ABSTRACT
Welcome Msomi is a South African playwright, producer, director, and entrepreneur, who founded the IZulu Dance Theatre and Music in 1965 in Durban and has since gone on to become chief executive officer of Sasani Investments, an entertainment, communication, and education multi-media group aimed at marketing ‘the richness of [South African] culture both here and overseas, much like Hollywood has marketed America to the rest of the world’ (Kobokoane). Msomi spent considerable time in New York, founding a theatre company there based on South African music and dance. In addition to numerous other theatrical works in Zulu, Msomi has written and acted in radio plays, hosted a radio show, and composed and produced songs for all his musicals under his own record label. As the founder of IAM Records he set up IAM performing arts centres aimed at developing young talent in the rural and urban areas of South Africa. When Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa, Msomi was responsible for organizing the inauguration ceremonies.
