Will Superior Drama contest come to pass?
There were joy and smiles last year when Superior Events Management -through Superior Films in conjunction with National Theatre Association of Malawi (Ntam) -launched the K5 million drama competition in Blantyre.
Superior Events Management, led by Japhet Majekete, moved fast to start the competition that saw drama groups battling it out until 10 made it to the national finals.
But the national finals have not been held up to now.
Some actors and actresses have since bemoaned the delay with others feeling cheated by the organisers.
“The grand finals would have been held by now. The competition started last year and it’s sad that, up to now, the organisers have not held the finals. They have taken us for a ride and we are not even sure if we will have the finals,” said one of the actors, who did not want to be named.
Another actor, who stars for one of the groups that made it to the grand finale, said the finals are long overdue and that the organisers would have come out to say the truth about the competition.
But Majekete, who announced in April that the event would be held last month, said everything was in order for the grand finale.
“This is an annual event which is here to stay and our aim is to uplift theatre in the country. But we are doing things not in a hurry. I can assure the nation that the grand finale will be held on July 28,” Majekete said.
But Majekete and team have kept on changing dates for the grand finale which has led many players in the theatre industry to doubt the credibility of the competition.
“If the organisers are really serious with the contest, why have they not been firm on the date for the grand finale? Why do they keep on changing? Let them hold it or else quit,” one of the actors said.
Majekete said they cannot just start a competition without finishing it.
“We did not just wake up to come up with this competition, we planned and we know what we are doing. When we were launching the competition, some people were doubting but we proved them wrong by holding all the other contests and now we are coming with the finals,” he said.
Majekete appealed to the groups that made it to the finals to start preparations ahead of the grand finale.
Recently, some drama groups from the Northern Region also cried foul over the delay to run the national finals.
The national finals of the competition have delayed, having finalised the regional finals in October last year.
The groups that made it to the national finals after their success during the regional finals are Young Travellers Theatre, Logos Theatre and Aini Drama Group from the Southern Region and New Beginning, Umoja Arts and Harmony Arts from the Central Region.
Representatives from the Eastern and Northern regions are Umunthu Arts and We Create Arts and Astrovaganza and Oneness, respectively.
The winner of the contest is expected to walk away with K1.5 million with second and third positions pocketing K750,000 and K500,000, respectively.
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