Lantern Meet of Poets performed
on Saturday 9th April, to what is arguably their best performance
to-date. Poetry Will Warm Us, presented before the brimming audience at Uganda’s
National Theatre, the show was spectacular, well coordinated and well thematised.
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| The writer with members of Lantern Meet of Poets |
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| The writer with Sesanga Ernest |
Carefully scripted poems by
well-known poets like Surumani Manzi, Jason Ntaro, Guy Mambo, Elijag Wojji, Bagenda Remmy, Lillian Aujo, who won the 2009 BN Poetry Award and
many others, were articulated with outstanding spoken word performances from an
enthusiastic and talented cast. Poetry Will Warm Us was heart-warming and
offered a reprieve from the familiar tones of anger, betrayal and mistrust towards political leadership and systems. The
multi-facetedness of love has obviously not been exhausted. Lantern Meet of Poets used three acts with various
scenes where heterosexual couples vocalized their sexual lust in the most
bizarre and wildly creative ways.
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| Cast on stage |
With lines like, “Your silence is
musical,” the production was a reminder that love has a million languages
which everyone can understand. The male
characters, clad in black, used every overt gesture and description to flatter
and pursue different ladies of their choice, the latter in white dresses and
suits, each costume representing a single temperament, thought and feeling.
Some men were fortunate enough to spend illicit time with the women but while
the plot unfolded, their happiness was mostly short-lived, ending in a
frustration that everyone in the audience knew only too well, with unrequited
love. The background, set in a simple floral garden provided the simple setting
for the theme. The tempo was earnest with incidences of dramatic duals for
women, earnest desperation and neediness and plenty of humour. It was so frolicsome
and yet believable, which only a performance with good direction can achieve.
The entire cast moved as a single unit from one scene to the next, capitalizing
on each strength. Surumani Manzi, one of Uganda’s most under-rated poets, burnished
with several of his poems, carefully selected for the show, alongside his unforgettable
performance. His use of the Shakespearean iambic pentameter style for one
particular poem was impressive and while it’s encouraged to create one’s own
style, one can appreciate that he is widely read.
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| The writer with Guy Mambo |
The potency of the show was in
the well-thematised structure, simple stage and costume, tightly woven stage
direction and a time of 90 minutes, all of which were sufficient for the multiple
ways to express passion, lust and unrequited love.
Lantern Meet of Poets is a brand.
This show has the qualities to travel Africa. Audiences look forward to seeing
them at the Babishai poetry Festival, from 24-26 August in Kampala, at the Storymoja
Festival in Nairobi, at the Aké Festival in Nigeria and beyond. The show can be
understood and enjoyed by all audiences and it would be Uganda’s privilege to
experience Lantern Meet outside the National Theatre. With a young leadership
whose faith in theatre and poetry is refreshing, it’s time for them to reach
further.
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| The writer with one of the coordinators, Gloria Nanfuka |
For details of the Babishai
Poetry Festival and our two 2016 poetry competitions, visit us at www.babishiniwe.com
or on twitter @BNPoetryAward.
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