PULITZER POWER! Top US playwright Lynn Nottage mentors Zim talent in Re-Write Masterclass

Mbulelo Mpofu

ZIMBABWE’S theatre scene is turning the page and rewriting the script with a major boost from one of the world’s finest dramatic minds.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright Lynn Nottage is in Harare to lead the prestigious Re-Write Masterclass, a high-impact programme hosted by Almasi Collaborative Arts in partnership with the Zimbabwe German Society.

Running from 5 to 19 July, the masterclass is sharpening the pens and minds of six local playwrights: Amanda Ranganawa, Batsirai Chigama, Kingsley Chinhanu, Philani Amadeus Nyoni, Rudo Mutangadura, and Tatenda Mutyambizi, each chosen for their bold storytelling potential.

Nottage, known for global hits like Sweat, Ruined, and Intimate Apparel, is helping the group refine their scripts into world-class productions, all as part of Almasi’s Africa Voices Now! Festival.

“This is about shaping new African narratives for the world stage,” said Almasi in a statement. “We’re creating a space where local stories are told with global power.”

The workshop will climax with a free public showcase of work-in-progress scenes on Saturday, 19 July (11AM to 1PM) at the Zimbabwe German Society.

With previous projects including an elite writer’s retreat in April in partnership with The Public Theatre (New York), Almasi is proving that Zimbabwean theatre is not just surviving.

It is thriving and rewriting the rules.
From Broadway to Harare. The next wave of African theatre begins here!