Theatre enthusiasts are in for a treat next week as the inaugural edition of Mitambo International Theatre Festival roars to life.
Hosted by the Zimbabwe Theatre Academy, the festival running from October 8 -12 at Reps Theatre and surrounding venues, will showcase a broad range of different forms of theatre performances.
There will also be training sessions in the form of master classes and paper presentations.
The festival themed ‘Emerge’ aims to make a meaningful contribution to the increased visibility of a locally networked, progressively viable theatre sector that is meaningfully placed to add to broader social, economic and cultural growth, and to participate in global creative and cultural circuits.
“Zimbabwe and regional theatre plays are characterised by various challenges and amongst them being the lack of platforms that draws plays and audience together which has caused most of the plays to face premature death after their premiere night,” read a statement by the organisers of the festival.
The festival also seeks to empower Zimbabwean emerging theatre artists through giving them the opportunity to showcase their original content to the broader audience including networking with the other local, regional and international artists.
“It will also be a catalyst for transformation of how theatre by young people will be viewed in Zimbabwe and on the continent , in the future, creating significant attention for the field, while also generating new possibilities for partnership and supportive infrastructure.”
