Theatre Renaissance Starts With You!

The Theatre and Performing Arts Festival 2025 returned for its fourth edition on 21 October 2025 at the iconic Bat Valley Theatre, rallying thespians, cultural leaders, and audiences around a bold call: “The Theatre Renaissance Starts With You.” Festival Director Mariam Ndagire traced Ugandan theatre’s roots from fireside storytelling to modern pioneers, urging artists and audiences alike to protect live theatre’s uniqueness in an age of screens. The week-long festival combined performances, funfair, and prizes, while also hosting frank conversations about the sector’s decline, highlighting the cost of improvisation without structure, weak marketing, and the slow erosion of discipline and rehearsal culture. Voices from the National Culture Forum spotlighted policy shifts, including stronger recognition of CCIs in NDP IV and the announcement of a Creative Uganda Revolving Fund to expand financing access for creatives, while veteran actor Abby Mukiibi delivered a powerful keynote on unity, professionalism, and collective responsibility, reminding the industry that saving theatre requires showing up for one another, investing in quality work, and rebuilding audiences with intention. Threaded through the reflections was one unmistakable truth: live theatre remains irreplaceable for the human connection, empathy, and social dialogue it sparks, and its survival depends on a renewed, shared commitment to keep the stage alive.

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