Mbene Mbunga Mwambene

Theatre maker – Bern, Switzerland
Participant International Forum 2020/2021

Mbene Mbunga Mwambene is a Bern-based Zambian-Malawian theatre artist and director. He has a certificate in Transcultural Cooperation from the Zurich University of the Arts, a diploma in Journalism from the University of Malawi – Continuing Education Centre (CEC) and a Master’s degree in Expanded Theatre from the Berlin University of the Arts. In 2018, he directed “Tavuka – We Are Tired” at Klecks Theater Hamburg, an adaptation of “The Island” and “Waiting for Godot” with an entirely female cast. Since 2010, his theatre practice has been revolving around interactive theatre for Malawian communities and innovative plays for an international audience. His passion for these issues is also connected with his solo production “The Story of a Tiger”, which has been touring for seven years with performances all over the world, including Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Austria and Ireland. It was commissioned by the Artistic Director of Theater Konstanz in 2011. Furthermore, he acted in “Refugees”, “Der Prophet Ngunza” and “Waiting for Godot” in Blantyre, Konstanz and Görlitz and in “Body Scan” in Zurich. Other projects took him to South Africa, Hong Kong and Zambia. In the installation “Your Unlikely Friend”, directed by Thea Reifler and Philipp Bergmann, he performed at Zürcher Theater Spektakel.