Seven Days in Africa

I need to say a few worlds about one of the highlights of being in Harare which is the theatre. It’s seems almost every other week there is an opening of a new production, and there are always new actors, playwrights and directors appearing on the scene. It could be tempting to give some of the credit for this to the general state of the media in Zimbabwe. There is only one free-to-air TV channel, the government-owned ZTV. For those who can afford it, and pay TV service is provided by the South African DSTV company. Zimbabwean theatres have taken on the role of providing alternative discussion programs, current affairs shows, talent and variety shows and even game shows, performed live in diverse neighbourhoods around town. Still, the current political and economic challenges faced by Zimbabwe cannot entirely explain the vibrancy of Harare’s theatre culture, which has a long and interesting history. Before Independence in 1980, when cultural life, like everything else, was more or less segregated, there were essentially four types of theatre: Theatre by White people for White people, theatre by Black people for Black people, theatre by “Coloured” (mixed race) people for “Coloured” people and theatre by White people for Black people (mostly educational in nature). The first multi-racial theatre was the Reps Theatre, in what was then the white suburb (and is today the middle-class suburb) of Belgravia. As early as the 1960s, the Reps Theatre battled against the authorities trying to shut it down for not having segregated toilets. While it was progressive socially, the Reps Theatre has always been a venue for mainstream, western-style theatre in Harare. Their recent productions include David Abuburn’s “Proof”, Yasmina Reza’s “Art” , Ray and Michael Cooney’s “Tom, Dick and Harry”, and various plays by Neil Simon. It is also the venue used by CHIPAWO, and youth theatre project founded by the prolific playwright Stephen Chifunyise. At the other end of the spectrum, African theatre traditions inform the works of the Pamuzina Theatre, based in Highfield and other theatres in the so-called “high density” areas of Harare (working class areas that were black-only before independence), incorporating poetry, dance and traditional storytelling into the performances. The most progressive theatre can be seen at the Theatre-In-The-Park, a modest looking thatched construction in Harare Gardens, the downtown park next door to the landmark Monomotapa Hotel. The most controversial and discussed plays at this venue are usually presented by Rooftop Promotions, under the leadership of its irrepressible producer Daves Guzha, who can often be seen performing in the plays himself. Another frequent actor and director at Theatre-In-the-Park is the towering figure of modern Zimbabwean theatre, Walter Muparutsa. Muparutsa is without doubt the best-loved and most respected actor in the country, bringing humour and dignity to a variety of films and plays produced in the country over the last 25 years. As a director, he brings remarkable truth and sincerity out of his actors. The most provocative and in many ways cutting edge play this year has been “PREGNANT WITH EMOTION” a few months ago, written by Raisedon Baya in collaboration with Edgar Langeveldt and co-directed by Daves Guzha and Walter Muparutsa. The story of a woman who has been pregnant for 13 months (the baby, who speaks to her, is refusing to be born), it is an imaginative and powerful reflection of the crisis in Zimbabwe. It’s at once realistic (drawing on current events in the country), and poetic – going into an area that was almost a Zimbabwean version of a spiritual martial arts film by King Hu (Dragon Gate Inn or Touch of Zen). The play featured both Guzha and Muparutsa, as well as Zimbabwe’s most prominent performance poet Chirikure Chirikure and the great musician Chiwoniso Maraire. After each performance at the theatre there is a Q&A / discussion between the audience and the artists which sometimes go on for two hours. Raisedon Baya’s new play is currently running at Theatre – in – the – Park: “What They Said, What They Got.” It is co-directed by the author and Walter Muparutsa, and the cast includes the very talented Eunice Tava Chipo Bizure, Mandla Moyo, and Zenzo Nyathi. Unfortunately I’m not in Zimbabwe now, so I’ll miss it, but anyone reading this in Harare should check it out.