Mohalenyane Phakela
SOUTH African singer and songwriter, Natalie Chapman, is set to perform in Maseru on 1 April as part of her 90-day tour concerts.
The show, to be held at Pioneer Mall’s Renaissance Restaurant is part of Chapman’s campaign to bring awareness about domestic violence and sexual abuse. The shows are also meant to motivate everyday people to get involved in their communities
It started off in January and will run till end of April, with the Maseru show being number 65 of the 180 shows she will perform within the 90 days. Apart from Lesotho and South Africa, her schedule will also encompass Zambia and Namibia.
“My aim is to use music to give a voice to survivors of abuse, and I personally initiated and developed the concept after as my way of making a difference,” said Chapman in an interview with the Weekender.
“I encourage survivors of violent and sexual crimes to speak out about their ordeals to bring healing to our society.”
Apart from spreading her message during the performances, she also motivates and encourages youths to protect themselves, speak out when they are victims and change their future for the better by being involved in creating better communities for themselves.
“I did 90 performances in 90 days in early 2014 across South Africa. This time I am attempting to perform 180 shows in 90 consecutive days, adding Lesotho to the schedule of this second round,” said the Cape Town based starlet. “The other objective is to motivate communities to get involved and to help survivors through local projects.”
Covering more than 13 500 km across South Africa, and reaching thousands of individuals with her message of hope, motivation and music, Chapman was awarded a LEADSA Hero Award for her efforts in May last year.
“I struggle to put into words what I am experiencing on 90-day concerts. I am reminded every day of the need for people in Africa to speak honestly about their struggles, hurts and stories,” she said.
“This includes children, men and women across the spectrum of cultures, religion, sexes and age.”
She describes her music as Country, Folk, Blues and Rock all rolled in one as well as being an actress. Her influences mainly emanate from the eclectic range of artists such as The Doors, Tracy Chapman, Pavarotti and Eric Clapton who bolstered Chapman’s interest in music and ignited her talents.
She took an active interest in theatre, music and dance and spent her childhood honing her skills in all three arenas. Completing high school, she went to Waterfront Theatre School where she completed her performance diplomas in ballet, jazz, tap, singing and drama. She then jetted off to London and ended up living there for four years, that is where she continued developing her song writing skills and completed the Raindance Scriptwriters Course and began writing film scripts and plays. After leaving London she embarked on an epic back packing trip through Africa making her way down to South Africa and finally home to Cape Town where she reintroduced herself to the local entertainment world, doing live gigs with her five-piece band in and around Cape Town.
