Cleopatra Theatre, Malindi
After its first fifty years, the legendary Cleopatra Theatre in Malindi, is to live up to its name that evokes a proud, never tamed and self-confident empress. It deserves not only a ‘touch-up’ but also a second life under the sign of art and culture.
The building, inaugurated in 1973 at the behest of a local couple, for years performed plays, children's shows and lectures, before the advent of cinema (especially Indian Bollywood) on the Kenyan coast. After being ravaged by vandals in 1988, it was passionately put back on its feet for the first time, and was given a second life by broadcasting football matches and matinees for schools. The five hundred seats, however, became progressively empty after the arrival of satellite TV and mobile phones that ate away at the spirit of sharing and community.
Now an art-focused collective workshop based in Malindi, Maabara Atelier, with a number of collaborators has decided to transform the historic Cleopatra Theatre back to its original purpose
excerpt from malindikenya 30-05-2024
No comments:
Post a Comment