The annual Ghana Theatre Festival began with a glamorous stage play and cultural display to celebrate the life of legendary Ghanaian Poet, Late Prof. Atukwei John Okai.

The late Prof. Atukwei, who passed away last year aged 77, was an astute cultural activist and a scholar having won numerous awards during his illustrious career including the national award of Member of the Order of the Volta.

Madam Ermy Efua Frimpong, the Executive Director of the National Theatre, in her address, eulogised Prof. Atukwei for making an impact on the Ghanaian arts industry.

“Today we begin the festival by celebrating a legend who has been described as a poet, cultural activist and academic but to those of us in house, he was our backbone and offered his relentless support to us.

“He is also generally acknowledged to have been the first real performance poet to emerge from Africa, who can forget Logoligi Logarithm. He was a pan Africanist and his work has touted politically radical and socially conscious subjects,’’ she said.

The week-long festival under the theme ‘’Nurturing and growing artistic voices’’ would give performing arts members at various stages in their respective careers the opportunity to exhibit their works, build capacity and grow audiences for the future.

Day two of the festival would witness a dance drama based on a documentary titled ‘’Naa Gbewa’’, which is targeted at uniting the people of the north.