Opera singer and Afro-soul musician Pumeza Matshikiza is unhappy about the treatment she received while she was booked at a gig last week. The event was to celebrate Joburg Theatre's 30 Years of Democracy. But it seems like the singer, who is also Simphiwe Dana's on-and-off girlfriend and based in Europe, was not happy with the way things were run and she did not hold back on her social media, exposing the organisers.

UNPROFFESIONAL

According to a source, Matshikiza was promised to perform with an orchestra but was told last minute that there won't be any orchestra due to budget constraints. "She sings classic music; it goes with orchestra, and she is exposed to top notch treatment from sound, stage, and the whole show.When she heard Joburg theatre, she was expecting high standards," said the source. The source added that instead of the orchestra, they brought a pianist. But Matshikiza complained to the organisers that the pianist was an amateur who could hit the right note. Matshikiza said as an artist, it is important to be able to adapt and be versatile, but said there are situations where one needs to put their foot down as an artist. In a social media post, she wrote: "You know, as a performer you allow yourself to be flexible. Things can be normal, exceptionally great, not so good or awful, it is life," she wrote. She said she has never encountered this level of unprofessionalism. "I don't remember encountering this dismal and awful organisation of a concert," she wrote. She described her experience as totally amateurish in organisation and preparations. Matshikiza said she is now dealing with her ordeal. "Only now I'm getting to the bottom of things, that actually important information was hidden from me, which would have made me make adequate and necessary decisions. I'm not a person who complains generally about these sorts of things, but wow, gobsmacked. I am at sheer first-class k*k," she said in the post.

BAD PLANNING

Matshikiza told ZiMoja that she doesn't usually complain, but she has never experienced such bad planning to the point she felt it was sabotage. In a statement after Matshikiza's social media post, the organisers, Busa Creative Agency, acknowledged their shortcomings, citing that some of their patrons might have missed the adjusted press statements, posters, and concert description on the public platforms, which spoke to the absence of the orchestra in this production. "However, contingency plans had been made such that strings were present, and pianists were present to accompany all the pieces that would have needed an orchestra, ensuring that there would be no decline in the quality of the work presented. It is also important to mention that the entirety of this production was conceptualised and produced by Busa Creative Agency, and other components of the production, such as venue and technical support, including certain marketing components, were done by Joburg Theatre," read the statement.