#NathiMustGo

In January, with the pandemic having decimated the arts sector generally and theatre and dance in particular, the minister responsible for the arts, Nathi Mthethwa, tweeted that 'theatre was alive and well'.  This unleashed a storm of outrage, and I, together with others, put together a petition calling for his resignation and/or removal.  We know that in our country, politicians are seldom removed (not on the basis of civil society petitions anyway), but it was a moment to mobilise the dance and theatre sector.  The Minister did apologise (also a rarity in South Africa), but though he remains in office, this moment led to the emergence of the Theatre and Dance Alliance (TADA) as a representative structure for the sector.