Rose Mbowa

Rose Mbowa (18 January 1943 – 11 February 1999) was a Ugandan writer, actress, academic and feminist. She was a Professor of Theatre Arts and Drama at Makerere University, the oldest and largest public university in Uganda.[1]

Rose Mbowa
Born(1943-01-18)18 January 1943
Uganda
Died 11 February 1999(1999-02-11) (aged 56)
NationalityUgandan
CitizenshipUganda
Alma materMakerere University
(Bachelor of Arts in English Literature)
University of Leeds
(Master of Arts in Theatre Arts and Drama)
OccupationAcademic and feminist
Years active1972—99
Known forAcademics and feminism
TitleFormer Professor at Makerere University

Background and education

Rose Mbowa was born on 18 January 1943 in the town of Kabale, in the Western Region of Uganda, to Eva Nyinabantu Mbowa, a homemaker, and Kasole Lwanda Mbowa, a laboratory technician. After attending local schools, she was admitted to Gayaza High School, a prestigious boarding school about 19 kilometres (12 mi), outside of Uganda's capital city, Kampala.[2][3] Following high school at Gayaza, she went on to study English literature at Makerere University. Whilst there, she was a member of the Makerere Free Travelling Theatre.[4] In 1969 she was admitted to the University of Leeds, graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Theatre Arts and Drama.[3]

Career

She worked for a year as a producer at Radio Uganda. Mbowa became a lecturer in the department of music, dance and drama at Makerere University and then became head of the department when the previous head was forced to leave the country. Her mentor was playwright Byron Kawadwa, who was killed by Idi Amin's forces in 1977. Later in the 1980s, she worked with the rural "Magere Women's Cooperative", and encouraged the women to use their culture and to market their agricultural produce.[3][5]

She published a number of articles on theatre in Uganda and presented papers on Ugandan theatre at the annual conference on African literature at the University of Bayreuth between 1989 and 1994. She also performed with a number of different theatre companies in Uganda. She was named best actress at the National Theatre and received the Presidential Meritorious Award for Acting in 1973. She also received the National Theatre Best Production award twice: for her own play Nalumansi in 1982 and for The Marriage of Anansewa by Efua Sutherland in 1983.[5] She performed the title role in Bertolt Brecht's play Mother Courage and Her Children.[3]

Legacy

Mbowa's play Mother Uganda and her Children was first performed in 1987 and has been performed internationally.[3] A play Kiwajja, was staged in Uganda in 2005 by Bakayimbira Dramactors, in celebration of Rose Mbowa's contribution to Uganda's theatre.[1]

References
  1. Vision Reporter (6 February 2005). "In memory of Professor Mbowa". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  2. GFC (12 November 2017). "Distance between Post Office Building, Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda and Gayaza High School, Gayaza - Zirobwe Road, Kabanyoro, Central Region, Uganda". Globefeed.com (GFC). Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  3. Jane Collins, and Viv Gardner (14 March 1999). "Mother Uganda". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100142969
  5. Banham, Martin; Gibbs, James; Osofisan, Femi (2001). African Theatre: Playwrights & Politics. pp. xiv–xxi. ISBN 0253214580.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.