A SILENT march by the theatre and dance sector is set to take place on Monday, 30 August.
This time around, artists are complaining about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s silence to the plight of artists.
They want the president to open theatres and performance spaces.
Event organiser Lindiwe Letwaba told Daily Sun they had written countless letters to the president’s office since last year, but had not received a response.
“As the theatre and dance sector, we feel oppressed by the lockdown restrictions. We’ve noted that each time the president speaks, he does not mention our sector and this puts us in a bad predicament,” she said.
“All the sectors are operational but theatres and performance spaces are still closed. This is because they are treated as places of gathering, which is not necessarily the case. This is not fair because theatres generally have bigger spaces and adhering to lockdown regulations will not be difficult,” she said.
ALSO READ : ARTISTS: CYRIL, WHERE’S THE MONEY?
“We’ve requested a meeting with the president and we’ve still received no response. We are now left with no choice but to protest for our rights,” said Lindiwe.
She said they were taking the march to Luthuli House.
She said the Minister of Sports Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa didn’t understand the industry and hadn’t done anything for them.
“We also could not take this march to Nathi’s office, because some of our grievances are about Nathi himself.”
She said their grievances included the president’s inability to recall Mthethwa.
They also want to inform the president about the mental health and economic challenges faced by artists due to the closure of theatre and performance spaces.
Lindiwe said the march will be silent, which means there will be no chanting of slogans or singing.
“The placards which we will be carrying will do the talking. Once we get to Luthuli House, we shall surround the building and read out the memorandum. If the president is still not responding, we will intensify our efforts,” she said.
