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Who Killed
Iringa Highland Theatre Hall?
By lute wa lutengano
I was in Iringa the other day. This is the town where I spent the best
part of my teenage years. I was here from 1968 to 1972 for my secondary
and high school education. That is I arrived at the then Mkwawa High
School at the age of thirteen and lived there for six memorable years
before graduating from high school.
I vividly remember those good years. I was an active sporting youth who
played football, field hockey, sang in choirs and crooned with several
school groups. I was also active in theatre performances.
I remember participating in a performance staged at the Iringa Hellenic
Club called ‘The Black Sheep of the Family’. Ours being a boys' school I
was slotted into the part of a granddaughter. My grandfather was played
by none other than the beleaguered Ambassador Costa Mahalu. Other actors
included the likes of now Minister Mathias Chikawe, the late lawyer
Massanja of TANESCO and several others.
Then we had Swahili plays, the most famous being ‘The Rise of the
Skeleton’ whose actors included Captain of Mhaiki of the Government
aircrafts, the late diplomat Gaspar Hakilli, the businessman Eddie Hans
Poppe, and many others.
And then we had our singing groups, the most famous being ‘The Skylarks’
specialising in South African township crooning whose members included
the now US-based Prof. Tenende, Issac Mwamanga, the Chairman of the
Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, the late former MP Sichona, and many
others.
I was also a member of the UKI (Usanifu wa Kiswahili) Crooners, the TSCF
(Tanzania Students Christian Fellowship) Crooners, whose members
included the now Iringa ELCT Bishop Oldenberg Mdegela, and the then most
popular group ‘The Laughing Brothers’. The ‘Brothers’ was an acapela
group specialising in singing basically American blues and country
music. These included the then popular ‘If I had a Hammer’ and ‘Oh
Shenandoah!’ hits. Among the stars of the group were Eddie, Deus
Ishengoma and Hadrian Ndunguru (Dox).
All these groups performed in the assembly halls at the Mkwawa, Agkhan,
Highland and Iringa Girls Secondary schools. Naturally the last hall was
the most popular for performances. Any show by a group of boys before an
assembly of 500 or so lasses is epical.
But it was the Highland Theatre and Film Hall where the show of shows
was always held. The hall could take up 1500 people, all seated
comfortably in a dimly lit specious Greek-style area with special
lighting effects on the stage. The shows in this hall were the highlight
of any group. This was the place to be for every Iringa secondary school
student to be. Teenage love affairs were born and also broken inside
this hall.
No wonder when I was in Iringa the other day I made a point of visiting
the Highland Theatre Hall in my urge to revisit those fond memories. But
what a disappointment it was. There was no such hall. In its place there
are shops the biggest of which is a hardware and electronics shop.
I was so shocked that I asked my escort to rush me to the nearest
watering hall. And so I found myself perched on the first floor of one
those ‘Uhindini’ buildings where Easter booze and music was aplenty. It
was at the ‘Bottoms Up’ otherwise known as ‘Shooters Pub’ where I found
solace and drowned my disappointment and sorrows at the loss of my
Highland Theatre Hall.
Later in the evening, after almost drowning in the many lagers I glugged
down my throat I relocated to another night sport, the famous Miami Bar
at Mlandege. Here is where, according to reliable information, more than
500 ‘native chicken’ or organic chicken find their way into the tummies
of thousands of customers who patronise the joint. That is apart from
the hundreds of goat ribs, and accessories which are also munched there.
However, all these indulgencies failed to drown my sorrows. Who? Who
killed the Highland Theatre Hall? I kept wondering. lutengano@hotmail.com.
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