any show that happens in Botswana 80% of the artists must be from Botswana and 20% international. We should never have a complete shut out from international artists as no country does that…our industry is still small and growing and closing it out would be suicidal as no man is an island. My advice to our artists is to work harder to make it outside our borders. If Nigerians can do it, why can’t we.”