Semitego the famous hunter play on realism

Sep 25, 2011

YEARS ago, Barbie and Bobi Wine took leading roles in one of her plays. The same playwright, Mary Mirembe Ntangare, is now running her latest play, Semitego the Famous Hunter, at Makerere University’s faculty of performing arts and film. Entrance is free.

By Emmanuel Ssejjengo

YEARS ago, Barbie and Bobi Wine took leading roles in one of her plays. The same playwright, Mary Mirembe Ntangare, is now running her latest play, Semitego the Famous Hunter, at Makerere University’s faculty of performing arts and film. Entrance is free.

This play comes in the same mould as her famed fables and the title suggests that much. Semitego, a seasoned hunter, finds another life apart from her ageing wife. He abandons her, leaving home to find his goddess.

The goddess, Natabonaboneka, comes with demands that are beyond human contemplation. “Bring parts of your wife if you want to take me,” she orders.

The most feared hunter is about to be shown as a ‘soft’ man. How will he save face? It is a battle of chauvinism against humane consciousness.

The director, Amelia Mbotto-Kyaka, has allowed the students of the performing arts and film department at Makerere University to have a say in the production. So, there are many scenes with heightened youthful emotion.

However, there is a certain restraint not to overly dramatise the dialogue. At the end of the day, Ntagare’s realism wins over.

While Juliet Lukendo finds strength in getting the right tone of voice while on stage, Bonny Sempebwa and Stella Mukabalisa have it in their body movements and just a tilt of the head is loaded with so much meaning.

There is an emphasis on sets and stage props. The ideal situation is that it should support the acting. In this case, it sometimes gets in the way of acting. There are moments when the actors are insistent on reminding us that they are in the forest by moving in its thickest parts. Then you do not see them, and it takes special interest to hear what they are saying.

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