Thursday 15 October 2015

Romeo and Juliet: the first Chichewa translation

Support the first ever translation of Romeo and Juliet for Malawian audiences


Exciting news! Our Associate Director Amy Bonsall is going to be collaborating with Malawian writer Stanley Onjezani Kenani to create a Chichewa translation of Romeo and Juliet and tour it around Malawi!

Please help us to make this exciting project happen, either by donating here, or by helping us to spread the word about our campaign.

· You will be helping to fund the first ever production of a poetic translation of Romeo and Juliet into Chichewa.

· You will be supporting the best of Malawi's actors and graduate actors.

· You will be giving hundreds of Malawians (many of whom do not speak English) the opportunity to see Romeo and Juliet in their own language.

· Thousands of students will have online access to a poetic translation of one of Shakespeare's great plays in their own language.

About the project


Shakespeare has been popular in Malawi for over 100 years and his plays are widely studied, Romeo and Juliet being the current curriculum text. However, with English as a second language, many students find Shakespeare hard to understand and enjoy. Bilimankhwe Arts has engaged Caine Prize nominated Malawian writer, Stanley Onjezani Kenani to produce a poetic translation of Romeo and Juliet to be performed at Chancellor College in Malawi in April 2016.

The production will have a Malawian cast, drawing from the very best of Malawi's professional actors and students from Chancellor College's Performing Arts Department. It will be directed by international theatre director Amy Bonsall with a Malawian assistant director. Students in Malawi currently only have access to English versions of Romeo and Juliet and this is an amazing opportunity to give them a translation in Chichewa, the most widely spoken language in Malawi. The educational impact of this is huge and teachers, students, academics, theatre practitioners and artists throughout Malawi overwhelmingly support this project. The British Council in Malawi has pledged to support the project by making the text available online. This really is an opportunity for you to support the making of theatre history.

No comments: