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"Election
Day" to run at Theatre in the Park
Rooftop
Promotions
October 31, 2010
Rooftop Promotions
has taken another leap in promoting the works of new writers, directors
and actors this year with the opening of "Election
Day" by first time theatre writer and award-winning literature
writer Christopher Mlalazi, first time director-cum and two-time
NAMA Best Actress Eunice Tava which features some faces you have
not seen before at Theatre in the Park. "Election Day",
a reflection of election fever in a way never seen ever, is set
to open at Theatre in the Park on Tuesday 9 November 2010, featuring
Privillage Mutendera, Teddy T Mangawa, Tafadzwa Bob and Brezhnev
Guveya. The play will premiere on 9 October and opens to the public
on 10 November until 27 November everyday at 5.30pm and 7.30pm except
for Sundays and Mondays.
"Election
Day" had its world premiere at HIFA 2010 as part of the HIFA
Direct theatre mentorship project by HIFA and British Council where
it had three sold out shows at the about 50-seater Reps Upstairs
meaning only about 150 people saw the show. It had a feel of the
theatre in the round; something which the director feels was a good
warm up, when it was performed at Theatre in the Park as part of
the Protest Arts International Festival on 22 October 2010.
The director
of the play Eunice Tava is not new to theatre having carved a name
for herself as an actor, this is her debut theatre play as a director,
the writer Christopher Mlalazi is known for writing novels, poetry
and short stories and this is his first theatre play to be on the
limelight and only Privillage Mutendera (a writer actor and producer)
has performed at Theatre in the Park before. Tafadzwa who is studying
theatre with Theory X; Teddy a talented actor who has not been on
the limelight; and Brezhnev, a versatile actor, instrumentalist
and vocalist who provided live sound for "Loupe", "GPA"
at HIFA 2010 and "Allegations", are having their debut
acting appearance at Theatre in the Park.
"Having
performed in various plays at Theatre in the Park which include:
"Alone But Together", "Ganyau Express",
"The New Road", "Intimate Affairs" and "Checkmate",
to mention just a few, I feel elevated and elated to be having a
play I directed running at this venue which provided a platform
for works that made me a two time NAMA Award winner which are: "Intimate
Affairs" and "The New Road". Theatre in the Park
is the ultimate venue for most theatre practitioners and I have
made myself a name as an actress but this time around I hope to
prove myself as a director to the same audiences that have followed
me as an actor in previous Theatre in the Park productions",
says Eunice Tava the director of the play.
According to
the play's brief synopsis; it is election time. His Excellency,
Poka Oka Ndiseng's ruling party is losing by a very wide margin
in the polls. His wife, Samantha, and his personal aFdvisor, Twenty,
have both panicked and they are urging Ndiseng to flee the country,
but an adamant Ndiseng tells them he is not going anywhere and wants
to be buried under the soil of his ancestors.
"This
play is an artist's imagination and the stories simulated
are not entirely facts, the characters exist in the world of the
play and the intention of this play is not to insult anyone but
to just poke fun at election fever in not only Zimbabwe but the
whole world. Elections have been a very sensitive subject in most
countries and as artists we find the various stories about elections
in Zimbabwe very interesting and full of drama hence a source for
our creative work", says Eunice who is biologically born of
the Chikowore and Masinya families.
"As I
alluded to when we presented "Allegations", another
HIFA Direct product, we are on a deliberate drive as an organization
to provide exposure to Zimbabwe's emerging talent in line
with our mission to prestigiously promote talent. Our experience
with emerging artists has been fulfilling so we are confident that
what we are doing is to ensure posterity in the theatre industry.
Rooftop Promotions through Theatre in the Park, has provided a platform
for not only emerging artists but also production houses like EDZAI
ISU Theatre Arts Project when they did "All Systems Out Of
Order" and "This Or That", Savannah Trust for
plays like "Heaven's Diary" and "Decades
of Terror", Vhitori Entertainment with "Sahwira"
and "Final Push", Patsimeredu Edutainment for their
festivals, Homegrown Arts Promotions with plays like "Fragile"
and "Water Story", said Daves Guzha the Producer of
Rooftop Promotions.
"For those
who know Eunice and her acting prowess, please come and see her
directing prowess. As for those who might be wondering what the
new faces will do, wait till you see them do their thing and you
will be left wondering where these guys have been hiding all along.
In our drive to get back to those good old days of full houses,
(the 7.30pm shows were introduced to cope with demand), we are appealing
to theatre fans to come out in their numbers to support Zimbabwe's
emerging talent. We are also courting organizations to buy block
tickets for particular target groups to see this hilarious portrayal
of some serious issues. Theatre like other sectors of the economy
has been affected by our economic challenges, something that saw
attendances declining due to a number of challenges but now things
look better and the attendances have been improving owing to resilient
support from our audiences and some organizations which have been
encouraging audiences to attend our plays", says Tafadzwa
Muzondo the Marketing and Sales Executive.
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sheet
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