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(SUNDAY MAIL ZW) Zim group shines at Zambian Art Festival

Zim group shines at Zambian Art Festival
Saturday, 05 May 2012 13:37

So much is going on in the theatre industry these days. There is plenty of action all around, especially in the capital. Under normal circumstances I would dedicate this entire column to the goings-on at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa), which ends tonight.

Theatre constitutes a large percentage of Hifa entertainment. Failure to dedicate time and space to this important stage for local and international plays is tantamount to treason.

Anyway, there are several new plays that came to Hifa this year and some old ones as well, with the most dramatic being the 24-hour theatre challenge.
But that is news for another day because I need to also inform you, gentle reader, about another festival, completely devoted to drama — the April International Theatre

Festival, which I was privileged to attend.
It is an annual Zambian theatre festival, which attracts Southern African countries to that country’s capital, Lusaka, for a six-day fiesta.
Within the festival there are also several programmes meant to develop the theatre practitioner — making it unique and popular with artistes.

Festival director Nellie Munamonga, who only joined the team this year, said it was the festival’s goal to ensure that they create artistes that are entrepreneurs.
“While we come here to watch different groups perform and be entertained, the main objective of this festival is to build a different artiste from the one we know. Artistes in Southern Africa are known to enjoy fame and a little fortune before either dying or retiring poor.

“Our aim, therefore, is to educate the artistes on how to manage themselves and their money. We want them to be professional young men and women, who will work towards the development of Southern Africa,” said Munamonga.
The Zimbabwean team comprising Edzai Isu Theatre Project as well as Zvido Zvevanhu Arts Ensemble mesmerised festival goers at the Lusaka carnival.

The product they took to the Zambian festival has been to many other festivals in the region and is set to (as it did in Zambia) illuminate the Blantyre Arts Festival in October this year.
No Voice, No Choice, a collaborative effort by two Zimbabwean groups, one from Highfield and the other from Mufakose, got a standing ovation from a cosmopolitan crowd that

had filled, to capacity, the Lusaka Playhouse auditorium.

With a very simple set compared to the extravagance exhibited by the Zambians and Malawians, Tafadzwa Muzondo and team captured the attention of the crowd instantly upon getting on stage as the harmonised sound of drums, jembe and marimba resonated in the 500-plus-seater auditorium.
“Our people love musicals, but there is not much of that around here. It seems the art form continues to elude our playwrights and directors,” said Kalonje Ndlovu, the festival’s operations director.

The soft-spoken Ndlovu also bemoaned the film-like stage designs that every group except the Zimbabweans used for their performances, but praised the subjects tackled.
Having opened with a star-studded Zambian play titled Rufino’s Wife, the festival’s theatre performance programme closed with another Zambian play from a Zambian National Army-supported group, Green Buffaloes.

Although, like the rest of the plays, Green Buffaloes also used a movie-like stage, the act was superb — easily the biggest competition to the Zimbabwean play.

The soldiers used their space well and were accurate in their movements. Although, off the stage the Lieutenant-Colonel Kunda-led group gave the organisers a headache with their antics, the team was by far the best Zambian group, well trained and disciplined.
No wonder the group will be representing Zambia at the Blantyre Arts Festival (BAF). Other plays at the festival included The Hot Undercurrent by Solomonic Peacocks of Malawi, Palije — Nothing But The Truth by Khomo Lathu Media and Child On Dust by Kabwe Arts Society.
The festival, which was making its return to Zambian arts after a five-year sabbatical, was organised by Yezi Arts Productions and took place from April 25 to 29.

Labels: ENTERTAINMENT

posted by MrK @ 4:16 PM