“I wish the perpetrators took a moment to watch the youth they traumatised on stage… to see what they took away. Perhaps they will rethink their actions.”
These were the words of Jazzart marketing manager Maxisole Makwetu who was speaking about the cancellation of Saturday’s performance of the Four Frames of Freedom after the vehicle transporting dancers to their homes in Khayelitsha was hijacked at gunpoint.
The Four Frames of Freedom concert, celebrating South Africa’s 30 years of democracy, showed at the Artscape on Friday November 15.
But the show for Saturday was cancelled due to the traumatising hijacking on Friday night after the show.
According to Mr Makwetu, seven dancers were being taken home in the company’s Quantum taxi. After entering Khayelitsha, five suspects blocked the vehicle’s path, pistol-whipped the driver and forced him into the back of the vehicle, then drove around with the cast members while holding them at gunpoint.
The dancers were asked to look down while the vehicle was being stripped, and some of them had bruises from the materials which fell on them during the incident, said Mr Makwetu.
After a while, the hijackers dropped the dancers off and told them not to look up until they drove off. The dancers were left stranded, and walked to one of their colleagues houses for help.
In a notice on social media, Jazzart said: “We are immensely grateful that none of our dancers were physically harmed during this incident. However, our driver sustained an injury and is receiving medical attention. The safety and well-being of all our team members is our top priority, and we are focusing on providing them with the necessary support at this time.
“We sincerely apologise to our patrons and audience members for any inconvenience this may cause.”
Mr Makwetu said the dancers and the driver were receiving counselling for the trauma. “Performing arts are about expressing your emotions. It would have been selfish of us to ask them to continue with the production while they were so traumatised. We had to cancel for the sake of their well-being. They were shaking and had guns in their faces. It was really sad.”
He said they will open a case of hijacking after the dancers have received counselling.
Patrons who need to inquire about refunds can contact Webtickets or Artscape Dial-A-Seat at 021 421 7695.
