John Kundu talks to Augustine Lungu 

You are the first ever Zambian Company to perform at the Festivals? Is there a responsibility in representing Zambia; is it a great joy, or a huge burden?

Augustine - It's a mix of both. We know that this is the only entry from Zambia so far in any of the disciplines at this Festival. So the shows we perform must be the best, otherwise we will be remembered as those guys from Zambia who left no mark. There might be some other Zambian companies who would like to perform here in the future so if the show is nothing to write about then we're all stumped. Also there's a big sense of pride, two characters, both from nowhere, had a dream and here it is... the dream became true. Before the shows, people came and told us that they didn't know much about Zambia. One journalist came to us and researched about Zambia and said: "I remember the name of the president and that's all I know". He then asked: "So, what is Zambia about?" We said go and see the show. For example the title Footers comes from a Zambian colloquialism, which means 'walkers'. Afterwards, he got it, as the performance is so representative of our country. So in a way, we're like 'ambassadors'... but it is a burden too, because we need to make sure that we represent Zambia correctly.

Augustine - It's one thing you go into knowing fully well that you're not going to get much out of it. It's an upward struggle. Even for acceptance it's a struggle. Unless you're phenomenally successful, then no ones going to be looking. Most of the time you won't get the support that you need. But there are some institutions that support the arts generally. We have the National Arts Council whose job it is to regulate the arts in Zambia. The problem is the funding situation is bad. It survives on funds from the Nordic Countries which are all on short term contracts, 2 - 4 years, so you don't know what's going to happen if you're planning something long term. There are some national associations that have been put in place, which still require support from the artists themselves. I am on the National Executive of the National Theatre Arts Association, which gets it's funding from the Arts Council and subscription fees from the artists. There's not much you can get back in terms of grants and bursaries for artists. So it's a difficult situation. However, cultural arts being the African way of life still survives. Even without funds artists still carve, paint, stage impromptu theatre performances... somehow it still continues. It would be wonderful if it was a sector that was well funded. It would reduce the rate of unemployment and develop people's natural talent. I hope it will move into that direction. There's also the political aspect. Zambia is not an economically strong country, so the Government is always looking to change where they place their resources to improve things.