East Africa has a lot to learn from Rwanda, says Philip Luswata

Philip Luswata is the founder and director of the Theatre Factory, Uganda’s pioneer stand-up comedy group. A renowned comedian in East Africa, Luswata is part of the cast for the Kenyan-produced TV drama series; Makutano Junction and Center 4. His CV includes writing, acting and production roles for a number of a stage plays, feature films, TV commercials and series, as well radio dramas and plays. He currently teaches film, television, radio and theatre at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Philip Luswata Luswata is presently in Kigali to take part in the two-day Ubumuntu Arts Festival that kicked off yesterday at the Kigali Memorial Center Amphitheater in Gisozi, Kigali. Moses Opobo caught up with him in between rehearsals on Friday night… Welcome to Rwanda. Is this your first time in the country? It’s not my first time coming to Rwanda. Mostly I’ve been to Rwanda before as a performer. There is a time we came as Theater Factory during our hey day as a comedy troupe in Uganda. What I do know is that our visit then kind of excited the practice of comedy here in Rwanda. So I’m happy for having allowed such a conversation of communication through smiles to happen. What are some of your impressions about Rwanda? Crossing the border from Uganda to Rwanda is always a creative journey for me. I’m very passionate about East Africa first and foremost. I’m passionate about the possibility of existing in a bigger demographic, but one thing we have to accept as the rest of East Africa is that we have a lot to learn from Rwanda. Rwanda is neat. It’s disciplined. Even when you walk on an untarmac-ked road you feel the cleanliness of the soil you’re standing on. Honestly, who wouldn’t celebrate that? That form of discipline points to a people who have connected to their inner persons, and probably that’s one thing we need to learn as the rest of East Africa: to connect not with others, but first with our inner selves. Once you do that then you are able to appreciate the people next to you. When did you arrive in Kigali, and what have you been up to since? I have been here for one week now and have barely rested. I have two productions I will feature in –Mine Child from Uganda, (which was cast on Saturday). I will also feature in an Ethiopian play, Desperate to Fight, by a good Ethiopian friend of mine on Sunday. Desperate to Fight is the story of a woman who gets married four times. It basically interrogates the idea of whether it’s right for a woman to marry multiple partners as is the case with men. It also interrogates the idea of rape being utilized as a weapon of war. While Mine Child is a joint venture between my company, Theater Factory from Uganda, and Mashirika Performing Arts from Rwanda. How and why did you end up in the Ubumuntu Arts Festival? Well, at a personal level I do believe that theater if it was invested in, would address so many of the problems we are facing now in East Africa. Coming from Uganda, I know that most of the wars, fights and demonstrations we are having today are as a result of ill communication or misunderstanding. Now, art and theater allow for the exploration of misunderstandings, and that’s a direction our governments have still failed to explore and to invest in. I think Ubumuntu is kind of paving the way for creating a social language, which is very important towards conflict resolution, because what is art but conflict? Art is understanding conflict. It is exposing conflict. Hope Azeda, the creator of the festival is what I can call a creative friend. We were together at university for MDD, and we were all there by choice. What’s the secret to success in theater? Hunger and Passion alone is not enough. Hunger is more important. Most people go into the arts for the passion, the hobby, but no one is going to tell you ‘thank you’ because of your passion. People are going to appreciate your hunger to achieve, and your hunger to achieve is innate. I could recognize your passion, but I can’t ignite your hunger to achieve. To achieve you must be hungry. If you’re not hungry, leave the business because it’s not for you.

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East Africa has a lot to learn from Rwanda, says Philip Luswata