Unima Theatre Festival reveals talent

The inaugural University of Malawi (Unima) Theatre Festival that took place over the weekend in Zomba has helped unearth new talent while revamping the old, it has emerged.

The event had a mixture of both the old and the new with the old reminding theatre lovers their worth while the new, mainly secondary school students, proved that the future of theatre is bright.

Speaking during the opening, associate professor of drama at Unima Zindaba Chisiza said the festival is meant to celebrate theatre in Malawi.

“Hopefully, this will be an annual event where we can come together and celebrate theatre and the massive talent we have in Malawi,” he said.

The theatre performances were spiced up with traditional dances from The Judges Dance Troupe and National Dance Troupe. There was also live music performances from Eli Njuchi on Friday evening and Driemo on Saturday evening. Zeze Kingston was expected to perform on Sunday evening during the closing ceremony.

On the first day, National Theatre Association of Malawi (Ntam) president Max DC and seasoned actress Flora Suya proved that experience is the best teacher with a powerful delivery of their play Ma banja a lero.

Comedians Ching’aning’ani and Sasoka also mesmerised the audience with their never ending witty and easy flowing jokes that kept patrons in stitches.

On the second day, Drepa Community Day Secondary School drama group demonstrated that the future of theatre in Malawi is bright with their musical theatre production.

Other groups that performed included Kwathu Drama Group, Upile Drama Group, Oneness Arts Theatre and Unima Collective whose Chichewa play Uzimba Usimbe Wako mesmerised patrons.