The origins of Chikwakwa Theatre

#theatre #chikwakwa #chikwakwatheatre The Origin of Chikwakwa Theatre: Read the article at: https://support.centreforelites.com/en/the-origin-of-chikwakwa-theatre/ #CentreforElites is an educational channel, sharing the contents related to Education in general, Learning facility, sex education, exploration of how education system works and how school, be-it primary or secondary school is run on the educational psychology point of view. The Chikwakwa Theatre came into being in the 1960s gave rise to new theatre groups. The leaders of Chikwakwa Theatre were with strong feelings and conviction that Western theatre in Zambian society was divided along racial lines and that there would not emerge anything of value If Western theatre remained unchallenged. The origins of Chikwakwa Theatre can be traced to the creation of the University of Zambia Dramatic Society (UNZADRAMS) at the University of Zambia. Formed in 1969, UNZADRAMS was primarily an association for students and lecturers at the university. Though conceived by students and lecturers of the English Drama course in the University, UNZADRAMS had among its members, students who were not part of the drama course. UNZADRAMS had no national following as such but concentrated on production of plays which had a local appeal as stated by Hudwell Mwachalimba the first chairperson for UNZADRAMS: UNZADRAMS has as its guiding philosophy a deliberate program to the promotion of theatre arts among Zambians. This we are doing by presenting such plays and sketches in which Zambian audiences can recognise their own ethos - the basis of theatrical appreciation. Emphasis is therefore being placed on locally written plays or those adapted to local situations. Most of the productions of UNZADRAMS were done for a university audience. Due to lack of a university theatre, the students and lecturers, in 1969 set out to construct an open-air theatre in the Chamba Valley some seven kilometres from the university campus. The construction of the open-air theatre was done through work parties the name Chikwakwa meaning slasher symbolizes 'the way grass that formed the enclosure, was cut for construction of the theatre. It also denotes the sense of cooperation and self-help that characterized the process of construction. Chikwakwa theatre became a hive of a good number of productions that included Kasoma's The Long Arms of the Law (1966), Fear of the Unknown, Houseboy (1969), Che Guevara (1970), Prodigal Son and Kazembe and the Portuguese (1971). Michael Ertherton (1971), a lecturer at UNZA, who has been credited with being the brain-child of the Chikwakwa Theatre, in 1971 articulated his concept of a travelling theatre which became the guiding philosophy for the Chikwakwa Travelling Theatre: In Zambia, the leaders of the people have sought to sweep away the white establishment culture; one hopes that they have the insight to carry their cultural revolution through to the masses. For our part, we in the university looked up to the clear skies and the rich manifestation of songs and felt that it was too great a heritage to lose to the technocrats and black bourgeoisie and we set about developing theatre on this basis. Chikwakwa Theatre therefore is more than an open air theatre building in the bush near Lusaka: It is a commitment to the development of theatre in Zambia from exiting cultural roots as they are manifested in the performing arts and in ritual. The traditional performing arts were for all the people and Chikwakwa Theatre must be concerned with the concept of popular theatre.