Enticing line-up of plays at Intwasa

students drawn from different schools in Bulawayo and is directed by Thabani Hilary Moyo.
“The Lion and the Jewel” will also be presented at the same venue at 14.00hrs.
The same day Bulawayo theatre will host at 19.00hrs the performance of Cont Mhlanga’s “Stitsha” which will be presented by Qhube Theatre Productions.
This classic Zimbabwean play which “uses music, dance and drama to weave an intricate and complex story of women fighting for self-recognition in a male-dominated world” has been directed by Sihlangu Dlodlo, who is one of Bulawayo’s prominent playwright and producers.
Dlodlo also directed the play in the early 1990s when it was performed by members of the Amakhosi Children Programme.
The cast of “Stisha” includes the Nama- award winning Zenzo Nyathi, Memory Kumbota, Thulani Mbano and Nomathamsanga Mkwananzi.
On Wednesday September 19, two plays will be presented. The first performance will be that of Blessing Hungwe’s “When Angels Weep” which is to be presented by the Harare-based NKM Theatre Initiative with the support of British Council.
The play which is directed by Giles Ramose — British theatre director who “collaborates yearly with NKM Theatre Initiative is an awe inspiring dark tale of child trafficking and family betrayal.
The play will be presented at the Bulawayo Theatre at 14.00hrs. At the same at 17.00hrs, the Harare-based Complex Arts Production with the support Sida will present an adaptation of Strindberg’s “The Father”.
The adaptation is a result of a collaborative workshop between Swedish and Zimbabwean thespians held in Harare last year.
The third day of Intwasa Arts Festival, September 20 will see the presentation of Herik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” at 10.00hrs and 14.00hrs.
“A Doll’s House” which is this years’ A-Level Literature textbook has been directed by prominent playwright and director of Intwasa Arts Festival, Raisedon Baya.
The play which is brought to the festival with the support of Plan International will feature Nokwanda Sibanda, Trevor Siyani, Faith Moyo and Ophelia Phiri.
The evening theatre programme of the day will feature the presentation of “The Accused” by the Hotheous at the Bulawayo Theatre Club.
On Friday September 21, the morning theatre programme will be dominated by the Plan International sponsored High Schools Drama Competition from 10.00hrs to 16.00hrs.
The evening programme will feature “When Angels Weep” .
The last day of the festival, September 22, will feature Homegrown Arts Production’s “The Immigrant” — a re-imagination of Arthur Miller’s “A View From the Bridge” which was collaboratively written by Raisedon and Thabani Hillary Moyo.
“The Immigrants”, which is a play about Zimbabwean immigrants living in Johannesburg, South Africa, features Memory Kumbota, Alison Unamkhupe, Kevin Bhuru and Zenzo Nyathi and is directed by Raisedon Baya.
Related activities during the five-day festival include a workshop on physical theatre facilitated by Lloyd Nyikadzino and a supported the Embassy of the United States of America on Wednesday and a filmmakers symposium supported by the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe on Tuesday at the Public Library at 10.00hrs.
A workshop on creative entrepreneurship presented by the British Council at 9.00hrs; a talk on creative industries presented by the British Council on Wednesday at the National Gallery at 16.00hrs and a workshop for teachers on arts and culture supported by the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe and the Amagugu Trust.