Theatre Factory cracks up Algeria

Jul 20, 2009

Good things come to those who wait, so the saying goes. For the Ugandan comedy group, Theatre Factory, 10 days of waiting for their schedule to be announced yielded much fruit when they finally got to perform in Bejaia, a district 250 miles east of Algier

By Esther Namugoji in Algiers

Good things come to those who wait, so the saying goes. For the Ugandan comedy group, Theatre Factory, 10 days of waiting for their schedule to be announced yielded much fruit when they finally got to perform in Bejaia, a district 250 miles east of Algiers.

The group put their all into the show before a predominantly Arabic and French-speaking audience. They were buoyed by Ugandan students living in Bejaia who made sure to show up and book the front seats at the Regional Theatre.

For one hour, Theatre Factory delivered funny skits that threw the crowd into laughter and spontaneous applause.

It was like walking on a wire at the start of the skit about the Muslim girl who asks her Christian boyfriend to pretend he is a Muslim when she introduces him to her father. It had a lot of expressions and actions unique to Islam that had to be done without offending the Muslims. Thankfully, the audience was keen on it and it was well received.

Eleven in all, the skits were a different format from what the audience is used to. There was still a feeling of expectancy by the time all the actors walked out onto the stage to take the final bow.

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