Fumbani Innot Phiri Jr.: Welcome to Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre podcast, produced for HowlRound Theatre Commons, a free and open platform for theatre makers worldwide, in partnership with Advancing Arts Forward, a motion superior fairness, inclusion, and justice via the humanities by making a liberated area that uplift you and encourages to alter the world. I’m your host, Fumbani Innot Phiri Jr., a producer, actor, director, playwright, and naturally, a contract journalist.
Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre, I interview established theatre artists from all backgrounds to discover the precarious journey of theatre in a contemporary world, defines the issue, and discover a higher answer to maintain us within the technology of movement photos. In this podcast, I lead the dialogue with established performers, administrators, writers, who’re exploring methods to greet these challenges whereas their works impressed the neighborhood.
In in the present day’s version, I’m with Thomas Chibambo, a competition supervisor of Blantyre Arts Festival. Thomas Chibambo is a full-time cultural and humanities creator, a movie producer, occasion supervisor, competition director of Blantyre Arts Festival. Since 2002, Thomas has been concerned in variety of artistic performances and occasion administration in Malawi. He’s a author, director, and producer of Malawi first ever TV drama sequence and founding father of Blantyre Festival that has been operating since 2009 within the seat of Blantyre, Malawi.
Blantyre Arts Festival is nongovernmental group, which was established in 2009, included as trustees as an NGO, however responds to the wants of growth, promotion of assorted side of arts and tradition by organizing occasions, festivals, and tradition trade packages for each native and worldwide performers. It promotes the native company society by offering company planning promotion. Blantyre Arts Festival run tradition tailor-made initiatives that current the perfect Malawian creativity to the widest doable viewers and likewise present social creativity, growth trainings, capability buildings, and cultural initiative packages to uplift tourism, creativity, and improve of cultural actions.
All proper, Thomas Chibambo from Blantyre Arts Festival. Thank you for this version and other people wish to know, who’s Thomas Chibambo?
Thomas Chibambo: Well, yeah. I’m Thomas Chibambo. I’m the founder and govt director of Blantyre Arts Festival in Malawi, which is began manner again in 2009. And the group has been up and operating since then.
Fumbani: Blantyre Arts Festival is among the outstanding competition in Malawi, and it has been there selling theatre throughout Malawi and worldwide. So, you as Tom Chibambo, what was the key behind to ascertain Blantyre Arts Festival?
Thomas: Well, when the Blantyre Arts Festival began in 2009, there wasn’t extra festivals in Malawi; and through that point, many of the artists in several genres had no alternative to have visibility in performing arts. And there was some two, three festivals which had been dominated with the music solely. And I discover out that many of the arts disciplines had no alternative to have visibility within the arts.
So, when the Blantyre Arts Festival got here in, I believed that I ought to embody completely different disciplines within the arts, the place theatre was one of many disciplines that I included. So, thereby together with visible arts, movie, images, poetry, music, modern dance, and all these sort of issues change into a part of a bundle of Blantyre Arts Festival to be sure that artists in Malawi have a chance to have visibility within the competition, relatively than simply to solely music as a dominant of the festivals in Malawi.
Fumbani: So, it has been in genesis 2009 updated and mainly, other than Blantyre Arts Festival, we all know Tom Chibambo as a filmmaker. In late 2000, you stormed the society with first Malawi TV sequence, which loved airplay in Malawi TV station, which was solely TV station by then. And what was normal wish to abandon a filmmaking job and begin a competition?
Thomas: Not actually abandoning as a result of I imply, should you take a look at a movie business, it’s one of many costly journey within the business of the humanities. And after I produced my first sequence in 2003, 2004, it wasn’t a straightforward journey, taking into account that in Malawi, many of the productions within the movie class weren’t on high of the thoughts of the individuals as a result of I imply, it was very, very costly to provide. I used to be simply fortunate sufficient that I had the sponsored bundle that I used to be capable of produce these. I nonetheless take into consideration that I’ve to proceed.
But then, I imply, if you take a look at the humanities as arts practitioner, you also needs to recommend to do issues that incorporate many disciplines within the arts. Now, movie business was simply contemplating theatre and producers, actors and actresses, however poetry, music, visible arts, photographer had been out of the scene.
Now, that is coming in a way that I needed to include many, not simply solely line of movie manufacturing. So, by coming in with the Blantyre Arts Festival, my concept is to be sure that the facets of the humanities which had been unnoticed of my path of doing movie manufacturing, ought to we incorporate extra arts into my journey of—
Fumbani: More like multidiscipline.
Thomas: —Into my journey of being an arts practitioner in Malawi.
Fumbani: All proper. So, you thought it sensible, “Okay, let me incorporate a lot of art discipline in one sector.” So, you determined to provide you with a competition, and the competition known as Blantyre Arts Festival. Someone was asking why did he select Blantyre as an alternative of constructing it as a nationwide competition? Yes, we perceive it’s worldwide competition, however why did he select the title of a metropolis, Blantyre.
Thomas: Blantyre is among the … a business metropolis in Malawi, and a competition ought to positively have a reputation of the town embracing the entire society in Malawi. And we additionally must be sure that one of many cities in Malawi also needs to have an choices to have a advertising and marketing software like Blantyre for Malawi. And it’s a advertising and marketing technique that we wish to make Malawi as one of many touristic sector with its personal manufacturers of the town of Blantyre.
But as you talked about already, Blantyre Arts Festival is not only about for Blantyre, it embody artists from everywhere in the nation, but additionally everywhere in the world. As we began our competition, varied artists from completely different international locations have been a part of the competition. They have been coming to carry out in Malawi in a unique disciplines, mentioning about theatre. We began the theatre by together with artists from completely different universities, like from University of Malawi and different native theatre productions have been a part of it. And then different theatre manufacturing from Zimbabwe, from Zambia, they’ve been a part of the competition and different theatre manufacturing from Germany. They’ve been additionally a part of the Blantyre Arts Festival. It’s widening state of affairs that we created for Blantyre Arts Festival to be sure that most of their …
Thomas: Then we created for Blantyre’s Festival to be sure that many of the artists profit from the group of Blantyre’s Festival itself.
Blantyre’s Festival is among the huge festivals in Blantyre in addition to in Malawi. We must have revenue to have very conducive surroundings and the area the place we will have all of the facets of performances at one venue.
Fumbani: How did you handle to include all of those concepts to provide you with Blantyre’s Festival? As I’m saying, I’m one of many product from Blantyre’s Festival. I acquired a chance to carry out at Blantyre’s Festival after I was younger. Then I acquired a chance to go to Germany to additional my performing excuse[AM1] . So what was the key behind incorporate rock artists and in addition to to carry tradition trade throughout the circle of performing arts?
Thomas: You have to grasp that if you end up nicely organized issues will all the time go nicely. You must be sure that your group is nicely registered, your group is nicely linked with completely different sectors of the humanities and you must work very, very arduous to just be sure you discover companions which you could work collectively. It is throughout that neighborhood of getting loads of companions but additionally to be nicely linked but additionally to be well-organized group that’s in tandem with the legal guidelines of the nation in order that if you end up pursuing completely different sort of standards of growth within the arts, you shouldn’t have completely different obstacles alongside the way in which. So the key behind is to be sure that the group is nicely organized: it has its board of trustees, it’s registered with the native legal guidelines—in Malawi, in our case. And you also needs to just be sure you are linked and also you also needs to just be sure you have sponsors and the companions that may take you alongside the way in which. And for this reason Blantyre’s Festival has been in existence since 2009 updated and it’s nonetheless robust and it’s nonetheless going.
Fumbani: And it’s nonetheless robust, it’s nonetheless going. At the identical time you wrestle to entry followers for the artist, however your personal artists will supply themselves to come back over and carry out at no cost only for visibility and arrange their new platforms. Has it been a problem so that you can entry followers?
Thomas: Exactly. It’s identical to every other arts group in Malawi, additionally globally, it’s dealing with quite a few challenges in accessing funds ‘trigger not so many native and worldwide organizations assist arts as a result of largely arts has been thought of as a leisure sort of actions. Bearing in thoughts that many of the group, they really assist infrastructure of the federal government, issues like that. There is loads of challenges that the world is struggling for the time being. For occasion, there was COVID-19. I do know there’s poverty. People would in any other case recommend to assist these sort of issues, leaving arts behind, contemplating it as its leisure group. So due to that state of affairs you discover arts group, I discover it just about very arduous to entry funding. But like I advised you, as a result of companions that we have now established over the course of time, we’re nonetheless working hand in hand with our companions to pursue the continuity of arts and create the business and make it to develop in Malawi.
Fumbani: So for the reason that institution of Blantyre’s Festival, we have now seen music, let’s say musicians, and the theatre artists having fun with the fruit of Blantyre’s Festival. Tons of artists are touring to Germany to entry cultural trade packages. In 2013 additionally see a secondary faculty going to Germany to carry out at Aware and Fare Cultural Festival of which it was a start mark from Blantyre Arts Festival.
To you, what’s your tackle selling theatre for kids and younger individuals?
Thomas: For occasion, that’s our path and we studied already incorporating theatre for younger individuals since we began our competition already. And one of many product is your self with the younger festivals. You’ve been a part of the competition since this began updated. And that’s our instructions and we nonetheless must be sure that we incorporate younger individuals in theatre productions. And of late, this yr we couldn’t incorporate a lot of theatre productions in our competition settings as a result of lack of efficiency area.
Blantyre’s Festival is among the huge festivals in Blantyre in addition to in Malawi. We must have revenue to have very conducive surroundings and the area the place we will have all of the facets of performances at one venue. But you possibly can agree with me that we don’t have it in Malawi; we don’t have it in Blantyre. And due to that we’re trying ahead to have an excellent conducive place and an area the place we will incorporate all these artwork disciplines to be a part of the competition once more. So we have now to see subsequent yr how greatest we will incorporate all these sectors of arts in order that our journey ought to have an excellent meals for imaginations.
Fumbani: As you mentioned, this lack of conducive surroundings, mainly for this yr’s competition, most theatre practitioners complained out loud, they didn’t have an area to do efficiency due to how the area was designed. But to the stakeholders, they really useful the kind of competition free for everybody was simply excellent as a result of it offers a chance for individuals from Blantyre to entry performances, from music, poetry, dance. But theatre was not there. What’s your plan of incorporating theatre however in the exact same setup?
Thomas: We urged that the competition from now onwards, it’s going to be at no cost for everybody. And we wish to use the identical area to be sure that we incorporate all these genres into the competition settings because it was. But then we need to have an surroundings the place we will construct completely different sort of levels. Now we’re going to have levels for theatre. We are going to have stage for music and we’re going to have stage for younger individuals to do completely different sort of settings like poetry, like committee for younger individuals. So the way in which ahead is to construct completely different sort of stage, on the similar area, on the similar venue. But we wish to have completely different sort of levels the place we will incorporate completely different sort of artwork disciplines to have an possibility, to have a chance to have such sort of efficiency and the visibility for his or her arts in order that we will have a significant influence within the sense of creating arts.
Malawi is shedding loads of personal identification within the facets of the humanities, and it’s shedding identification as a result of individuals do not need a lot visibility, an area the place they’ll carry out.
Fumbani: Don’t you assume using a free competition, the setup you simply did this yr, could have an issue in your sustainability of the group?
Thomas: Many persons are pondering that it’s going to be problematic to maintain competition when it’s free. But you must additionally keep in mind that when it’s a free competition, it implies that lot of individuals coming and many of the companions that we have now, they should have viewers. And due to viewers goes to be assured throughout this competition, we’re going to have extra companions which can be going to be with us as a result of the companions will all the time want extra viewers. And due to that, we’re going to maintain our competition primarily based in the truth that we’re going to have extra companions with us and extra companions are coming in with the sources that may be capable of proceed to do our competition with none downside. So sustainability relies on extra companions which can be going to be with us, taking into account that there’ll be lots of people who’re going to be half and parcel of the competition and these are twin issues. It can not change.
Fumbani: I feel for the artist’s sake, it is going to additionally profit them as a result of they’ll be uncovered to loads of viewers ‘cause it’s a free competition, and lots of people going be there to look at, and a few of the guys don’t like go and watch festivals as a result of you’ll want to pay one thing even when it’s low cost. But when it’s free they’ll say, “Ah, let’s go and have a free time and enjoy.”
Thomas: On the opposite hand, we additionally must have the state of affairs the place individuals would admire arts in Malawi as a result of there’s loads of mature arts, loads of Indigenous arts in Malawi, however individuals have a tendency to not go and watch as a result of they don’t have sources. They don’t have cash that they’ll pay. But when it’s free like this, the general public who admire arts by going and attending these festivals at no cost, like at Blantyre Arts Festival, they’ll be capable of attend poetry, comedy, music. That is one thing that we will contribute as Blantyre Arts Festival to provide society. Blantyre Arts Festival is not only the group by itself. It is there constructed within the elements that the society ought to admire the humanities, and we’re there for the individuals. So once we are there for the individuals, we have now to contribute to the society. And the society ought to be capable of know the artists, and the artists are going to embrace the viewers as a result of they may have lots of people appreciating their arts—like music, individuals who admire the music of various artists, poetry, theatre, modern dance, and all these sort of issues.
And it’s additionally a advertising and marketing avenue the place Blantyre Arts Festival acts as a market base for the artists to promote out their creative merchandise. So if artists are promoting their merchandise to many individuals, it means the artists are going to achieve loads of revenues due to their participation to the competition, in order that can also be a sustainability side for us.
You also needs to see that once we are setting our competition as free as such, it’s an enormous venue, and there’ll be loads of stalls coming from completely different firms and completely different organizations. Those stalls’ homeowners are benefiting from the competition and the stalls are additionally paying some revenues to Blantyre Arts Festival. That side is also a bundle for sustainability for us. So the sustainability to have free competition as Blantyre Arts Festival… they see it’s assured and wish to get it on and on so that folks ought to take pleasure in competition. Artists ought to be capable of give out their greatest to the neighborhood, to the viewers on the market, and companions will take pleasure in to be with us as a result of they assured that there’ll be lots of people coming who can see their product and providers, stuff like that. So we have now the mutual profit that isn’t going to lose its style.
Fumbani: I feel at the moment Blantyre Arts Festival has reached a degree of reaching each angle of how one can maintain the competition and likewise every half from every self-discipline of theatre and performing arts is being inclusive on this competition. But how do you look within the level of involving Indigenous performances, like involving conventional dance? Last time I watched a Gule Wamkulu, which is typical, conventional and it was very good to see. I used to be anticipating extra of that.
Thomas: Exactly. I imply that was simply a place to begin as you mentioned already. I imply you’ve got the witness eye your self that you just noticed Gule Wamkulu being a part of it and that’s actually typical Indigenous arts for Malawi and we have to do extra of that as a result of many of the Indigenous arts, younger individuals like people who find themselves staying in Blantyre, within the cities like this, they don’t know what it’s all about. And that’s the place to begin when we’re going to do extra about that in order that these Indigenous arts also needs to have a platform for the visibility of the humanities. And Malawi is shedding loads of personal identification within the facets of the humanities, and it’s shedding identification as a result of individuals do not need a lot visibility, an area the place they’ll carry out. And as a result of they don’t any revenue out of their arts, these Indigenous arts do not need curiosity to proceed to do their performances. And now when Blantyre Arts Festival is incorporating them, it’ll encourage them to do extra arts. Because of that our Indigenous arts could have a visibility for the generations to come back.
Fumbani: And one level we have now to incorporate the inclusiveness of individuals with disabilities. How do you look that these level of how you will embody individuals with incapacity? Many gifted individuals with disabilities in Malawi, they’re doing theatre, doing poetry, doing music. What’s the sort of deliberate entry would come with these artists?
Thomas: Now this time round we’re going to be sure that the competition has a sure level the place you say individuals who have disabilities ought to have an added benefit to take part. So we open name for purposes and that’s going to be one of many side that we’re going to add to say individuals with the completely different disabilities could have added benefit to carry out on the competition in order that we will encourage extra individuals with the completely different disabilities, artists of that nature, to be a part of the competition.
We are going to have a movie screening like we have now been used to, that’s why I mentioned we’re going to construct a unique sort of stage in order that we will actually incorporate all these sort of completely different disciplines to be a part of the competition. So individuals with completely different disabilities are going to be half and parcel the competition as a result of we don’t need to go away every other side of the humanities behind.
Fumbani: It’s like extra of inclusive competition—
Thomas: Exactly.
Fumbani: —Whereby everybody with expertise in music, poetry, dance might be half and parcel of the competition and benefit from the accessibility, the tradition trade packages, the workshops, which shall be very nice.
Now you’re nonetheless pushing the competition and extra acts are coming. More artists are being promoted via this competition. But we nonetheless have the problem of how the tradition business in Malawi is being supported by the federal government, and certain you’re a part of the duty pressure, which is that they’re transferring the parliament to have our Arts Council in Malawi. For fairly many years, we have now been preventing for this struggle. Is it a profitable struggle or…
Thomas: It’s profitable. It’s profitable.
Fumbani: It’s profitable.
Thomas: Yes, it’s profitable as a result of I imply what we have now to grasp is if you arrange a fireplace you must hold it burning. If you simply go away it, it’ll positively die within the pure dying. But for the time being you’re seeing your self that we’re positively very provocative in ensuring that the Arts Council is establishing in Malawi, and we’re in an excellent stage the place positively we will see that we’re going to have one Arts Council just about quickly as a result of we have now concerned stakeholders which can be positively prepared to be sure that they pursue this Arts Council to be enacted in Malawi.
Recently we had been already discussing with the parliamentarians, and the parliamentarians, they’re the individuals who make legal guidelines. All the councils in Malawi are enacted by parliamentarians, and we lobbied with them, and they’re a lot to see that the Arts Council is unquestionably going to seek out its manner passing via the parliament. You also needs to perceive that it’s solely Malawi out of sixteen member states within the SADC area which do not need an Arts Council. And 99 % of the international locations in Africa have one Arts Council—Malawi and just some different international locations which do not need an Arts Council. It’s a really pity.
The parliamentarians themselves, they’re on the forefront to be sure that the Arts Council ought to positively be a part of Malawi this time round.
Fumbani: Yeah. Okay.
Thomas: You also needs to keep in mind that Zimbabwe change into impartial in 1980. And very 4 years after that it enacted its Arts Council, simply after 4 years. And Malawi, it’s fifty-seven years down the road. It doesn’t have Arts Council. This is a pity state of affairs.
Fumbani: Why do you assume is the primary cause?
Thomas: Oh, the primary cause was the political will. It’s a political will. The will of the federal government don’t embody arts as one of many sectors that they should develop. And taking into account that for the time being we’re within the forefront of debate with the parliamentarians who move legal guidelines. They had been a lot annoyed to listen to that in Malawi there isn’t any Arts Council placing all these elements that Zimbabwe, solely 4 years, they’d their very own Arts Council. Why not Malawi? So then the parliamentarians themselves, they’re on the forefront to be sure that the Arts Council ought to positively be a part of Malawi this time round, in order that’s why I’m saying that we’re within the profitable place proper now.
Fumbani: Don’t you assume it’s the battle is within the profitable sector half I can say that’s gradual?
Thomas: It’s gradual, and the opposite factor that you just also needs to know is that the sector was not supported by the companions. And this time round we’re very completely satisfied that there are some completely different companions who’re supporting us to push the Arts Council to be enacted. That alone is a sign that the Arts Council goes to seek out its manner via to the parliament.
Fumbani: Oh wow. Okay. We return to Blantyre Arts Festival. For years I’ve been there. If you’ve got modified venues, you’ve got this surroundings for theatre so how do you view the way forward for theatre in Blantyre Arts Festival?
Thomas: I feel theatre contribute loads of nice facets of the humanities in Malawi. It has modified loads of issues, and it has additionally carry younger artists into the play. And we may see that younger persons are a lot to be a part of the theatre productions in Malawi. And additionally there’s loads of actions which can be taking place which can be involving theatre contributions. That alone can also be exhibiting that the theatre goes to discover a higher platform for them to proceed as a result of there’s a market, fascinating bundle about it. and the Blantyre Festival is ensuring that theatre manufacturing ought to have a much bigger play within the competition. But I feel this time we need to be sure that possibly 50 % of the humanities needs to be a part of the theatre productions as a result of for the time being 50 % is concerning the music.
Fumbani: Yeah.
Thomas: And this time we need to be sure that we have now a much bigger platform for theatre manufacturing. That’s why I mentioned we have to have completely different venue at completely different settings, completely different levels, all to be able to be sure that we accommodate theatre to be a part of the competition itself.
Fumbani: They simply ended competition, we noticed how impactful you launched problems with local weather change and other people had been simply calling it as Eco-tourism competition as a result of the way you imported problems with Indigenous performances. We see Gule Wamkulu, different conventional dance. We see modern. And now on the similar time the entire competition was performed at a conducive surroundings that replicate the component of local weather change that may replicate how one can shield our surroundings. What was the primary purpose to decide on this thematic component of local weather?
Thomas: You should perceive that artists, you must perceive typical of the artists, artists are just like the mirror.
Fumbani: Yeah.
Thomas: The mirror all the time… if you take a look at the mirror, it displays your personal identification, and the artists are just like the mirror that it displays to the challenges that the world, the nation, the nation goes via. Therefore, Blantyre Arts Festival shouldn’t be spared within the challenges that Malawi as a rustic goes via, particularly with regards to local weather change. Malawi is a part of it. We had the Cyclone Idai—
Fumbani: Yeah.
Thomas: Which devastated loads of lives.
Fumbani: Yeah.
Thomas: A number of property had been broken, and we by no means know what different challenges that we’re going to have sooner or later to come back. Artists should be sure that they replicate all these sort of issues in order that the people who find themselves making selections ought to take a look at the way in which how we will stop different damages that may come via with the damaging influence of local weather change.
Therefore, our competition all the time look into these issues and be sure that the theme ought to replicate to the issues which can be difficult the society. That’s why Blantyre Arts Festival final yr was extra a lot concerning the local weather change reflection as a result of it’s the facets which can be difficult the society for the time being in order a mirror we had been on the forefront to take a look at the society and inform the nations that we should do one thing if you wish to fight the problems of damaging results of local weather change and environmental protections in Malawi.
Fumbani: Apart from the competition itself, do you’ve got impartial initiatives that additionally would proceed the notice of local weather change? This is of local weather safety and surroundings. Do you’ve got these plans otherwise you nonetheless, you have already got that concept of implementing issues to do with local weather change utilizing artists?
Thomas: We wish to use the prevailing artists that we have now to be sure that we have now the initiatives. And already from the companions that we had final time, these companions who got here from local weather change and environmental safety. We are cooking one thing for the time being that we should always have the venture that we are going to do, positively proceed to speak extra concerning the points which can be negatively impacting the nations by way of local weather change and environmental safety. The theatre is among the teams that we wish to work collectively and be sure that we have now consciousness marketing campaign about local weather change and the environmental damaging influence points throughout the nation and we will do some clips by way of possibly doing video clips or video sequence or to do—
Fumbani: Digital theatre.
Thomas: Yeah, digital theatre that we will ship elsewhere. And we wish to embrace using digital platform, which is seemingly persons are utilizing it quite a bit however don’t want bodily presence of the artists elsewhere. We can use digital platform, however producing some completely different clips, some movies, some audio sequence, one thing like that. Those are the instructions that we’re taking proper now.
Fumbani: All proper.
Thomas: Yeah.
Fumbani: Tom Chiwambo, thanks very a lot for a beautiful dialog. I hope subsequent season could have one other extra and we see how greatest we will work together extra about theatre and performing arts in Malawi.
Thomas: Definitely. Indeed. We are just about completely satisfied that you just thought of Blantyre Arts Festival as one of many group that might contribute to this podcast and I’m certain that we’re going to do greater than what we’re at present.
Fumbani: Yeah. Thank you.
Thank you a lot for having a chew with us. This has been one other episode of Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre. I used to be your host Fumbani Innot Phiri. If you’re trying ahead to attach with me, you possibly can e-mail me at [email protected]
This episode is produced as a contribution to HowlRound Theatre Commons. You can discover extra episode of this sequence and different international podcast in our feeds, iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, and wherever you discover podcasts. Be certain to look “HowlRound Theatre Commons podcasts” and subscribe to obtain new episodes. If you like this podcast, submit a score and write a evaluate on these platforms. Please assist different individuals to seek out us. You can even discover the transcript of this episode, together with loads of progressive and damaging content material, on howlround.com. Do you’ve got an concept for thrilling podcasts, reply, or a TV occasion that theatre neighborhood wants to listen to? Visit howlround.com and submit your concept to the commons.