HARARE - Rural communities that suffered massive violence from Zanu PF militias in the run-up to the 2008 run-off election will have an opportunity to speak out about their experiences and expectations from the ongoing national healing programme.
The dialogue is part of a nationwide tour of the sensational drama Heal the Wounds by Stephen Chifunyise. The tour is from 16 November to 10 December. The plays producer Daves Guzha, head of theatre and film production company Rooftop Promotions said the much-anticipated tour would open national debate on the government-initiated national healing and
reconciliation programme. Guzha said comments gathered from the public during the tour will be submitted to the governments Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation Programme led by ministers John Nkomo, Sekai Holland and Gibson Sibanda.
We are starting with the political hotspots and areas where a lot of violence happened, Guzha said. The performances will be followed up with discussion forums. All performances are free to the public. We will have facilitators for each show and these are being provided courtesy of Zimrights. Contributions from the grassroots will be handed over to Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation. The play will be staged at 30 venues across the country. Heal the Wounds probes the concept of national healing after an election period marked by violence and mistrust. Through interventions that are sometimes comic, the play encourages communities to go through a process of introspection and find lasting solutions to the problem of political violence and intolerance.
Playwright Chifunyise says people must be allowed to grieve and even find their own ways of expressing their sorrow without having solutions prescribed for them by the state or ‘professionals’. Guzha said he was retaining the star-studded cast led by Charles Matare which thrilled audiences at Rooftops intimate venue, Theatre in the Park (TITP) in Harare. Heal the wounds was the most-watched play at TITP this year, drawing theatre-goers from all walks of life. Senior government officials, aid workers, students and theatre enthusiast saw this scintillating play.
Post published in: Politics