The year 2015 promises to be a good one for the performing arts in Uganda with the relaunching of the local chapter of the International Theatre Institute (ITI).

Uganda became an ITI member in 1976 but was deregistered the same year following the alleged murder of the country’s best actor and playwright Byron Kawadwa by Idi Amin’s henchmen.

The country was readmitted in 1986 but the Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC) in Kampala, where it was based, had remained dormant under Jackson Ndawula’s presidency.

The highlight of the relaunch, held at the cultural centre under the theme The Re-awakening on January 15, was the the handing over of the presidency of the Uganda Centre for ITI to Dr Jessica A. Kaahwa, an actor and senior lecturer in the Department of Performing Arts and Film at Makerere University.

The centre is expected to promote the international exchange of performing arts knowledge and practice, stimulate artistic creation and increase co-operation among thespians.

Thespians in Uganda have welcomed the relaunch of the local chapter. “We need to streamline the systems that guide us as theatre practitioners. We need to know who is who and their competencies to be able to network and support each other better,” said Kaya Kagimu Mukasa, a creative arts practitioner.

“Theatre practitioners should know the ethics of the trade and later be exposed to practices around the world. We need to appreciate quality and know what it is. Because if you don’t know it you cannot make quality productions,” he added.  

Dick Matovu, an actor with the Abafumi Theatre Company, believes that being an active member of ITI, Uganda will benefit from international networks, festivals, training and source funding.

“The new president is faced with the challenge of creating awareness and the benefits of ITI among Ugandans. Members have to first be informed of the potential benefits of belonging to ITI, especially the value of international networking,” Matovu said.

The centre will increase public awareness of the need to take artistic creation into consideration in matters concerning development and to provide platform for practitioners to network and advance their arts.

It will also organise symposia, colloquia, conferences, workshops and training courses. It will engage stakeholders to revisit the issue of the guild system to enhance cohesion and fairness in execution of work.

“This is an historic day for me because I am handing over an office that I have held since 1986. I am confident Kaahwa will do great work to move the centre to greater heights,” Ndawula said during the handing over ceremony.

“The event you have come to witness today is relevant in more ways than one. To begin with, the issue of theatre and performance is one which Ugandans have cherished for hundreds of years; even when under colonial rule, people made it their business to preserve their knowledge and performance skills,” Dr Kaahwa said in her acceptance speech.

“The quintessentially Ugandan tradition of blending music, dance and drama in performance has for centuries been the envy of the world. Indeed, the simultaneous blending of the three has through the years given creative cover to tackle the otherwise untouchable subjects. No wonder the performing artists have survived even under tyrannical rule in Uganda,” Dr Kaahwa added.

Dr Kaahwa observed that theatre practice in Uganda is quite different from that of the past autocratic years; the issue now is of branding in order to stay relevant on the global stage.

“If you consider the fact that the digital media has given the individual the ability to communicate ideas and images to millions around the world through a couple of finger movements the barriers between the individual and the information have become almost non-existent,” she said.

“In this way, the market is invading our homes in Uganda, whereby the lines of competition are drawn; the well-packaged video and the on-stage unrehearsed improvisations,” Dr Kaahwa added.