Izah Azahari
The 2nd National Theatre Festival Brunei (NTFB) was officially launched at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Pro-Chancellor Arts Centre on Friday, endorsed by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) with Baiduri Bank as the event partner.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad was the guest of honour.
Baiduri Bank Chief Executive Officer Ti Eng Hui and UBD Vice-Chancellor Dr Hazri bin Haji Kifle were also present.
Organised by local theatre group 247 Studios with AICREATIVV, Medley House Productions and The Creative Core BN as creative partners and Think Axis as strategic partner, NTFB is a week-long festival of theatrical activities from forums and dialogues to workshops and performances.
This year’s, themed ‘The Bruneian’s Heart’, aims to celebrate local performing artistes and in conjunction with the Brunei December Festival 2022.
NTFB Co-Festival Director cum 247 Studios Managing Director Mohd Syazni bin Haji Abu Bakar, in his opening speech, highlighted the cooperation and spirit of collaboration shown throughout the festival’s preparation, exhibiting the Bruneian identity.
“This is in line with the theme ‘The Bruneian’s Heart’,” said Mohd Syazni, who added that, “this year, the public gets to witness performances from participating groups.”
The minister was introduced to seven theatre troupes, after which a token of appreciation was presented.
The theatre groups are: 247 Studios, BruHaHa Comedy Brunei, Putra Seni Group, Medley House Productions, Lakap Lagor Entertainment, RAKIS UBD and Sutera Memento.
Meanwhile, Ti Eng Hui said the bank’s support of the local creative arts scene is reflected in their commitment to connect with and give back to the communities and illuminate the lives of people through creativity and innovation.
“We believe that art plays a fundamental role in enriching lives and strengthening societal bonds in our communities, and are very proud to be part of the very first national theatre festival.”
Each group is scheduled to perform an original production twice over the weekend.
Performances are in Malay and English languages, running for approximately 50 minutes.
Forums and other performances will take place at UBD Pro-Chancellor Arts Centre today.
