Members of French theatre company, Compagne Du Hasard, arrived in the country on Friday ahead of their tour.
The theatre company which has been in existence for more than 40 years has partnered with Solomonic Peacocks and together they will be staging a play titled Odyssey.
The two groups have been doing rehearsals separately with the French group in France and Solomonic in Malawi.
But the French theatre group’s arrival on Friday united them with Solomonic Peacocks and they have since started doing rehearsals together to merge the production.
“We are excited that they are here, we have been doing rehearsals on our own but now we are on the same page,” Solomonic Peacocks Director McArthur Matukuta, who is also part of the cast, said.
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He said they connected with the French theatre company through Sigegmar, one of the artists, who attended Easter Theatre Festival last year.
The French theatre group’s technician Michel Druez came earlier to work on the stage and other technical aspects.
Compagne Du Hasard actress Sarah Glond said on Monday during rehearsals at Jacaranda Cultural Centre (JCC) in Blantyre that it was her first time in Malawi.
“It is an honour to be here, Malawi is a beautiful country. We are here to learn from each other as theatre groups especially working in different cultures. Since we started rehearsing, we have been sharing ideas on directing and other important theatre elements,” Glond said.
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The French theatre group is in the country courtesy of funding from among others, French Embassy in South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi.
The visit by the French theatre company also follows an announcement recently that JCC and Maison de la France had now transformed to Alliance Francaise.
Solomonic Peacocks, which celebrates its 25th anniversary starts performances with the French theatre company at JCC on March 23 2024 during the fifth edition of the Easter Theatre Festival.
The other performance will be at the same venue on March 25 2024 which will be free of charge and then Blend Lodge and Kitchen in Zomba on March 26 before dating Chingalire Cultural Centre in Lilongwe on March 28 2024 with another free of charge performance.
Apart from Glond and Matukuta, the other members of the cast include Emmanuel Faventines, Mwandipa Chimaliro, Delphine Chuillot, Gilbert Epron, Martin Lenzoni, Daniele Marty, Jimmy Maole, Henri Payet and Cecilia Sayenda.
The freely adapted play from Homer, tells the story of an Olympic champion, who is held prisoner by a dictator, her son and husband are waiting for her on the other side of the world. She must escape and overcome all kinds of hardships to reach them.
