Youthful Blantyre-based theatre group YDC makes a global outing next month as they tour Germany with a play titled Journey to Lampedusa.
Having staged the production in the country in several places, with the recent one being at Jacaranda Cultural Centre (JCC) in Blantyre during Easter Theatre Festival, the group is ready to perform in Europe and reach out to different audiences.
The group’s playwright Fumbani Phiri said on Tuesday that Journey to be Lampedusa is a powerful production that needs to be sampled by more people so as to bring about solutions.
“We will stage the play in Hannover at the International Youth Theatre Encounter where I will also conduct theatre workshops on ‘Exploring Experimenting Eco-Theatre–Responding to Climate Change’. The play will also be performed in other places,” Phiri said.
The eight-member team leaves the country next week Saturday with performances starting on June 1 through to June 7 2024.
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“The whole trip has been facilitated by the City of Hannover under their twin partnership with Blantyre City and also our theatre partners James and Priscilla Theatre with their project ‘The Journey’,” he said.
Phiri said they were looking for more opportunities as well as collaborations with groups in Africa, Europe, Asia and United States of America as part of growing theatre.
“We are excited that Journey to Lampedusa will be performed in Europe. The production carries the message that needs to be heard in Europe,” he said.
The play tells the story of Africans who leave their continent for Europe in search of greener pastures, only to tread on a dangerous path and experience challenges that threaten their lives.
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Lampedusa is an island in Italy and the play, which has also been staged by other players, stems from the incidences that have been happening.
Media reports indicated last year that more than 2,000 people and 289 children died in 2023 trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety and a future in Europe and many of those who survive the journey land on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
