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DECORATED theatre practitioner, Daves Guzha, misses some of his fellow comrades in arts.
He vowed to salute his three late colleagues with a new play titled “AIKAKA!!!”
It was inspired by the loss of national hero, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, veteran playwrights Stephen Chipfunyise and Cont Mhlanga.
Tuku and Chifunyise died in 2019 while Mhlanga passed on last year.
The trio, who worked closely with Guzha, will best be remembered for fostering the spirit of oneness in showbiz.
The play runs from August 8 – 12 at Theatre in the Park, Harare Gardens.
Guzha, who last staged a one-hander in 2008 named “The Two Leaders I known”, took 15 years to make another return with a similar production.
In an interview with H-Metro, Guzha believes he still has plenty to share with fans from his experiences with some of the finest artists.
“It has taken me, to be specific, (15 years) this long to do another solo act (even though I occasionally did plays with other people), primarily because I had to have subject matters which;
- a) tug my heart whilst pushing me to do something.
- b) realising that I have something to finally say about this moment in our lives means the work I am presenting has a direct bearing on the manner of the presentation.
The Tuku and Daves Guzha
“c) over the past years I spent my time doing a substantial part of work on various policy related projects whilst serving time on different global, continental and regional as well as local boards and that consumed a lot of my creative time.
“Currently, I have reduced that footprint by a huge margin thus I am returning to the stage to stay.”
He added: “The passing on in the last few years of three influential artists, who were such an inspiration and a sounding board to my life, career and who were my friends, brothers and fathers, did also impact on my creativity and these are Stephen J. Chifunyise, Oliver Mtukudzi and Cont Mhlanga.”
Asked how he felt working on this new play, he said:
“Liberating while trying to ensure I fit back in and ensuring it comes out well. It’s been both emotionally, technically and physically exhausting.
“But, it’s worth it.”
Part of the synopsis reads:
“AIKAKA!!! swings with various performance styles which range from prose, music, poetry etc.
“Whilst Daves developed the framework and the idea for it, AIKAKA!!! is written by three writers who are Stanley Makuwe, Patience Phiri and Tinashe Muchuri.
“Its running time is less than one hour.”
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter