‘De Summer Blow ‘comes home
By Sam Banda Jnr:
Doreen Chisiza, daughter to demised theatre guru Du Chisiza Jr alongside her siblings and Du’s friends return to Blantyre Cultural Centre (BCC) to stage De Summer Blow on Sunday.
This used to be the home of Du and it was his theatre mecca where he used to premiere every play as well as kick-start every theatrical tour.
The 1994 Du’s production about politics and society, which was published into a book in 1998, stages at BCC after being successfully held at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe last Saturday.
Being a celebration of Du’s life, the audience would have been better at BICC but Doreen, who will be starring at BCC for the first time since her father’s death, said they are hoping for the best.
“As I said last time, we are ready and I am excited that I am dating my dad’s home. I call it home because it is where my father’s every play and performance started, it will be amazing because I love playing outside and ,maybe, many memories will come,” she said with a smile.
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She called on people to come and be part of the celebration of their father’s life and his dream of a theatrical future in the country.
“It’s been massive rehearsals and I am happy to work with this team, which includes Edwin Saidi and Jeremiah Mwaungulu, who worked with my father. I just hope that the new generation takes interest in his plays. He was a fantastic writer, actor, director, husband and father,” Doreen, who plays mother (Nyaphiri) in the play, said.
Saidi, who starred with Du in several plays including Tatuya Futi and Sir Daniels also encouraged people to come in large numbers and be part of the celebration of Du’s life.
“We are ready and BCC, being the home of Du, we hope people will come in large numbers. I am happy to be part of this cast and it reminds me of those Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre days,” Saidi, who directed the play with another veteran actor, Ben Wandawanda said.
De Summer Blow is a story of a brilliant ‘A’ student from a rich family who is introduced to the world of drugs and alcohol and then gets caught up in a web of conflicting parental love and peer pressure.
Other actors starring in the play include Thlupego Chisiza, Misheck Mzumara, Serah Chisiza, Kelvin Ngoma, Tchumbo Chisiza and Ngongite Chisiza.
Born on March 26 1963, Du died on February 24 1999.
The founder of Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre wrote more than 20 plays. Apart from De Summer Blow, some of the plays he stitched include Phumashakire, Kabuha Tragedy, Operation Tidy, Mitsidi Burning, Black Cross, Black Blawizo, Democracy Boulevard, Barefoot in the Heart and Storm on Litada.
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