Port Elizabeth. 18 October
The company's activities in South Africa have been overshadowed by
the murder of Mbongeni 'Skimmie' Siwa. Skimmie had been working
closely with us and was too join us in England in February to run
workshops during the tour of 'At Break of Day' and 'Macbeth'. He was
stabbed to death on the streets of New Brighton on 5th September.
Skimmie was one of the first people we met when we came to Port
Elizabeth and on our first evening we sang and danced with him and his
colleagues in Rise and Shine well into the night. It is an evening none of
us who were there will ever forget and our memories are made all the
more poignant by his cruel and senseless death. The funeral was in Red
Location, New Brighton at his home and then at the Dutch Reformed
Church in Pendla Street. An obituary was read by Looks Matoto to vocal
accompaniment by Tambora. Luke Dixon represented the company at the
funeral.
Mbongeni 'Skimmie' Siwa was born on 12 September 1975 at Red
Location, New Brighton. He started his early education at Jarvis
Gqamlana and proceeded to Stephen Mazungula for his higher primary
education. His high school education he did at Thamsanqa High School.
It is while at Thamsanqa High School that he took a keen interest in
acting. It is when he was doing his standard ten that his group (PEYT)
Port Elizabeth Youth Theatre was invited to the Stramash Festival in
Edinburgh, Scotland. His director Winston Ntoshona confessed that,
'Skimmie was the most loved actor in the entire festival. He was a shining
start, a role model, an inspiration in his struggling neighbourhood.' He
was a live wire in PEYT.
After High school he teamed up with other talented artists and they
formed Rise and Shine Theatre productions led by Looks Matoto. He
again made his mark and established himself as a great dancer. He then
became the dance director of Rise and Shine. He also has begun
touching the lives of many rural areas through his dance workshops
which he was commissioned by the Western District Council as an
Auxiliary Worker.
Death strikes him when he was about to spread his wings over to
London and empower European youth with his African dance skills. This
trip that he was about to embark on to Europe was as a result of a
partnership between Rise and Shine and theatre nomad led by Dr. Luke
Dixon. Because of this tragedy, he could not fulfill this mission. He is
sadly missed by Rise and Shine.
In Memory of Skimmie
Skimmie we nearly lost you
but fund you only to loose you
Forever.
Beside the road way a
Talent was found laying, knife
Wounds oozing blood, silently
He laid, An artist so creative
And Energetic, laid on the
Carpet of his blood.
You survived the tragic car
Accident, back on your dancing
Legs of springs and yet death
Still searched you and painful we
Say we have lost.
Through the dust and shacks
Of red location you Rose
And shined like a diamond
You are a role model to many
Young people, but sadly we have lost
You were a dance lunatic
The sound of a drum drove
You crazy, Your dancing energy
Can never be matched,
A wonderful actor you are,
Never scared to experiment
Bitterly we have lost
Looks Matoto
AT BREAK OF DAY and MACBETH in South Africa
Noel Greig brought the first draft of his new play to Port Elizabeth in
September and was later joined by Hannah Buvik and Jean Pagni. A wide
variety of workshops were held on the text with performers from South
Africa and Senegal joining us. We also began rehearsals on 'Macbeth'
with Jean and Hannah drumming themselves into trance under the
African sun.
 The work on 'Macbeth' extended to workshops in
Itembelihle and Iwandlekozi High Schools where we were able to perform
scenes from the play in both English and Xhosa. Viyani Soga, who translated
the witches and the porter's scenes into
Xhosa (the first time the play has been so translated) played a
very drunken porter.
The workshop in Itembelihle Schools
culminated in nearly a hundred young people as Xhosa speaking witches
confronting Jean and Hannah as Macbeth and Banquo.
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