Runsewe stated that the same way Medical Doctors use theatre as a place to heal the sick, Artists use the theatre to educate and entertain, culture is a theatre of the mind and soul.
Many challenges of life including that of the mind and that of spirit could be solved through culture.
The health challenge ravaging the world today (Covid-19) requires a combination of medical solution and Cultural Therapy to tackle, without which it will linger for too long.
Otunba Ransewe in the midst of Nzerm Berom festival at Plateau state
According to the NCAC DG,when the Biblical king Saul suffered serious, health challenge, he sought the services of David whose musical instrument- the harp brought him to normalcy whenever tormented by the evil spirit.
He stated that theatre, music, dance drama and songs as elements of our culture could provide the necessary balm to speed up the healing of those infected with Covid-19 as Lagos state government did recently.
Runsewe said the council is planning to stage a programme titled ‘Cultural Therapy in the Midst of Covid-19’ to compliment it’s effort in the fight of the deadly disease so far.
In compliance to social distancing regulation, he expressed that council will be a “drive in theatre” where audience will sit inside their vehicles and watch 8 man cast perform live on stage.
He stated that apart from serving to entertain the audience, the programme would also target the four therapy branches namely, behavioural, cognitive, humanistic and holistic.
The DG said, “We must all begin to think outside the box to deploy our knowledge and special skills to fight the challenges of our time.”
Covid-19 he said ought not to be seen as a problem requiring a solution but a challenge calling on the world to think creatively on how to respond to emerging issues threatening the world in all spheres.
The world today he said needs a cultural reengineering to reboot the global pulse brought about by the novel coronavirus.
