The ManicaPost
Liberty Dube Post Correspondent
ROOFTOP promotions — a production company that promotes and develops artistic initiatives in Zimbabwe – has spread its tentacles outside Harare and is set to bring its newest play, Lamentation @12 to Mutare this weekend.
| The play, which was written by Getrude Vimbai Munhamo and directed by Rooftop Promotions director, Daves Guzha, is an emotionally and mentally aesthetic rich piece of work which tackles on sexual, physical and emotional abuse of the girl child by the society among other themes. |
In an interview, Guzha said: “We expect to hold the play at The Manica Post offices on Friday (today) during lunch hour as well as at Mutare Poly and Marymount Teachers College on Saturday (tomorrow).”
Guzha is a prominent artist with a long and distinguished career on both stage and screen. His wide range of expertise and abilities derive from the three decades he has spent in the theatre industry working on both sides of the stage and screen as actor, director, producer, administrator and social justice activist.
“Lamentation @12 is a story of the stolen age of innocence. It encapsulates through a deliberate trajectory of historical and societal “norms” the lack of growth and change in attitude in various times in the human evolution, or lack of it. Through carefully crafted vignettes, our writer, director, actresses, technical team and choreographer bring to life, naked in rawness various epochs which society prefers to view through stormy and hazy lenses.
“Chronicling being bedded by nine men and carrying out some arduous chores as payback for some murder ostensibly carried out by a long lost brother, “Lamentations @ 12” through our girl child Stella, throws this long drawn out traditional yet highly challenged practice, within he realm of the 21st century and makes us question its place and relevance in a new world.
The cast and crew is this refreshing challenging piece of work from a first time writer is eclectic in its composition,” said Rooftop Promotions in a statement.
Munhamo is an artist who studied performing arts and media at Theory X Media. She has been in arts industry for more than eight years and has acted in “Sinners?” (film and stage), “After the Dust has Settled”, “Diamonds in his son’s Grave” and Henrik Ibsen’s adaptation by legendary director Cont Mhlanga “The People” among others.
She is a first time writer and “Lamentations @ 12” is her writing debut.
She is driven by passion to bring out the voice of the untold traumas in the life of the vulnerable innocent 12 year girl children.
Another energetic actress, Dalma Chiwereva, also stars in the play.
She started acting at a very young age at primary level. Her first exposure on television was in a NAMA award winning television drama Izoloizolo as she took on the leading role as Nodumo showing her prowess as a professional actress in 2006 on ZBC. She rose to fame through featuring in short & feature films, to advertisements billboards & musical videos.
Guzha’s work has featured in performances at major regional and international festivals in countries such as Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia to name just a few.
Although formally trained in the naturalism style akin to Stanislavsky’s acting techniques and Brecht’s Epic methods, Guzha remains attracted to Zimbabwean and African indigenous performance styles drawn from traditional ritual, satire and story-telling traditions.
Rooftop Promotions has been a major developer of Zimbabwean arts since 1986, when its role was to facilitate the expression of the excitement of early independence.
Rooftop intends to focus on making the arts a sustainable sector, which will provide opportunities for the growth and development of new talent.
