ASSITEJ SA is delighted to announce the selected playwright for the Government of Flanders-funded “Pushing Boundaries for Young Minds” playwriting project. After a week-long workshop for ten aspirant playwrights for young audiences, held in Johannesburg in July 2024 at the Windybrow Arts Centre, led by Flemish playwright and author, Fikry El Azzouzi, Thozama Busakwe has been selected to complete the writing of their play, Sasikhe Sabhabha – We Once Flew.
They receive a commissioning award of R25 000, towards the Teksmark playreading series to be held from 24-26 October at the University of Johannesburg. Fikry El Azzouzi will continue to be a mentor and sparring partner for Thozama through the process of further developing the text. ASSITEJ SA intends to then assist Thozama to stage the play in the future.
The jury’s report states “Sasikhe Sabhabha – We Once Flew is a beautiful text which moved and intrigued us, which we believe pushes boundaries for young audiences, and which made us very much want to see the completed work onstage!”
We congratulate Thozama Busakwe and thank the Government of Flanders for their ongoing support of new work for young audiences in South Africa through international collaboration and exchange.
