FEW people engaged in theatre today ever feel the name Mike Tembo rings a bell, yet this is about one of the small number of dynamic persons that have remained with an unwritten history of what is generally believed was the renaissance of organised Zambian theatre. For me, the many times I have discussed the nascent of local theatre in this column, Mike has been there, one of my reliable resources.
So who primarily is Mike Tembo?
Before I delve into this man who is aged 52, I cannot easily recall when I first met him, but his associates such as the late Danny Kanengoki, Graig Lungu, Darius Lungu, Edmond Ngula, Chanda ‘Maximo’ Mwale, Joemwa Mtsinje Mwale and many others, sadly most of them are now on the other side of life – make me believe Mike came about into theatre as my time, in the late 70s.
See what, I was with Mabvuto Theatre then, and featured in nearly all the recitals and plays the club staged Africa the land of Paradise, The Trials of Jerome Mbali, A World of Grief, Victims of Fate and took part in the various festivals organised by the Zambia National Theatre Arts Association (ZANTAA) and the Theatre Association of Zambia (TAZ) – in TAZ, we featured Victims of Fate in 1982 apart from A World of Grief by Kabaso Mumba, all the plays were written by Renatus Mushinge and directed by Kelvin Bwalya.
Mike Tembo nostalgically reminds me of many theatre artists, most of them dead now; outstandingly, the late avid Kwaleyela Ifaka outweighs contributions towards making Mike Tembo a serious theatre actor.
Relooking at the heightened musical Kalicheli on CD last week was quite reliving and refreshing – I saw a thinly craggy Mike spotting a goatee (beard) doing the routine dance in Ikafa’s musical.
Under the Creative Arts Simple Theatre (CAST) – somehow, not only brought Ikafa into the limelight, but helped Mike aspire to the top in theatre! Mike in Kalicheli appears as a stubborn villager, but being a musical, he gyrates rhythmically to the dance, a vivid stance at the beginning of the play right through when Kalicheli (Kingsley Sinkala) is observed in the city and on his return to the village.
After his secondary school education at Kalonga in Kabwe, Mike joined Mulungushi textiles where he worked all his life holding his last position of shop manager in 2007 until the textile went under.
From acting Mike went into theatre administration, and stands out as one of the longest serving NATAAZ executive members after his stay in the echelons of ZANTAA too. None of my many colleagues in theatre today have an untiring commitment as Mike – even when the tides have been low, Mike seemingly struggles on!
At the height of Tikwiza Theatre in 1977, and during the UNIP regime, schools ran Zonal independence drama festivals – this was his initiation into drama.
“Earlier at school I featured in short plays; little did I know that the performances also meant to identify talents for the formation of the school drama club. After the performances, I was selected to be a member of the school drama club and that’s where my artistic journey started.
“In 1979, I featured in my first bigger play Love Medicine alongside the late Floyd Munankopa (formerly of ZNBC), Milner Changwe, Mary Mutonga to mention but a few and joined Mukuba Arts Theatre then sponsored by Zambia Consolidation Copper Mines (ZCCM) Kabwe division.
Subsequently years after joining Mukuba Arts Theatre, Mike became a regular feature, starring in both the community and school plays – in the school play Fear of the Unknown which scooped the second best performance during the 1980 TAZ festival, Mike received accolades as a budding actor.
With Tikondane Theatre sponsored by Zambia Railways, Mike found John Ntulisha and Emmanuel Muzukutwa to later play in Everyman while in the school play This is Our Chance by James Henshaw, Mike did not stay behind to feature in the 1982 ZANTAA festival in Livingstone.
Mike became a Nomad; from one theatre group to another, and passed through Kwaleyela Ikafa’s CAST, Tekumwenzo Theatre, Filundu Theatre group and others richly harvesting one experience after another.
In 1984 Mike acted in the late Mutale Mulenga’s Tramps Whistle and during the ZANTAA national festival he came out as best actor in the intermediate category. In 1985, he was elected District publicity secretary for ZANTAA and the following year ZANTAA and TAZ merged to form NATAAZ on 10 June 1986.
“In 1988, we re-organised Tekumwenzo under the auspices of YMCA and attended the senior NATAAZ National festival which was held in Kabwe at Venus Theatre and I was voted as the best actor and we also won the first position in poetry. The festival was won by Filundu Theatre club of Mulungushi Textiles with a play entitled Kings Are Born by Julius Chongo then Nchanga Theatre came second and we managed to get the third position in drama.
Mike is a twin with the late Danny Maposo both born on 10 September, 1964 in Ndola. In 1969 after the demise of his father the remaining family shifted to Kabwe and became early settlers of the famous Makululu shanty compound. It is from Kabwe where he went to Mine primary and Kalonga secondary schools.
For ten years, Mike served as provincial publicity secretary of NATAAZ of which he served 10 years at provincial level in Lusaka and rose to the position of vice chairman until 1999 when he was elected as a national executive committee member.
In 1990, Mike told me, “I performed with the Ikafa’s CAST performing which later was recorded by ZNBC while in 1999, I was elected as a committee member in NATAAZ under the leadership of the late Edmond Ngula and was appointed NATAAZ deputy secretary in 2000, the following year I was elected as deputy general secretary with Hon Rodgers Mwewa as general secretary under the chairmanship of the late Augustine Lungu during elections in Mongu.
Mike has held various positions in ZANTAA and NATAAZ from as early as 1985; changing roles from district publicity secretary, general secretary to vice chairman in the main theatre body association.
Mike, played a pivotal role in running theatre in Kabwe, and his shifting from one group to another was clearly to harness theatre among younger people and the community.
According to Mike, it is the same young people who today are involved in theatre, though very little of him is mentioned of his heavy contribution.
Today Mike is often reliable, as the vice secretary of the national executive of NATAAZ, and shows signs of withering even after he has held higher positions like general secretary – he is historically still engaged in the development of theatre in Zambia.
John.kapesa818@yahoo.co.uk – 0955-067-0977-710975