THE Henrik Isben Theatre Awards continue to grow and the latest in that line is a 14-day theatre camp to be held in Harare starting March 22. The Children’s Performing Arts Workshop (Chipawo) and arts

organisation Chisa will be hosting the event together with the Isben institution.

Renowned South African stage actors are also expected to grace the occasion and present one of Isben’s plays titled “An Enemy of the People” that talks about the side-effects of drinking contaminated water.

There will be training workshops by Namibian, South African and Zimbabwean practitioners aimed at sharing experiences in the theatre industry in the region.

The event will also use theatre as an instrument of addressing issues like HIV and Aids, sexually transmitted diseases as well as social stigma attached to them. Some of these issues will be clearly illustrated in the play “Ghosts”.

Marital issues which are at the core of the social fabric, the law, gender equality and the sensitisation of such, will also be on the fore.

Chipawo’s New Horizon theatre group will stage their play “The Most Wonderful Thing of All” which they created in conjunction with theatre houses from South Africa and Namibia.

Recently, the group held successful performances of the play “A Doll’s House” in and outside Harare.

The three plays to be staged during the camp are expected to be taken on a tour of the participating countries culminating in a regional workshop to lobby Government, developmental organisations, writers and artists in general to talk about relevant issues affecting people. Isben’s works have had a profound implication in Africa and in Zimbabwe Chipawo joined the rest of theatre practitioners in commemorating the “Isben Centenary” in 2006.

Countries like Egypt, Kenya, Cameroon, Mozambique, Eritrea and South Africa have been staging plays by Isben. In 2010, a conference dubbed “Isben through African Eyes” was held in Lusaka, Zambia.

In future, a foundation that will bring the majority of theatre practitioners in Africa and the international platform is expected to be held.