Hello all,

Writing you from Jenny’s little office in her house at our old stomping ground, The Trading Post… Has been strange to be here without you guys and the rest of the crew, but lovely none the less. Weather here is extreme — there’s a severe drought effecting much of Southern Africa right now… hot, hot, hot sunny days and dry as a
proverbial bone. So we are doing the pula dance on a daily basis — well, just me and Mathabo and Mapoka and Joalane, with Tsili sometimes joining in … hoping that we can conjure up some water from the sky.

Everyone I’ve run into thus far is full of questions about how everyone is and what’s up with so-and-so and so-and-so. I saw Kim, Phumlani and Ditchaba this past Saturday in Jobrug. They went with me to the township of Orange Farm to check out the community work there, specifically the work of the Youth Group, which has been involved in
drama. We are hoping to connect with them somehow… And spent lots of time with Alta and Gill. Both of whom are well — Gill about to give birth, probably by the end of the week.

Finally got to Roma late Monday and was on campus much of yesterday. Saw Litseo, Matsepo and Relebohile… and, of course, Selloane — and we all had a meeting with others involved in the Arts and Culture week (the reason I’m here), during which (among many other things) Dance Me to the End of Love will be performed. There are now 22 NUL students in the show — which I get to see and record next week.

I’m also going to head up to Malealea early next week to connect with an Irish group doing work with Clowns Without Borders .. they came up to Malealea soon after our departure last July, worked with the drama group up there, and are back for another week to do the same. I’ll go up, meet them, connect with the women from the drama group, do some video taping, and then head back here for the Arts Week.

It’s exciting news about your upcoming trip here, Nigel, and about the trip in June with the 7 students! I wish we could have overlapped somehow during these March/April excursions … please let us know more as things develop with the Durham-Lesotho link.

Hoping to see the rest of the WSI-ers from June/July tomorrow evening for dinner here — and then will get to meet the whole new cast in the coming days. I brought just enough WSI t-shirts (it turns out) to cover the new cast … so they’ll all have one as the show continues to develop and play.

More news when I’m back in New York.