By Nimusiima
The first ever Kampala International Theatre Festival is in a few weeks. The festival will bring together playwrights, actors, directors, costume and stage designers at its festival base the National Theatre and present an artistically diverse programme of showcases over a five-day period from 26th-30th November, 2014.
The festival’s objective is to showcase plays from emerging and established African playwrights that are topical and focus on gaining a diverse audience. The festival programme, that is curated by Deborah Asiimwe of Sundance Institute and Fasial Kiwewa of Bayimba Cultural Foundation, includes the latest scripts from East African theatre makers — from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda — that have been worked on as part of Sundance Institute East Africa’s lab residencies.
The artistically diverse programme includes a guest performance of Ster City, a South African production written by French playwright Jean Paul Delore, and the performance of Desperate To Fight by Meaza Worku from Ethiopia. It also includes a musical, DJ Lwanda by Eric Wainana, a one-man show, Dechirement (In French) performed by Freddy Sabimbona from Burundi, and Ken Saro Wiwa’s short story African Kills Her Sun that Mrisho Mpoto, Elidady Msangi and Irene Sanga adapted into a performance that works with music, song and movement.
In addition, there is a Kiswahili solo performance from Tanzania, Wimbo Wa Nyonga/The Song Of The Hip by Asha Salimu Mshana. Representing Uganda, the festival will be staging Strings by Angella Emurwon, from Rwanda Radio Play by Elizabeth Spackman and from Kenya, Black Maria by Sitawa Betty Muragori. The acting company includes Philip Luswata, Gladys Oyenbot, Kaya Kagimu Mukasa, Alice Lwanga, Brian Emurwon, Diana Kahunda, William Rogers Mpaata-Otako, Herve Kimenyi, Patriq Nkakalukanyi, Michael Sengazi, Lindiwe Matshikiza and Nicholas Welch.
