THE Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa) Theatre Season, where high-flying local and South African comedians will showcase their skills, roars into life at Reps Theatre today and will run until Sunday, according to a statement released by the organisers.
by ARTS REPORTER
Bankrolled by Danida as part of its partnership with the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust, the comedy and satire programme will comprise performances, workshops and spoken word sessions.
Culture Fund projects officer Chido Mushaya said this was part of the Fund’s Culture Impacts programme meant to address development challenges and deliver measurable results on specific strategic thematic areas.
“Comedy and satire can allow the people of Zimbabwe to discuss the issues of the day and also bring comic relief.
Our partnership with Danida has supported this much-needed event that allows free expression,” she said.
Top billing local and South African comedy practitioners, including Carl Joshua Ncube, Donovan Goliath, Kevin Hanssen, Doc Vikela, Lizzy Linhle Msimang, Simba The Comic King, Q, Clive Chigubhu, Tatenda Mbudzi, Yaaseen Barnes, Diana Nomsa and Ntando Van Moyo, will participate.
“The Theatre Season is an immersive weekend of performances, food, wine, conversation, dance and inspiration. It is a celebration of all types of theatre, including physical storytelling, spoken word, dance theatre, satire and comedy,” Hifa said.
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The audience will be treated to a mix of side-splitting satire and humour on a variety of topical issues and that the focus of this year’s programme is using comedy presented by creative thinkers to contribute towards positively changing society’s attitudes on trending issues.
The workshops to be hosted during the programme, the organisers said, would offer artists an opportunity to exchange skills, learn new techniques and explore artistic responses to society’s challenges.
The project falls under the Danida-Culture Fund partnership, whose objective is to strengthen the capacity of key Zimbabwean cultural operators through investing in a variety of initiatives that include festivals, music and theatre productions, workshops, arts management training initiatives, culture exchange programmes and culture projects.
The Danida-Culture Fund partnership has, since 2014, provided funding for a variety of initiatives including the Salif Keita and Hope Masike collaborative show at Hifa 2015.
