adminTHE cast of a Masvingo produced play, The Gods You’ve Built, has been invited to take part in the Annual Sondeka Festival which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, later this month.
Written by Tawanda Mutero Kanengoni and directed by Leeroy Gono, the play was produced by Xpressive Arts and has received excellent reviews both at home and abroad.
It was rated one of the best plays ever watched at the Harare International Festival of the Arts 2014 and it continues to mesmerise audiences.
“The play continues to attract a lot of attention locally, regionally and internationally. The play has been a big hit since its premiere at the Charles Austin theatre late last year,” said Gono.
Gono said the cast was invited by Creatives Garage and they were yet to secure air tickets for the trip.
“We are yet to secure air tickets for our maiden appearance in the East Africa country,” he said.
The play challenges the existence of God and the meaning of life in the most tragic circumstances.
“This play resonates with audiences as it asks questions that move through peoples’ minds all the time but which they dare not say.
“The acting is top notch with perfectly timed moments of comic relief from the seriousness of the tragedy that the play unfolds,” he said.
Added Gono: “The principal characters in the play are a professor who has all but lost hope in the meaning of his philosophies and struggles to come to terms with the death of his son; a nun who has lost her faith and grasps on to anything that might afford her a semblance of meaning in life and a drunken police officer caught up in the vortex of the destructive nature of the other two characters’ loss of hope and meaning.”
Gono said all the actors were professionals and they were all Theory X graduates hence he was convinced they will put a gigantic performance and put the Zimbabwean flag on the spotlight in terms of acting.
“The actors, all Theory X graduates, Precious Mudzingwa, Dereck Nziyakwi and myself will make sure that we deliver flawless performances and we are ever prepared to lift the Zimbabwean flag high,” he said.
The Annual Sondeka festival serves as a platform for numerous events, activities, exhibitions that showcase East Africa’s creative industry and promote Africa as a centre for creativity and investment opportunities.
He added that such opportunities provide a fertile platform to exchange notes and networking for the betterment of the continent’s continued growth in the arts industry.
“Such an invitation offers a networking and cultural exchange platform that is crucial for the development of African work and growth of the arts industry in the continent. We have showcased the play in South Africa where it received so much support and I believe the Kenyans took it from there and decided to invite us as well. Besides it is not difficult to have quality work recognised and invited to showcase,” said Gono.
He said they have also been invited to countries such as Malawi, Holland, Namibia and Tanzania.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter