‘Eclipsed’ opens at Theatre Upstairs

Centre.
“Eclipsed” is about Liberia in 2003 and its setting is a camp for rebels who are members of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

Written by Zimbabwean playwright Danai Gurira and directed by Zane E. Lucas, assisted by Patience Tawengwa, the play was warmly received at Hifa, where it was described as one of the best theatrical presentations this year.
The play is staged by The Repertory Players and runs until Saturday, with performances most nights at 7pm and matinee performances at 2.30pm on both Saturdays of the run.

It is rated 18 and no children will be admitted.
Said Lucas: “By 2003 Liberia had been undergoing civil war for more than five years.
LURD was at war with the army of leader Charles Taylor, a war that engulfed the people of Liberia.

The play is set in this turbulent period and examines an unhappy situation involving five women in the LURD camp.
“In August 2003, Charles Taylor fled Liberia and went in to exile in Nigeria,” said Lucas.
“He was recently indicted for war crimes in Sierra Leone and Liberia continues to mend itself under the leadership of Africa’s first — and until recently only — female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

“It is a story that remains topical and valuable.”
The cast includes Chipo Chikara, Yandani Mlilo, Precious Mudzingwa, Rutendo Chigudu and Sandra Goliath.