The Merchant of Venice is one of William Shakespeare’s famous plays of all time.
Believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599, and centering on a merchant in Venice who defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, the play has been read and acted on hundreds if not thousands of stages across the world over the past centuries.
And yet it never gets old. Every cast gives the play a different touch making it a timeless piece of art.
In the late 1980s, the Budo Drama Society (BUDRASO) of Kings College Budo acted out this play. Joseph Atukunda was one of the actors. Unfortunately, after what was a successful act, he was diagnosed with mental health, a major setback for him at the time.
Later, it was found out he was bipolar. He has lived a bigger chunk of his life confronting this huge challenge.
However, he is one of those optimistic fighters. Mental health might have messed up his studies and life here and there but it did not take away the good jolly fellow he is. As he went through these struggles, his Budonian friends stayed by his side. They walked the journey together.
Today, Atukunda is doing better and he is championing a campaign on mental health. He is rallying the masses to come out and support those grappling with mental health. And most importantly, to create awareness around the challenges that come with this health issue.
Now, Atukunda has teamed up with his Budonian friends to restage The Merchant of Venice, this time on a bigger stage. One of the old boys, Justice Mike Chibita who was the executive producer, teamed up with Kenneth Kimuli famously known Pablo, a theatre practitioner and co-director at Tebere Arts Foundation together with his wife Karen Hasahya Kimuli, to produce the show.
Amelia Mbotto Kyaka and Aganza Kisaka directed it.
Premiered at a fundraising dinner held at Kampala Serena Hotel on the March 26, the play was later staged at the Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC) also known as the national theatre with five shows.
It is very important that the conversation on mental health finds its way in creative spaces because there are many creatives who are victims of mental health.
According to the Pablo, the producer of the show, the collaboration is both to raise awareness as it is for the entertainment purposes. That is why it was dubbed Theatre for Mental Health.
The proceeds from the show will go towards helping mental health victims and supporting the work of The Hearts Initiative, the organisation spearheading the project.
For many years, The Merchant of Venice has been a component of Uganda’s literature syllabus, for students at O’level. Two of the recent shows of the play were dedicated to students, many of whom might have been watching the play for the first time.
The play also comes at a time when UNCC has just re-opened up its doors since the official opening up of the economy post the covid19 lockdown. With such acts, many people will return to the theatre.
