“Yes-Ya-Yebo!” (“Yes!” in 3 different languages)

The journey began in 2012 when Mervyn Stutter raised funds at a Gala to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his Pick of the Fringe. The beneficiary of these funds was The Imibala Trust. The money raised facilitated an Imibala’s Got Talent show, with participation from at least 10 schools. Winners across four categories were awarded private lessons for a year.

The Imibala Trust has thereafter sponsored eight young performers, all of whom reside in areas supported by Imibala. For most, this will be their first time traveling abroad and flying in a plane!

The show is a celebration of the 12 official languages of South Africa, expressed through song and dance, all imbued with a unique township vibe! From the traditional Gumboot Dance and The Click Song to modern hits like Jerusalema, the audience will gain insights into their lives in the township and their aspirations for the future. The performers are eager to share their energy and the joy of their cultures.

The show, brought to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival by The Imibala Trust, received five 5-star reviews in 2023 and coverage from BBC worldwide, UK, and Al-Jazeera.

In 2024, the show returns, bigger and better. If you missed out last year, now is your chance! The cast will be showcasing their vibrant South African culture. The group includes five returning performers and five new dancers and singers. The audience will learn about their lives in the township and their hopes for the future.

The show promises to be an emotional rollercoaster, making you laugh, cry, and irresistibly drawn to join in the dancing. If you love high-energy shows with emotional depth, you’ll want to come back again and again.

Imibala’s goal for the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 is to raise funds to provide Performing Arts courses and qualifications for this extremely talented cast. The excitement in their hearts is palpable!

This "memorable", "dynamic and vibrant" show fills the stage with "charisma" and "boundless energy, dancing to an upbeat tune of elation". These "natural born performers" "talent was infinitely prevalent" and "this hour was one most definitely well spent". An all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza celebrating South Africa's 12 official languages. All sprinkled with that unique township vibe. "This is a celebration of something much bigger than just a show and will give you a spring in your step when you leave." www.YesYaYebo.com

Quotes from: ***** EntertainmentNow, ***** BroadwayWorld, **** Mervspotfringe, Winner: MERVYN STUTTER'S SPIRIT OF THE FRINGE AWARD, Nominated: The Offies

August 29, 2024    Mix Up Theatre

This 'memorable', 'dynamic and vibrant' show fills the stage with 'charisma' and 'boundless energy' as 'natural-born performers' dance to 'an upbeat tune of elation' (Entertainment-Now.com), (BroadwayWorld.com). An all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza celebrating South Africa's 12 official languages, sprinkled with that incredible township vibe. Audiences commented that the talent was infinitely prevalent and the hour was most definitely well spent! A celebration of something much bigger than just a show that will give you a spring in your step when you leave. Click Here For Review

August 23, 2024   Fringe Review

Must See Show

Low Down
A smorgasbord of entertainment with a rickety structure but one which acts as a platform. On that platform exudes happiness. To be there, to share, to dance, sing and entertain. Singing with no amplification and filling a room, dancing with great joy and filling you heart – and part of the Free Festival – you would be a fool to miss it.

Review
Eight youthful and exuberant performers from South Africa have been brought from a place which inspires fear to Edinburgh to dance. They bring with them the cheek of youth and the knowledge of experience. All of them are under 25 years of age, their youngest is 17, and with such vitality they just dance. And I mean dance. They dance like their lives have depended upon it and thanks to the Imibala Trust, that might be true as they have been taken from real threat. They took themselves away from the troubles which were all around them and have come to know the joy of creativity and its opportunity.

OK, so interspersed with the dance and some of the explanations are the stories to tug on your heart strings but this the fully formed expressive moment which makes it all sing with expectation and joy. I counted, in just under an hour, about 30 different examples of dance. Some of them are snippets but all of them have a youthful enthusiasm – these are kids dancing like their lives depended upon it and hoping that everyone notices!

And so, we began outside where one of them came to give out contact details for the company where we could go online thanks to a QR code and look at our performers and their profiles. Then we arrived in a non-descript and plain room with chairs which had a young woman at the back dressed in a wonderful orange dress was seated. Once we were seated, she was up and singing with a spotlight shining. Nothing was amplified and the rawness was its passionate secret. The harmonies, added to the solo performers, were pitched perfectly. Once she had introduced us to our evening and herself, we got that cheeky young chap from outside who came onstage to introduce the different languages of his country. It was a hint at what was to come as we then sashayed our way through dances from Venda, Tswana, Afrikaans, Zulu, Sesotho, a song of the coal mines – reminiscent of a tin can dance I saw once being taught in Glasgow that I was told came from Soweto – and so much more.

I was entranced. My daughter, a dancer, was too. She lives too far away from Edinburgh to take advantage of the lessons on offer during their run but it was a lesson in steps and poise for her, in laughter and joy for me. As a man of a certain age who has a view of South Africa which is old and should be long forgotten this focused my attention on the new country with voices that demand to be listened to whilst reminding us of the poverty in their townships and communities. This is not a pity party but a celebration of more than survival – of incredible joy in dance. They perform above their years with an attention to pace which slows when they need to make a point but also never drops when they want to show off their abilities and dance.

And so, I loved their catwalk, the wedding dance and the old coal miners and I laughed out loud when they suggested that they all spoke Scots! This was pitch perfect work that also included short sketches to accompany their dances which included the birth of a child and a Safari Camp piece showing they were older than their years. They were more mature than the old fellas who held their country down so much in the past. There was just simply onstage. Joy. It was terrific. But don’t just believe an old man – just go and see for yourself. As part of the Free Fringe, you will not be disappointed, though you might want to contribute your life savings – they have already contributed the equivalent in themselves. Click Here For Article

August 19, 2024    Entertainment Now

Watching this show is an extraordinary experience. Joy rolls off the tiny stage in great waves and every dopamine receptor in your system dances to the beat.

Yes-Ya-Yebo is an hour that goes straight to your heart.

Performed by a group of young South Africans, who have been part of the ongoing work of of the Imibala Trust, who work with children from the most impoverished townships there. One of their programmes is Creative and Performing Arts and this cast have come through that.

Siphosethu, Avuyile (known as AV), Salizwa, Simnikiwe (known as Goodwill), Timeka, Ahlume and Dondre sing and dance and drum their way through this hour and it is a body and soul thrill. There is minimal cohesion as such: the barest hint of narrative thread and a slight problem with audibility in the few links that there are mean that we are allowed simply to enjoy the energy, the rhythm and the happiness. We are introduced to the twelve languages of South Africa through everything from traditional dance to more modern.

The sheer positive energy emanating from these young men and women feels as if it could save the planet. The work of the Imibala Trust, it seems, has certainly saved them.

I am impressed to learn that The Pear Tree pub are paying for their accommodation and their flights are taken care of by Mervyn Stutter’s fundraising Gala.

You really should make space in your day for this show.

Spike Milligan wrote “Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.” Go and get yourself a dose. Click Here For Review

August 17, 2023   Broadway World

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: YES-YA-YEBO!, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House

 Click Here For Article