Alex Mukulu in white.Photo by Bayan Nalubwama
Theatre practitioner Alex Mukulu is set to return to Ugandan theatre on March 29 with an excerpt from his forthcoming play titled Kulumbisi and Kulunkalu, his African adaptation of Shakespeare’s times classic Romeo and Juliet.
His play will be part of the World Theatre Day celebrations that will start on March 27, the official date for World Theatre Day.
Addressing the media on Friday, Alex Mukulu explained that he stopped performing in Uganda in 2007 because had outgrown the National Theatre. He further explained the “Majangwa” syndrome that drained the theatre’s glory.
According to Mukulu, the creatives lost focus when technology came into place and the audience stopped going to theatres.
In a bid to attract them back, performers gave in to theatre indiscipline and started staging productions without proper preparations hence the audience not resonating with the plays presented.
In the long run, the audience became more interested in outdoor events hence the low turn-ups.
“The audience gives creatives the standards of message delivery. If the recipient is respectful, so will be the sender. Theatre is about character,” he said.
Kulumbisi and Kulunkalu play is expected to run from March 29- April 21 and all shows will have free entry.
Alex Mukulu explained that staging free shows is a way of going back to the beginning to persuade people to come back to theatre, and also a way of giving back to the audience that has been supporting theatre all these years.
“In the beginning, Theatre was free. We need to sacrifice ourselves and say: Once upon a time, I got this talent for free. I didn’t buy it anywhere,” he said.
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