Zimpapers Logo

Part of the cast from the Centre for Talent Development perform a scene from Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and The Jewel

Auxilia Katongomara Entertainment Correspondent
LITERATURE students in Bulawayo have a chance to watch three set book plays live on stage at the Literature Festival for Schools which began on Wednesday at Bulawayo Theatre. The festival which ends today seeks to use live theatre to simplify or give a better understanding of the texts being studied in schools and colleges.
Yesterday, scores of Advanced Level students from schools in and around Bulawayo had the opportunity to watch the play A Doll’s House by Hendrick Ibsen.

Some of the schools that responded to the initiative by the Intwasa Festival koBulawayo and the Centre for Talent Development are PACE College, Empandeni High, Masotsha High, Townsend Girls High, Sizane High and Mpopoma High School.

There were two shows of the same play in the morning and afternoon.
Intwasa administrator Runyararo Mutandi said they were impressed with the response from schools.
“The opening day kicked off with a high turnout from schools and that was very impressive.

“We are expecting more schools,”  said Mutandi.
Today, the play, The Lion and the Jewel, will be the main attraction at the venue.
The play is a Literature in English set book for O-level students.

There will be two shows at 10am and at 2pm.
The Live Literature Festival was conceptualised by the Centre for Talent Development, with technical assistance from Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo and is designed to benefit students and teachers in schools around Zimbabwe.

One of the organisers, Thabani Moyo, said the idea behind the project was to make plays a reality to enhance reading the books.
“Plays were never meant to be just read and studied in the classroom; they were meant to be performed live in the theatre. The Live Literature Festival tries to help students understand better what they study in class while at the same time experiencing the true magical moments of theatre.

“The festival hopes to grow and end up including other language set books, as part of its theatre-in-education project,” said Moyo.
The works are two classic plays The Lion and The Jewel by one of Africa’s best playwrights Wole Soyinka, A Doll’s House by one of Europe’s theatre godfathers, Hendrick Isben and Okot p’Bitek’s classic poem Song of Lawino, which has been reworked into a play.

The Live Literature Festival is set to be an annual event and plans to adapt novels like Animal Farm are already underway for the 2014 edition.
The three plays are the major acts of the Live Literature Festival programme for 2013.

The three plays share common themes, African Culture versus Western Culture and Feminism.
Moyo said the festival was a learning platform for all students “The festival gives students a chance to learn away from the classroom, in the process they learn to think beyond the classroom.

“They will remember most of the things they see, there is a belief that we remember easily the things we see than those we hear,” he said.
Moyo encouraged schools in Bulawayo to bring their students for the debut festival as they will also get the chance to interact with students from other schools and share information.

Today Okot p’Bitek’s classic poem Song of Lawino will be the main attraction.