By Jimmy Chazama
The curtain for the 17th edition of the National Arts Schools Festival (Nasfest) International Youth Cultural Festival ended on a brighter note on Sunday at Madsoc Theatre in Lilongwe with the audience experiencing a feast of music, dance and theatre.
Having been treated to other performances on the first and second day which included a drama contest of five secondary schools, the audience got another share of performances on the last day.
Some of the last day performances included a traditional dance challenge, where participants competed for cash prizes.
There was also a moment when singer and guitarist Theophilus offered his music.
Another standout performance on the last day was that of Blantyre-based Arts Sustainability Lab that served their award winning play titled Half Past Two.
This is a two-act play that was first staged at Alliance Francaise de Blantyre before it went on to claim the Best Stage Play in the 2024 MBC Entertainers of the Year.
The play starring Shakirah Manjomo and Praise Chigwe received positive feedback from the audience.
This is a compelling drama that delves into the complex dynamics of love, revenge and redemption.
Set against the backdrop of a wealthy family’s business empire, the play follows the intertwined lives of Lekani, a priviledged young woman played by Shakirah and Maganizo, a young man with a hidden agenda played by Praise.
“We are happy with the overwhelming response from the audience. We are also excited to have been selected to perform in Zambia,” Chigwe said.
The last day of Nasfest was also broad in that, the audience sampled performances from Musanza Arts Theatre from Zambia that staged their production Wisdom of An African Drum.
The group’s chairperson Hamalala Hamalala said the play seeks to celebrate African culture through music, poetry and dance.
“We have been impressed by the productions performed by Malawian theatre groups. The beauty is that they are maintaining our languages,” Hamalala said.
Apart from the performances that started on Friday, Nasfest also hosted workshops as part of giving a chance to artists to interact, share ideas and learn from each other.
“We had a chance to teach budding actors how to develop scripts, production and other technical elements so this was a fruitful outing,” South Africa’s Aaron Tywabi who was also one of the judges, said.
A film screening was also on the menu but it failed to take place because of technical glitches.
Despite this setback, Nasfest ended splendidly with a Cultural Night that featured acts from Tionge Arts from Zambia, Siyasindisa Theatre Work from South Africa and Malawi’s Tilitonse and Paphata Cultural troupes.
Organised by Light of Youth Creative Organisation (Lyco) led by its Executive Director James Kitchen, Nasfest managed to offer people the much needed fun.
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