Seven years after its establishment, the University of Sierra Leone Creative and Theatre Group (USLCTG), comprising students from its three constituent colleges – Fourah Bay College (FBC), College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS), and the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), has taken Sierra Leonean theatre to the international stage.
The group was created to harness, nurture and showcase the creative talents of students, while using theatre as a tool for education, social commentary, and cultural preservation. Prior to representing Sierra Leone internationally, the group had become renowned for its spectacular live theatre productions, including The Throne, Out for Justice, and The Blade, which hosted over 600 spectators at the Freetown City Hall Auditorium and the African Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire.
Building on that foundation, USLCTG departed Freetown International Airport for Accra, Ghana, as invited guests to the 2nd Edition of the Heritage Theatre Arts Festival organised by Heritage of Africa (HOA). Heritage of Africa is a Pan-African cultural organization dedicated to promoting African heritage through theatre, dialogue, and artistic collaboration.
This participation formed part of an ongoing regional cultural exchange aimed at strengthening artistic partnerships, fostering creative collaboration, and promoting cross-cultural learning. It followed a successful partnership at last year’s festival, with both institutions further strengthening their collaboration this year.
At the festival, held at the School of Performing Arts, College of Humanities, University of Ghana, USLCTG staged the award-winning play “The Blood of a Stranger”, written by Sierra Leone’s prolific playwright Raymond Dele Charlie of Tabule Theatre Group of blessed memory and directed by Bilal Jalloh (BJ International).
The powerful production, which featured both Sierra Leonean and Ghanaian young performers, was witnessed by a distinguished audience including the High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to Ghana, H.E. Mohamed Hassan Kaisamba, the Head of Chancery and staff of the High Commission and their families, Professor Onike Rodrigues, Former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of COMAHS, University of Sierra Leone, faculty members of the University of Ghana, and Sierra Leonean students studying in Ghana.
The performance was met with wide acclaim and earned the group two prestigious honours: the Standing Ovation Award and the Award of Citation of Honour. The awards were received by the group’s President, Mohamed Tafsir Fofanah; its Creative Director, Bilal Jalloh; its Founder and Coordinator, Dr. Fatou Taqi, who has been instrumental in developing the group from a campus-based initiative into an internationally recognised theatre outfit; and members of the cast.
Speaking on the achievement, the leadership noted: “This collaboration has been an enriching experience, not only for staging our own production but also for watching powerful plays by other delegates from South Africa, Spain, Togo, and the United States. It is envisaged that this Pan-African artistic cooperation initiative will grow into a lasting tree of cultural exchange. Taking Sierra Leonean theatre to an international stage has been an incredibly profound experience.”
The group expressed gratitude to the High Commission of Sierra Leone in Ghana for witnessing the performance, to Heritage of Africa for the platform, and to the University of Ghana for its warm hospitality.
“This is more than a festival; it is a homecoming for African stories,” the group stated.
