The Eloquent Leading Lady

Eloquent, altruistic and full of life and light is how one would describe theatre-maker Lavinia Kapewasha’s ethos.

An ever-smiling character who’s been contributing considerably to the Namibian arts landscape in theatre and film, Kapewasha is one of the country’s most cherished creatives.

Born in Namibia, Kapewasha grew up all over the world and as the youngest daughter of a diplomat in a mixed family of blended sorts, her adventures through life have shaped her to be a self-sufficient person.

“I’m kind of the baby, but I wasn’t really raised as the baby. I did everything by myself. That gave me confidence and independence.”

She’s lived in various countries such as Russia, India, South Africa and England before returning to Namibia in 2016. Her stints in these countries have made her a broad-minded person.

“It does open your horizons a lot and it doesn’t limit you from thinking that you’re just an African child,” she says, adding that her exposure to various prominent figures has given her insight into how to navigate life as a black woman.

“Those are things that I picked up, not only from school, but on the streets while living in these places.”

Kapewasha is a theatre and acting graduate from East 15 Acting School through the University of Essex. As of 2018, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked the number three UK university for studying drama and dance in The Guardian’s University Guide.

She almost took another route towards international relations, yet, her gut told her to follow her aspirations to work in the arts in whatever capacity.

“At first I thought it was through performance, but I realised I’m not just a performer, I realised that coming back to Namibia, in order to make a living, I have to be working behind the scenes, I have to create. The only way to create opportunities for yourself, is to create it for others.”

This awareness made her keen to work sub rosa, especially regarding writing and directing. Kapewasha mentions that various factors hauled her towards this path, however, the one specific moment she remembers is watching Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ music video when she was five years old.

“I thought how does one do that. I became obsessed with visuals on the TV. And then I got into theatre and thought ‘wow, people actually like to play’. For me it’s playing, and I did this as a child, but now there’s this other avenue for me to play and have fun, but also have a purpose. That’s where it stemmed from.”

Meeting like-minded folk, exchanging ideas and creating content unitedly is one of the gratifications she takes away from her job.

“You just go off into one of those creative, explosive bubbles, and you’re just filled with so much joy, love, excitement, purpose and inspiration. That’s what I love most.”

The multi-talented thespian reminisces about when she first met fellow creatives Zindri Swartz and Jenny Kandenge and working on projects together such as ‘Untitled’, the web series. Swartz, who is also her colleague at the National Theatre of Namibia (NTN), describes Kapewasha as well put together, driven and a motivated woman.

“Her telling of stories is not only to mirror society, but to be an inspiration to the youth and show them it can be done. She’s a delightful person to work with.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Kapewasha notes that funding still remains a concern for artists. She also mentions that if resources, for instance free books or creative spaces, were readily available for artists, the issue of money would be cancelled out.

She adds professionalism as an issue, as many people only head into the industry to gain fame and fortune and don’t really have a passion to create artistic content.

“And also the fact we’re such a tiny population, and there aren’t many investors in arts. But now as we all know, during this pandemic, everyone’s falling towards the arts, but before, when we were screaming and shouting, no one was listening.”

At the start of this year, she was inducted as the new production coordinator at the NTN, to be a part of the resurgence of Namibian theatre. The role is central to the NTN’s core operations including client services and sustaining relationships within the local and regional creative industry.

“There was a door and it opened and I suddenly came back into the world of theatre as I was away from it for a while concentrating more on film producing.”

Being production coordinator is like the “key hamster” in a cage, she says, as she has to liaise between the clients’ vision and the artistic direction of the theatre. Being in such a daunting position, Kapewasha notes that she needs the administrative skills and experience of working in such a mammoth institution as a creative in the industry.

Kapewasha debuted on the NTN’s stage in ‘Ominous’ by Jenny Kandenge and her most recent acting credits are in the shorts ‘The Date’ by Mikiros Garoes and ‘Itandu’, which she also wrote and directed.

“I was never expecting that to happen. The spectrum of all the films at PAFF was so different, there’s a lot of great work happening in the diaspora. ‘Itandu’ getting the opportunity to be showcased there, was an achievement that I thought would never happen, especially coming from Namibia and this is a science-fiction film.”

The talented writer, director and actor says Covid-19 might be robbing artists of the time to be creating together but this is the opportune time, especially for writers, to tap into their imaginative reservoir.

After the lockdown comes to an end, she wishes the Namibian film and theatre industries grow to an extent where content reaches a broader audience with the assistance of online platforms and stakeholders who are willing to fund tours for theatre plays and other productions.

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