Gertrude Webster Kamkwatira (c. 1966 – 2006) was a Malawian playwright, director and actress.

Life

Kamkwatira was born in about 1966. She became director of the Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre in 1999 after the death of its founder,

Du Chisiza Dunduzu Chisiza Junior (26 March 1963 – 24 February 1999) was a Malawian playwright, director and actor and founder of the first professional theatre company in Malawi, the Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre. He wrote more than 20 plays and was invol ...

. Later she "defected" from that group and formed the theatre group ''Wanna-Do''. Positions she held included President of the National Theatre Association of Malawi and Chairperson of the Copyright Society of Malawi. Kamkwatira wrote about thirteen plays in English, including ''It's My Fault'', which deals with domestic violence and sexual oppression, ''Jesus' Retrial'' and ''Breaking the News'', a play about contending with

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

.Die Welt, 6 April 2012, ''Theater Konstanz zeigt malawisches Stück''
/ref> In an interview in 2003, she said that she would normally spend one or two days writing a play, then continue working on it for a further three weeks. Next she would discuss it with an editor before presenting it to the cast. Each actor should then read and understand the play as the first step in the rehearsal process. Her acting career began when there were not many women performers in Malawi. In 1987 she had to take roles in three plays concurrently because Wakhumbata had so few actresses. She died of malaria at the age of 40, in 2006. She was buried at her home in Lisungwi, Neno district.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamkwatira, Gertrude Webster Malawian dramatists and playwrights 1966 births 2006 deaths Malawian actresses 20th-century Malawian writers 21st-century Malawian writers 20th-century Malawian women writers 21st-century Malawian women writers