We're going to Tanzania! These words galvanised the directors of The Learning Theatre into frantic action. There was little time and a lot of work to get the project on the road.

The Learning Theatre Team in the transit lounge in Mwanza

One of the directors flew to Tanzania. First stop Dar Es Salaam to set up auditions. Then off to Mwanza and from there to Geita Gold Mine where he met up with the representatives of Mandala Consulting who set the whole project up.

Back home a script was written and the search began for a South African actor to join the two Tanzanians in the project. Finally Nick Boraine, one of South Africa's best-known actors was cast.

The two Tanzanian actors were flown to South Africa where they met with Nick and director Ben Kruger to rehearse. Deosonga Njelekele is a well-known Tanzanian stage and radio actor and he was accompanied by Msamiru Kaabuka.

A song was written in English, translated into Swahili and the lyrics sent to Saranti Rheeders to compose music. Saranti and the actors recorded the song and they finally left for Dar Es Salaam after an intense rehearsal period, in which language barriers, body language differences and cultural divides had to be discussed and crossed.

Njankanka Pit at Geita Gold Mine

Geita is a small backwater that is almost inaccessible by road. The only reason for it's continued existence and growth is the Geita Gold Mine, one of the richest in the world. Gold has been mined here since the early nineteen hundreds, but it is only in the last five years that the boom has really taken hold. This has brought an influx of expats from all over the world to Geita and the migration has caused a lot of social and cultural difficulties.

The actors from The Learning Theatre used the only venue in Geita, The Lakeside Hotel. The "lake" in lakeside is not much more than a biggish farm dam, but the hotel sits proudly next to it. The auditorium is a half-pipe structure with a reed roof and plastic sides. The floor is concrete and the stage one metre high, by two metres deep and seven metres wide. The audience sits on blue plastic chairs rented from a local church.

Electricity in Geita is more erratic than in Cape Town and on one occasion the actors performed to candle light and the headlights of three 4x4's from the mine! None the less, the workshops were a raving success! The Learning Theatre performed with gusto and Mandala Consulting led the group discussions emanating from the plays - all dealing with the above mentioned cultural problems. At the end of every show the audience spontaneously joined the actors on stage for the final song - Tuko pamoja, pamoja tutashinda, kame tukishirikiana, maisha yatakuwa, bora zaidi! (We are together, together we will conquer, if we co-operate, our lives will be much better...)

Heat, lack of facilities and mosquitoes not withstanding - 1200 mine employees attended the workshop and took part in the discussions about the future of the mine and their place in it.

A truly great experience and an open door for The Learning Theatre to expand further into Africa.