Lilongwe-based theatre group Dzuwa Arts Wednesday said they did not manage to achieve their goal of staging four plays a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The group premiered their second play this year Mwana wa Kamuzu on Monday which was their last producti,on this year, at Kamuzu Institute Hall in Lilongwe.
“Apart from Mwana wa Kamuzu, we have also staged Confessions this year. The thing is we normally do four plays per year and every three months we do one show. From 2017 we have been maintaining this trend but this year it’s been tough with the pandemic,” the group’s director Ignacious Kaphinde said.
He said they were scheduled to premiere Mwana wa Kamuzu on May 14 which is Kamuzu Day but they cancelled the event due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Although we have been out of the stage for some time, we are also thankful to God that we have finished the year on a high with a new play. During the show, the patronage was good and this was an indication that people are hungry for theatre and we managed to satisfy them at least,” Kaphinde said.
He also said they were happy to stage Mwana wa Kamuzu – which is a story adapted from a book written by renowned writer Shadreck Chikoti.
“The book was published in 2010. It is a very interesting story, so to say. When I came across the book, I got permission from the writer to turn the book into a stage play. At some point, we even talked about turning it into a film and radio play,” Kaphinde said.
This is a futuristic play that speaks volumes of what will happen in the future, according to Kaphinde.
“As I have indicated, the story was written in 2009 but it talks about what will happen in the future around 2025 to 2028. It is a story of one James Mchizanjala—a very prominent investigative journalistwho was given the task of investigating and digging more facts about a man who called himself Hastings Kamuzu Banda Jr and wanted to contest in elections of 2028 in a country called Lawi Republic,” he said.
