University of Malawi, through the School of Arts, Communication and Design, has released a list of performers for its theatre festival set to be held on November 24 through to November 26 2023.
The list has categories of professional, which have groups like Kwathu, YDC Theatre, Young Travellers, Migrants Arts, Solomonic Peacocks, Umunthu Theatre, Upile Drama Group, Women in Theatre, Logos and Emancipation Theatrical Ensemble; with amateur having names such as Urunji Arts Theatre, Waz Arts, Oneness Arts, Lyco Arts and Tauka Arts Theatre.
The university theatre groups have Cunima Travelling Theatre, B2B, Unima Travelling Theatre and Thespian Troupe whereas the dance troupe category includes Malawi National Dance Troupe, Judges Cultural Troupe and Paphata Cultural Troupe.
The other names that have made it to participate in the theatre festival are Zomba Urban, Bethel Girls Academy, Central High and Masongola in the secondary school groups category whereas poetry has Jonathan Nkakosya and Yona Mlakatuli with standup comedy having acts such as Ching’aning’ani and Sasoka, Isaiah Mkwaila, Gift Nagoli and Chopwicho.
Associate Professor of Drama in the School of Arts, Communication and Design, Zindaba Chisiza, has since congratulated the acts that have made it to the festival.
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He said the three-day festival, targeting professional theatre companies, amateur theatre groups, stand-up comedians, secondary school drama clubs and university theatre groups draws inspiration from festivals that used to be there in the late 1970s and 1980s and others that were there in subsequent years.
“There has been a lack of collaboration, exchange, inspiration as well as learning between the university and other partners and, so, we are creating rapport,” Chisiza said.
He said, with lack of collaboration with industry players, they were trying to bring the spirit of sharing and communing together.
“The festival is also part of celebrating theatre and drama in a way it has never been celebrated before. Unima is one of the oldest and leading institutions of higher learning as regards teaching theatre and arts in general and, so, we want to do more,” he said.
