Chronicle Editor
Angela Sibanda, Showbiz Reporter
Theatre lovers in Bulawayo are set to be taken for a ride when Geraldine Roche Drama (GRD) hosts a drama competition that will see seven groups perform one prescribed script.
Being the first of its nature to be hosted by GRD director Khaliphile ‘Khally’ Sibanda, the competition will be based on her script “He doesn’t have a backbone,” a piece that was selected for Women Playwrights International Montreal Canada Conference and is set to be played in Seoul, South Korea.
The competition is set to be held on October 29 at the Zimbabwe Academy of Music. Participating groups include Star Darlings, Langelitsha, Roar, Senzangakhona, Vanity and Zulukandaba.
The play He Doesn’t Have a Backbone, is an educational script. Its synopsis reveals how easy it can be to dodge responsibilities, and shows how the consequences of dodging such responsibilities always catch up.
According to Khally, the drama groups are made up of seven members who speak seven different languages – French, Russian, Chinese, British English, Black American English, Sotho and Shona.
The prescribed script was also written in seven different languages.
Khally said she felt challenged as the script is being acted in other countries yet nothing was being done where it was written.
“The fact that my script has gone international as it was selected for Women Playwrights International Montreal Canada Conference and it’s going to Seoul, South Korea made me realise that there was a need for us to also perform it here in Zimbabwe. We can’t let it be produced and embraced somewhere else and not do anything back home where it was written.”
She said after the competition, the winners will perform the play during the organisation’s annual party.
“We’re aiming to get the cast for our year end performance and party. So, from the competition, we’ll select the best cast to officially act on the script like the Women Playwrights International Conference is already doing,” she said.
Khally said preparations for the competitions are at an advanced stage with directors for the seven groups having the autonomy to cast their actors the way they see fit.
“We have seven groups that have registered for the competition. The script has seven cast members, speaking seven different languages from seven different countries so whosoever the director is going to cast, should portray those characters.
“It’s up to the director to cast whoever they want, all we want at the end is to have the best director interpreting the script better and giving us the best cast for our year end,” she said.
Online Reporter