Cirque Mother Africa is a celebration of all things African, but given the choice the director and creator of the elaborate stage show wouldn’t live there.

ZIMBABWEAN break dancer-turned stage show director Winston Ruddle has a love-hate relationship with Africa.
His stage show Cirque Mother Africa, which sold more than 450,000 tickets around the world between 2007 and 2008, is a celebration of Africa’s colour, culture, music and traditions. It is the antithesis of what is reported on telly and in newspapers about Africa, he says.
“[Cirque Mother Africa] is the joyful side of Africa, not people dying of HIV and Aids. It’s about the music and dance from West, East, South and North Africa.”
The 40 person show is split into 18 acts that champion the beautiful continent - a chance for people to have an African experience without the negative reality.
“We are trying to show how diverse Africa is. It’s not only the poverty, crime, people dying of starvation that you always see in the news.”
Ruddle compares his show to the way South Africa was promoted in the lead-up to and during the FIFA World Cup - a beautiful destination.
And it is. But he wouldn’t live there.
The handsome performer is from Bullawayo, Zimbabwe. He got into performing in the early 80s when break dancing was popular.
“I used to watch it on music TV on Saturdays. It became a craze at the time. As an English speaking country we used to get a lot of American and English TV and I wanted to do what these guys were doing.”
Ruddle says it was easy to travel around the world when Zimbabwe was part of the Commonwealth, and ordering break dancing DHS tapes was easy too.
But the years under President Robert Mugabe took their toll on the country. Twenty years later the country is starving, unemployment skyhigh and the Zim dollar worthless. Ruddle moved to Australia where he met his German girlfriend, and eventually settled in her home-country. He now spends half the year in Germany and the other in Africa – at his school in Tanzania and scouting new talent for his show.
“The last time I went back to Zimbabwe I was quite disappointed. I didn’t know anyone in my home town. It’s very very sad,” he says.
“Many of the people I knew and grew up with have moved. New Zealand has become the New Zimbabwe.”
While Ruddle champions the African continent in his show, there’s no escaping her dark side.
“Tanzania used to be my favourite [country in Africa]. It’s where my school is, but there is so much corruption. I try and do my circus in Tanzania and I have to pay corruption money to do so.”
South Africa is the same, he says.
“In South Africa the police are always looking for something stupid that is in your car. You pay them 50 Rand or whatever. People have become so used to that.  You have to pay it to avoid problems, I really hate that.”
He says the only reason he goes back to Tanzania is because his school is there and he wants to support his students – to give them a chance to get out.
While he loves Botswana, Ethiopia and Kenya, the beauty of the country is tainted, he says.
“Ethiopia is polluted, and I hate the crime in Nairobi – and the traffic is terrible. Egypt is too hot.”
Ruddle is happiest in Germany, which is “more accessible to the rest of the world” and where his daughter and girlfriend live.
He reiterates that no country is perfect and, as is evident in his show, there is more good than bad in Africa.
Cirque Mother Africa, St James Theatre, 8pm, September 10-11.