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Cont says nothing flowery and poetic
Vusumuzi Sifile, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
June 24, 2007

http://allafrica.com/stories/200706251114.html

CONT Mhlanga, the creator of The Good President, a satire based on the government's onslaught on the opposition in March this year and during the Gukurahundi atrocities in the 1980s, says the play will go ahead despite measures by the State agents to stop its run in Bulawayo last week.

The politically charged play was scheduled for a four-day run at the Bulawayo Theatre from 13 to 16 June. On the opening night, heavily armed anti-riot police dispersed the audience and told the producers of the play that the premiere was a political gathering. This resulted in the producers of the play taking the police to court.

Part of the out of court arrangement was that Mhlanga, the writer and director of the play, rewrites the play and removes the "few lines" in the script that were deemed offensive to President Robert Mugabe.

But on second thoughts, the controversial playwright says this means the play is as good as banned, as he would have to remove the first three scenes, which form the core of the production.

But Mhlanga says he still wants "the play to play as it has been written . . . not to turn it to some flowery poetic theatre".

"In my belief and conviction The Good President is 'Protest theatre' and I want it to remain like that. There is nothing flowery and poetic about the current situation in the country," Mhlanga points out. "There is nothing flowery and poetic about a corrupt political leadership that celebrates state violence. There is nothing flowery and poetic about millions of people in the country who cannot afford to put a single decent meal on the table for their families on a daily bases. There is nothing poetic and flowery about an economy whose inflation is at 5 000%.

"There is nothing poetic and flowery about living in a country whose governing leaders are under travel sanctions. There is nothing flowery and poetic about living in a country where you send your child to school to find the head of a school with half their staff have left to work in another country."

The playwright said the current situation in the country demanded not poetic theatre, not romantic theatre, but protest theatre.

"I have learnt one clear lesson," Mhlanga said, "that there is no room to practise the art of protest theatre in our democratic Zimbabwe."

Before he can make a decision on what to do, Mhlanga, the producer and their lawyer will revisit all the scenes and content of script to establish which scenes could possibly be said to contravene sections of POSA and the Criminal Law.

"Only after the exercise," Mhlanga said, "will I be in a position to make an informed decision on what to do next . . . and I will make sure the biggest changes in the script will be commas and full stops."

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