Jacaranda Cultural Centre to launch a K7.4 million project

Jacaranda Cultural Centre on Wednesday disclosed its upcoming project, Theatre in Mandala during a press briefing at Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre.

The six-month project, which will start from October 2023 to April 2024 excluding March, has been funded by the Copyright Society of Malawi through the Copyright Fund with a sum of K7.4 million.

Speaking during the press conference, Jacaranda Cultural Centre executive director Luc Deschamps said the project is designed to support Blantyre’s theatre sector as well as improve the quality of productions.

Deschamps said they are doing their best to support the arts sector in Malawi.

“We are doing as much as we can to support different art players of Malawi in music, visual arts and theatre, among others,” he said.

The project’s kickoff will be marked by a series of engaging workshops to begin on October 16. The sessions will be led by a diverse group of local facilitators and others from USA, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa.

The workshop will delve into script writing, crafting, entrepreneurship, among others. Then, five performances will be curated for the project with one live performance per month.

Theatre in Mandala curator Fumbani Phiri said their intention is to centre the project on women and youth.

“We would like to focus on youth theatre makers, actors and directors. The workshop will also give an advantage to young female makers. We would like to revamp that type of storytelling coming from women’s mouths,” he said. Theatre actress Ellastas Msiska added that there are many issues to be addressed in regards to women and that the workshops are an opportunity for women to speak out.