By Natalie Wells, Themba Theatre Director
Back in 2002, a friend of mine set up a charity called ‘Themba Facilitate’, to help support children living on the streets in the Philippines. They were a brand new charity and needed funds to help them get started. Having always loved and studied theatre, I decided to help by putting together a performance, with the proceeds going to her charity. I had recently started working as a teacher at St Nicholas Primary School in Shepperton, so was blessed with a pool of talented children, eager to perform. “For the Children, From the Children” was our first effort. It was clear from the start that this wouldn’t be a one-off!
Our first official “Themba Theatre” production was Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Mikado” in April 2003, at the Jubilee Church in Shepperton, with their much-appreciated support. We chose our name based on the charity we were supporting. “Themba” (pronounced with a silent h) is the word that means ‘hope, faith & trust’ in Zulu. This seemed fitting for a theatre group, based at a church, raising money for children living in poverty. We have supported many other charities over the years too, including Watoto Childcare Ministries, Compassion UK and the Teenage Cancer Trust. Most recently, Themba Theatre donated £3,000 to the Cecil Hepworth Playhouse in Walton upon Thames, to help them in their plight to stay open as a theatre for the local community.
Over the past two decades, nearly 400 children have performed with us in over 60 musicals, concerts and workshops. They have been supported by many wonderful adult volunteers, who’ve put in hundreds of hours with all the aspects of our theatre productions that I’m forever grateful to!
On Saturday, 20th May 2023, we are going to celebrate our 20-year anniversary with a special show. It has been written by my friend, Lorna Andrews and myself. For the first time ever, it will feature our younger group, as well as our teenage members and even some Them-ba Alumni….so a cast of nearly 80 in total! The play is aptly entitled “The Story of Hope” and celebrates many Themba memories. We have featured as many songs from our previous shows as we can, whilst tying them all together with a fictional storyline, that features a children’s theatre group. There is also a nod to my friends that are sadly no longer with us; Chris-tine Vine and Jenny Adolphus, who helped our group in so many ways.
We are currently busy with rehearsals and we’re already looking forward to the next 20 years!