Mwezi Wawala returns this weekend

The second edition of the Mwezi Wawala International Arts and Theatre Festival bounces back this weekend with pomp, excitement and lots of surprises as the edition for the first time, brings the creme de la creme of artists from all continents except Australia.

It is a totally different festival, purely rebranded with performances for various audiences and for the first time, children will have room to watch some of the performances.

The festival coincides with the 10th anniversary celebrations of Nanzikambe Arts, and will run for three days from Friday to Sunday. The three days will expose non-stop performances of over 40 acts.

With support from various companies, the festival will be headlined by performances by arts groups from China, Germany, France South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Coordinator of the festival, Vincent Maluwa, said the selection was based on fame and international record achieved.

“We are celebrating 10 years of our existence and we want to make the festival historical. We have only chosen successful theatre groups and the headliners are those that have made a mark on international theatre,” said Maluwa.

Africa’s flag will be flown high by a play called Half Empty Half Full by Zimbabwe’s Savanna Trust.

He said apart from Nanzikambe’s three plays, the country’s performances will be headlined by Universal Arts theatre, Chancellor College Travelling Theatre in drama and Masankho Banda will caption the story-telling category.

Prior to the festival, the organisers are holding several workshops on theatre. There have also been renovations at the café.