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| Entertainment |
| African Hamlet set for UK |
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by
James Mphande, 12 December 2003
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14:53:03
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After showing the modified version of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet in several parts of the country, local theatre group Nanzikambe plans to take the adapted version The African Hamlet to the United Kingdom.
But before Hamlet leaves for the UK, there is going to be a farewell at the French Cultural Centre (FCC) on Sunday when Nanzikambe stages the play for the last time.
Nanzikambe’s artistic director Kate Stafford said although the FCC show is the final performance in the current run, the show has been so successful that Nanzikambe is currently in talks with potential sponsors to take the production to the UK.
“This is really an exciting development. Nanzikambe’s development director Melissa Eveleigh has been in the UK since early November. She has shown theatre producers video footages of both the recent Nanzikambe shows, Chilly Heart and The African Hamlet and there has been a lot of interest in bringing Malawian theatre to a British audience. We are hoping to be able to make an announcement in the near future,” said Stafford.
Production for The African Hamlet, launched at the FCC in May, has changed and developed since the first performance. The original 10-strong cast of actors has now grown to include the 15 members of Village Cultural Troupe who dance, sing, play drums, eat fire and perform acrobatics during the course of the show.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a story about greed, revenge, family bonds, madness and murder. In this African version, however, we see prince Hamlet being haunted by his father’s ghost.
The ghost appears, armed with traditional spear and shield, with two gulewamkulu dancers. He tells hamlet that he was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle, who has now become King and is married to Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. Shocked by the ghost’s words, Hamlet swears to revenge his father’s murder.
The rest of the play is a roller-coaster of passion, murder and grief. |
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