Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

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Fumbani Innot Phiri, HowlRound Theatre Commons

12 episodes

5 months ago

In Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre, Fumbani Innot Phiri Jr. interviews established theatre artists from all backgrounds to explore the precarious journey of theatre in a modern world, define its problems, and find better solutions to sustain performing arts in a generation of motion pictures. Fumbani leads discussions with established performers, directors, and writers who are exploring ways to greet these challenges while their works inspire their communities.

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Episodes (12/12)

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Championing Theatre for Development in Malawian

Theatre for development, which uses theatre to foster civic dialogue in communities, is quite popular in Malawi. Fumbani Innot Phiri, Jr. sits down with theatre for development practitioner Vitu Gwambaike Zgambo find out what commercial theatremakers in Malawi’s cities and towns can learn from the community-based practitioners creating theatre in villages around the country.

2 years ago

34 minutes 57 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Producing Malawi’s First Multidisciplinary Arts Festival

When filmmaker Thomas Chibambo founded the Blantyre Arts Festival in 2009, it was Malawi’s first multidisciplinary arts festival. He joins host Fumbani Innot Phiri, Jr. to discuss the Blantyre Arts Festival’s current plans to better support theatrical performance and his own work to establish an Arts Council in Malawi.

2 years ago

35 minutes 28 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

How YDC Theatre Leaders Are Navigating Malawi’s Changing Theatre Environment

YDC Theatre has been producing theatre consistently in Malawi, even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They join Fumbani Innot Phiri, Jr. to trace the connections between the company’s consistent work centering Malawian perspectives, their efforts to build an audience, and the political and funding climate that they must navigate.

2 years ago

1 hour 53 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Making Theatre as a Multi-Hyphenate in Malawi

Pleasant Theodore Banda led Rise Arts to its first international performance in Zimbabwe. In this interview, he discusses his path into artistic direction as an actor and playwright with a background in accounting.

2 years ago

1 hour 18 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Developing Genuine Malawian Theatre on Stage and on the Radio

Fumbani Innot Phiri Jr. interviews his playwright and director Inno Katz about his career and his efforts to redefining Malawian theatre by focusing on local stories in both English and Chichewa.

2 years ago

1 hour 13 minutes 51 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Reinventing Malawian Theatre for a New Generation

Jack Msumba, creative director of Youth Developers Collaboration Theatre, has big ideas for the future of Malawian theatre. In this interview, he shares his plans to eventually build Malawi’s first theatre house by producing work consistently in schools, communities, and commercial settings.

2 years ago

50 minutes 22 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Theatre as a Tool for Menstrual Hygiene Education

Lydia Deborah Banda infuses theater into community initiatives that work toward gender equality, educate girls about menstruation, and provide leadership and support opportunities in schools and prisons. In this interview, she shares her experiences conducting these initiatives in Malawi and touring internationally to Germany.

2 years ago

44 minutes 3 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Building an Audience for Malawian Political Theatre

Bright Phumayo Chayachaya’s Umunthu Theatre pulls together political theatre, poor theatre, theatre for development, and educational theatre to create productions that centralize Malawian narratives. In this interview, he discusses the company’s genesis and the need to bring audiences back to theatre.

2 years ago

53 minutes 34 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Melding Spoken Word Poetry and Theatre in Malawi

What does the voice of this millennium sound like? In this interview, Khumbolane Chavula provides one answer to that question by splicing together theatre, poetry, and entrepreneurship as the founder of Millesimal Poetry.

2 years ago

33 minutes 24 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Development of Malawian Theatre: A Conversation with Maxwell Chiphinga

Maxwell Ciphinga, better known as Max DC, has weathered massive changes in the audience, form, and funding of Malawian theatre throughout his four-decade career. In this interview, he shares his perspective on the industry and discusses his policy and producorial work as the president of Malawi’s new National Theatre Association.

2 years ago

44 minutes 59 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Theatre Academics: A Conversation with Roselyn Madalo Dzanja

As a scholar, educator, and practitioner of theatre, Roselyn Madalo Dzanja knows Malawi’s theatrical landscape well. In this interview, she discusses the challenges Malawian women face when pursuing an acting career, the need for artistic independence from international donors, possibilities for Chichewa-language drama, and more.

2 years ago

49 minutes 10 seconds

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre

Dance for Change: A Conversation with Robert Magasa

Robert Magasa is an experienced dancer, choreographer, and actor who trained in Zimbabwe and now runs UjeNi Dance Ensemble Theatre in Malawi. In this interview, Magasa discusses his career, the economics of producing theatre in Malawi, and his current work to bring a combination of traditional and Afro contemporary dance to schoolchildren in Malawi.

2 years ago

47 minutes 34 seconds