CHILDREN at St Oswald’s C of E Aided Primary School in Mollington, Chester, were treated to an exciting and energetic workshop with an African twist when performance artist and writer Sizwe Vilakazi visited the school.
The South African performer was in the city as part of the Chester literature festival and in conjunction with Action Transport Theatre is staging a number of ‘physical workshops’ in the Cheshire West area.
Jess Egan at the Action Transport company said Sizwe’s performances aim at bringing young people together through storytelling, music and activities.
“The workshops are really high-energy,” said Jess, “they ask the children to be imaginative with elements of drama, literature and music, and the children absolutely love getting included in them.”
“The children and staff at St Oswald’s have been in touch to say how much they enjoyed the workshop,” Jess said.
“They were so inspired by it they are now planning on evolving a whole range of class topics and activities about storytelling from it.”
Originally from Soweto, Sizwe had come to the UK to promote and develop his new one-man play, Tika, which is being supported by Action Transport Theatre.
Jess added: “It is especially exciting to have Sizwe involved in the festival because of his work in Africa.
“The stories in the workshops are told in a mixture of English and Zulu and focus on sharing cultural experiences and educating young people about cultures outside their own.”
“He has been involved with the festival since 2004.
“He has quite a following in Cheshire now and the children especially look forward to his visits.”
