Wakhumbata set to resurface with new play

Genre : Society news
Principal country concerned : Column : Theater
Release/publication date : April 2015
Published on : 04/06/2015
Source : http://www.times.mw/wakhumbata-set-to-resurface-with-new-play/ 4 June 2015


Actor and playwright Khumbo Bazuka Mhango has come out of his long hibernation to announce his comeback in the theatre family with the forgotten Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre (WET) and is set to stage a new piece titled Silent Eyes.



WET a once vibrant theatre company created by late theatre maestro Du Chisiza Jr before Bazuka Mhango took over has been out of the picture for years now with people proclaiming it 'dead.'



But Mhango put it in bold words on Tuesday that the group is still alive and their coming back with the new production just shows that they are not dead.



"We are not dead; Wakhumbata is alive and will always be there only that we have been doing other things that kept us busy. We cannot be holding shows frequently as in the past," he said.



Mhango said they were looking for actors and actresses and that they will hold auditions.



"We are looking at doing auditions as soon as possible and this will be followed by massive rehearsals. If all goes according to plan we should be staging this production by August," he said.



While some quarters have labelled Bazuka Mhango a failure, the playwright said he is ready to go up starting with Silent Eyes, which he said is a play based on the inquiry into the death of former President Bingu wa Mutharika.



"Through this play we want to correct democracy which is what Wakhumbata has been doing over the years. This play is a play within a play and as I said, is based on the inquiry into Bingu's death and the circumstances. So many things happened and so we are looking at what happened," he said.



Bazuka Mhango said Wakhumbata has always participated in democracy and has contributed a lot in different topics in the country and this is why he is coming up with the piece.



"I have written and directed the play and after sifting into the inquiry I thought our democracy is on the wrong foot hence we need to correct it. It's new play and we are calling on people to come and we do this together," he said.



Asked why he was tackling the issue now, Bazuka Mhango said the issue is still fresh citing a recent incident of what happened during a memorial service at Ndata in Thyolo, where Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture Kondwani Nankhumwa asked the president to dig deeper into the issue surrounding late Bingu wa Mutharika's death.



He said they have missed the stage and that this is the time for them to have fun with the people adding that this is an interesting play.



"Let me say it again here that I hate it when people say dead because when you are dead you are gone but we are there and we were doing other projects. We miss the stage. The play can contribute a lot to our democracy and I can rate the piece to Barefoot in the Heart or Democracy Boulevard," he said.

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