The roar of Simba the Lion has reverberated across the globe; now it is coming to South Africa for the first time!
From June 2007 a spectacular, South African production of The Lion King will be staged for a limited season. Telkom will sponsor this production to ensure the highest global standards.
The award-winning production will feature a fully South African cast and technical crew. It will also boast the enchanting voice of South African musician Lebo M who also infuses powerful South African artistic and creative elements into the production. Lebo M, together with renowned theatre doyenne Pieter Toerien, will also co-produce the Lion King.
"Telkom is proud to be part of this exciting production and we came on board in order to take this awesome experience to our communities. Telkom`s sponsorship will ensure that all South African families can share in this wonderful experience, by embarking on a programme of making ticket prices more affordable," says Lulu Letlape, Telkom Group Executive for Corporate Communication.
Telkom will also embark on a programme to ensure affordability of tickets so that the production becomes a cost-efficient form of family entertainment. Free shows will also be staged for children from disadvantaged communities.
Letlape emphasised that with the entire cast and crew being South African, this provided Telkom with the opportunity of contributing towards job creation in the country. Other benefits include extensive skills transfer [from Disney Theatricals] to the South African members involved in the production, while the hosting of the internationally acclaimed production on South African soil is also expected to bolster the domestic and international tourism industry.
"Telkom strives to support the arts and we hold an impressive corporate art collection to promote local artists. The company`s sponsorship of Lion King reaffirms our commitment towards supporting the arts in South African as well as the company`s commitment to corporate social responsibility," said Letlape.
A state of the art theatre with the capability to stage the Lion King will be built by Tsogo Sun and Telkom will supply the necessary technological requirements to ensure that every aspect of this production is hi-tech and comparable with the best in the world.
"In view of the above, the production therefore holds immense value for the country, the arts community and for Telkom as a company," explained Letlape.
She added: "As a good corporate citizen, Telkom believes in ploughing back to our communities and this production will secure employment for a number of talented South Africans, while South Africans from all walks of life will become part of this unique, South African Lion King experience. "
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