Pacific Caramel Ensemble, Kukaya unite for hometown
Saturday promises to be a red-letter day for Mzuzu entertainment enthusiasts in northern Malawi as they are poised to sample a rare collaboration of dance and drama.
Northern Region’s rising theatre outfits Pacific Caramel Ensemble and Kukaya Dancing Troupe have teamed up to offer residents a feast of both worlds at Obrigado Leisure Park.
Pacific Caramel Ensemble Theatre will be showcasing Imaginary Harvest which has already enthralled patrons in Mzuzu and Lilongwe cities.
The iconic play, written by Felix Milowa, is an expose of neocolonialism in a virgin land that is deeply entrenched in tradition and culture. In the play, a mining company from the Far East comes to invest in bauxite at Mulanje Mountain, Malawi. The locals do not have the economic and technological might to stop the investor from the environmental unfriendly mining project and their revolt is quickly crushed by the police whom they hoped would protect them.
 “We want people to enjoy all cultural dances of Northern Region and watch drama at the same time. Our aim is to preserve and revive culture which is dying because of technology,” Kukaya Dancing Troupe director Samuel Ngwira said.
The organisers plan to make this a monthly do to help address the entertainment drought in the city.
Pacific Caramel Ensemble director Gibson Chisale said English performances have regressed since the death of Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre greats Du Chisiza and Gertrude Kamkwatira.
“We want to address the audience which thirsts for local English theatrical performances,” Chisale said.
Kukaya is a renowned dance troupe in the region. According to Ngwira, they will perform vimbuza, malipenga, mapenenga, ingoma and mwinoghe, among other folk dances.
