Easter Theatre Festival thrills
The fourth edition of the Easter Theatre Festival took place from Friday to yesterday at Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre with a call to stakeholders to take the arts industry as a career.
Director of the festival Arthur Matukuta made the call on Friday during the official opening of the festival.
He said government and relevant stakeholders should hold hands to make sure that the industry is managed as an enterprise.
“The arts industry can turn things around and can contribute significantly to the country’s economy if well supported,” Matukuta said.
He said the industry needs support to grow, flourish and employ others.
On the first day of the festival patrons enjoyed a dance workshop. They also were trained in playing some traditional instruments such as drums.
On the second day, the festival took a more theatrical turn with performances from Solomonic Peacock, Young Travellers, Jacaranda Foundation, Native Eye Creative and St Andrew’s International High School. Chichiri Prison Dance Troupe also spiced up activities of the day with traditional dances.
In random interviews, patrons expressed satisfaction with the festival which many described as a combination of theatre, dance and poetry.
“I am glad I came. I did anticipate watching some drama, but I did not expect to also be treated poetry and traditional dances,” said a patron Gift Njala.
She said she had seen a lot of improvement from last year’s festival.
Yesterday, as we went to print, one of the country’s long-standing drama groups, Kwathu was expected to take to the stage to mark the end of the festival.
