National Theatre Association of Malawi (Ntam) Project Officer Samuel Kapinga said Monday that their Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) theatre tour hangs in limbo as they have a shortfall of K15 million.
Kapinga said this ahead of the production of a play titled Imaginary Harvest involving actors from three Sadc countries of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
With the production already premiered in Malawi during the University of Malawi Theatre Festival in November last year, the production now goes to Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The premiere in Lusaka at Play House is set for April 3 2026.
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“We have some money on the table but we have a shortfall of K15 million for us to successfully manage to tour in Zambia and Zimbabwe,” Kapinga said.
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Having visited Lusaka recently for discussions, Kapinga said they engaged the country’s Minister of Sport, Youth and Culture through his personal assistant.
“We are also looking at meeting Members of Parliament for support. This support will help us ease logistics for artists to travel to Zambia,” Kapinga said.
National Theatre Arts Association of Zambia (Nataaz) Chairperson Moses Mtonga said recently that the production marks a significant milestone in regional theatre cooperation and artistic exchange.
Mtonga said Imaginary Harvest discusses the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, what led to the abandonment of the federation, how the three sister nations were affected by the federation.
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“We had a great experience in Malawi. We learned a different way of doing theatre and telling our own stories through theatre and more through the great networking and artistic cultural exchanges,” he said.
Mtonga said growth is inevitable in theatre with the holistic embracing link of Sadc countries.
“It takes me back to years of Southern African Theatre Initiative, which collaborated theatrical activities with a view of improving artist’s welfare in the region,” he said.
The mission known as ‘Fostering Regional Social Ties through Theatre’ is a project funded by Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) through Copyright Fund.
Some of the notable actors from Malawi, who are part of the cast, include Kwathu Drama Group’s Charles Mphoka and Linda Chatha, Mphundu Mjumira, Isaac Bonongwe and former Ntam leader Maxwell Chiphinga popularly known as Max DC.
