Ubom! ended the year with a heartfelt and worthy cause – spreading joy and delight to those around Grahamstown who won’t have the family and friends filled Christmas that many of us have the pleasure of enjoying this time of year.
Their annual Christmas show, this year entitled uHansie noGrietjie eRhini, opened at the Umbhiyozo fundraising evening held at the Rhodes MainTheatre on Friday, 19 November 2010. Together with the Grahamstown Foundation an evening of spectacular entertainment, fare from the Theatre Café, and a mini Christmas market was held to raise funds for the Amaphiko Whole Person Venture.
Over R5 000 was raised for this long-serving, exciting township project begun by Janet Buckland in 1993.
Following the successful Umbhiyozo night, Ubom! hit Grahamstown by storm with the Feel Good tour!uHansie noGrietjie eRhini toured completely free of charge, to Makanaskop Old Age Home, Temba TB Hospital, Fort England, the Army Base, Somerset Place, Settler’s Hospital, Grahamstown Correctional Centre, Ethembeni, and McKaiser Old Age Home. Many of these institutions are regulars on the calendar for the annual Feel Good tour, but Ubom! hopes that with further funding many more deserving people and places will have the chance to have some feel good magic brought to them during the festive season.
Ubom! brought joyous fun to audiences at the BB Zondani Hall and the Indoor Sports Centre where those who can’t afford the Rhodes Theatre ticket prices were given the chance to see the show and a hat was sent round to collect whatever the audience could pay.
The Feel Good tour is part of Ubom!’s continuing attempt to break down the image of theatre and the arts as purely elitist events for only the rich and privileged.
Without the generous funding of the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund, the National Arts Council, and Rhodes University, the Feel Good tour would not be possible. With a cast of 10 adult actors and 10 young dancers, the costs amass and so Ubom! extends a sincere thanks to their funders for allowing this most praiseworthy project to continue.
Furthermore, the opportunity provided for close interaction between professional, full-time actors and talented local community actors prevails in this project. The combination of full-time trained professionals and local talent creates a fantastic dynamic and exuberant power on stage that can only serve as encouragement to any who witness it; encouragement to engage with each other and appreciate South Africa’s diverse citizens.
An added element is the inclusion of the young people for whom the Umbhiyozo fundraiser event is organised. Especially talented dancers from the Amaphiko Township Dance Project are auditioned and chosen to be part of the extravaganza; many of them debuting on the theatre stage.
The deservedness of these young talents in receiving further education via the Whole Person Venture to solidify the success of their futures is apparent in their commitment to the demanding work that a theatre production demands.