I remember writing my first theatre script back in 1998, which I gave to the now defunct Sadala Amajekete Theatre group. I had been writing prose and poetry for a long time, and some of it was beginning to appear in our local Sunday Newspaper. The artistic director of Sadala Amajeke, the late Clever Biggie Chimwanza, noticed this and approached me to try my hand at writing for theatre. Never underestimate the power of your local community newspaper to throw opportunity your way.
When I wrote that first play I didnt even know how to structure the play script, for reading and writing are two very different things. I had to scramble and start re-reading other plays. I finally came out with the manuscript The Time Of Trouble. I must say Sadala Amajeke really let me down on that play. They only managed to put on stage the first scene, which they went around showing as a teaser of upcoming play by a new playwright Christopher Mlalazi. However, even that one scene caught the attention of theatre lovers.
I waited for many years for them to master the whole play and stage it but they totally failed. Ishmael Muvingi, one of the greatest actors/singers/dancers from Bulawayo, who is now touring the world with Siyaya Arts, was still with Sadalala Amajekete then and he was the spine of the rehearsals – coming up with breath-taking performances.
Five years passed and nothing had been done with the play; I had become a disappointed man. And then came another break. In 2003 Muvingi moved from Sadalala Amajekete to Umkhathi Theatre, a wise move. He asked me to write a play for his new group along the lines of The Time Of Trouble and I quickly scripted The Soil Of The Son for them.
This play told the story of Shaka the King of the Zulu. Traditional plays fascinated me then, especially political traditional satire, because most of them ran parallel with the political situation of Zimbabwe, and also had a universal appeal. And this new play was a completely different take from the movie Shaka Zulu starring Henry Cele that was a hit during those days. It concentrated more on a psychoanalytical investigation of Shakas childhood, and the reasons why he became the bloodthirsty conqueror at adulthood.
Umkhathi Theatre were fast and efficient, and within a short time the play hit the stage, becoming an instant hit in Bulawayo. I remember vividly one performance at Girls College during their Culture Week, where I had invited Brian Jones and Jane Morris of amaBooks, my present publishers. The play received a standing ovation from the audience. Muvingi had directed the play, infusing traditional music and dance that made it a stupefying quasi musical drama that transported even me to that bygone era of the Zulu Kingdom.
From there I wrote two plays for the Amakhosi Amateur Theatre program, The Sun Before and As I am. And then I wrote another one for Umkhathi Theatre, entitled Nkuluman. In 2008 I co-wrote The Crocodile of Zambezi with one of Zimbabwes prolific and award-winning playwrights, Raisedon Baya; it was awarded the Oxfam-Novib Pen Freedom of Expression Award at the Hague, my first award in theatre.
In 2010 I opened my first play at HIFA, entitled Election Day. The play, directed by Eunice Tava, went on to be nominated in three categories at the 2011 National Arts Merit Award Outstanding Theatrical Production, Best Actor, and Best Actress. It finally scooped two awards, the Outstanding Theatrical Production and Best Actor.
And this week I was back again at HIFA 2011 with a play entitled Colours Of Dreams – another socio-economic and political satire. It tells the story of two families: a former money changer and his wife, and a school teacher with his live-in girlfriend, a prostitute. Both couples have been affected by the collapse and removal of the Zimbabwean dollar from the money market, and now a rumour has rolled into town stemming from the money changers connections. This rumour galvanises these two families into dreaming about their future and that of the nation. I am already thinking of another play for HIFA 2012! As it is said, once you start a fire, keep blowing on the flame
Post published in: Theatre