The annual Christmas Cantata, a one hour and a half musical theatre production telling the story of Christmas through various creative means, is back at Nyarutarama-based Christian Life Assembly (CLA). Since 2015, CLA has presented two Christmas Cantatas, as “a love gift” to the city of Kigali and the nation of Rwanda, attracting over 12,000 people from across Kigali and beyond to the spectacular theatrical show. However, last year, the church took a break and put on a different kind of production during the Christmas season, “Heavens Gates and Hells Flames”, which was equally unique. “This year, we are back with yet another Cantata, crafted by a production team of over 150 people including actors, a professional band, a choir, costume designers, stage designers, sound and light engineers, to mention a few,” says Fabrice Nzeyimana, the director of Creative Arts at CLA. According to Nzeyimana, the team at CLA has been working for over four months to bring “a world-class production” with a feel of a Broadway show to over 10,000 expected people from all parts of Kigali. “This is yet another love gift to the City of Kigali and we want people to witness the story of Christ from a heavenly perspective under the theme “Love Came Down?”. As always, the production is presented in English,” he says. Christmas Cantata 2018 will be held at Christian Life Assembly’s main auditorium in Nyarutarama, a total of four shows are scheduled, and running between December 21 and 24 all starting at 6pm. Entrance to the show is free. The purpose of Christmas Cantata, Nzeyimana says, is to introduce to Rwandans a culture of well-produced theatre productions as a means of entertainment and consistent storytelling to generations. “Our annual Christmas productions also aim at presenting Christmas in a uniquely creative way through diverse cultures, setting up a platform for young talents to showcase their gifts, and we are ultimately aiming at spreading the gospel of salvation while reaching out to communities,” he says. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
