The year Zim made giant strides in theatre

Nyikadzino was elected to one of the ITI committees.
He also used this occasion to establish contacts with many national centres of ITI. These contacts will enable Zimbabwean theatre artistes to participate in theatre events especially theatre festivals and workshops in different parts of the world. Another result of Nyikadzino’s attendance of the ITI World Congress was the decision by the ITI development officer, Petya Hristova, to schedule a visit to Zimbabwe in 2012 for a meeting with representative ITI national centres in Southern Africa.
Towards the end of the year, the secretary-general of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC), Michael Vais, welcomed the move to establish a Zimbabwean section of the association.
The IATC brings together theatre critics in the world in order to promote international co-operation. Established in 1956, IATC is a non-governmental organisation benefiting under Statute B of Unesco.
The association’s main aim is to foster “theatre criticism as a discipline “and the protection “of the professional interest of theatre critics” as well as to promote “understanding between cultures by encouraging international meetings and exchanges in the field of theatre”. In November, 15 arts journalists and 10 theatre critics indicated their willingness to become members of the Zimbabwe chapter of IATC.
The establishment towards the end of 2011 of Arts Journalists Network of Zimbabwe was an important development which will go a long way towards the improved coverage of theatre activities in Zimbabwe.
The network has created vast opportunities for capacity building of arts journalists through training programmes that can be run in collaboration with national and international arts organisations. An example of arts journalists training programme was the one held by Unesco in May in Kadoma for arts and culture reporters of print and electronic media on appreciating the cultural programmes of Unesco, and those of different institutions and international organisations affiliated to Unesco.
An area of theatre that witnessed tremendously growth in 2011 is the area of stand-up comedy whose 2011 season began in January with Michael Kudakwashe’s “Back to the Madness” at the Book Café and Carl Joshua Ncube’s “The Big Announcement” which was also held in January at the 7 Arts Theatre in Harare.
This clearly showed how Zimbabwe had underrated its stand-up comedians. With the assistance of Ncube, who is now based in South Africa, Harare stand-up comedians established in June, Simuka Comedy – the home of Zimbabwean Comedy as an agent to manage stand-up comedians and to provide a facility which enables the general public to hire or recruit stand-up comedians for entertainment.
This was a very significant development in the process of growing a viable theatre industry in Zimbabwe.
Other very successful stand-up comedy projects in 2011 were the Zimbabwe Comedy Festival under the leadership of Edgar Langeveldt and held in June at the Café Expresso and at Reps Theatre Upstairs.; the Simuka Comedy’s “August the Month of Comic Heroes” that featured Toropito, Black Pearl, Simba The Comic King, Doc Vikela and Anopa Makaka and Simuka Comedy’s “Hilariously Ugly September” that feature Michael Kudakwashe, Doc Vikela, Toropito and Simba The Comic King. Other stand-up comedians who captured public attention in 2011 were Ntando V and Moyo and Clive Chigubu of Bulawayo and the Chitungwiza-based Kenny Konscious.
The 2011 stand-up comedy season was scheduled to close on December 28, 2011 with Simuka Comedy’s “The Last Laughs” hosted by Edgar Langeveldt and featuring Notorious Q, Uncle Sam, Simba The Comic King, Doc Vikela and Toropito. The event was intended to “bid farewell to the Book Café the true home of Zimbabwean stand-up comedy” that closes up in January 2012. Given support especially space at arts festivals throughout the country, this brand of theatre has the potential to be a very profitable artistic creativity.
The establishment in March of the Zimbabwe Theatre Association Awards was an equally significant development in Zimbabwean theatre in 2011. The awards, which recognise the contribution of individuals and organisations to the growth and development of theatre in Zimbabwe, also became a major demonstration of Zimbabwe Theatre Association’s determination to play a key role in promoting viable professions in theatre in Zimbabwe and the nation’s recognition of the valuable contribution of theatre to its socio-cultural and economic development. Soon after the awards presentation the association commissioned the creation of the Zimbabwe Theatre Hall of Fame.
By November names of more than 100 people who were involved in theatre in Zimbabwe since 1945 were compiled. During the year, the association commissioned the production of a paper on policy issues in the field of theatre that were recommended for consideration by the team of researchers tasked by the Ministry of Education Sport, Arts and Culture to use the submissions from cultural policy meetings a draft of a new cultural policy.
Another very significant phenomenon in theatre activity in 2011 was the growth of theatre performance tours. The most successful performance tours were those to colleges and universities such as the tour of “Burn Mukwerekwere Burn”, “Rituals”, “In the Continuum” “Heal the Wounds” and “The Father”. A critical factor in the success of these theatre performance tours was the willingness of college and university authorities to host theatre performances on their campuses. This approach is a necessary strategy of ensuring that audiences at colleges and universities access regularly successful theatre production grown in few venues predominantly in Harare and Bulawayo.
External performance tours were in the year very limited to Rooftop Promotions’ “Rituals” participation in the Grahamstown Festival and performance tour of Johannesburg and Lusaka; the participation in the Sadc Community Theatre Festival of “No Voices No Choices” by Edzai Isu Theatre Productions and Zvido Zvevanhu Ensemble and Chipawo’s Tynwald Primary School Centre’s performance of “Tawanda the Dancer” at the 11th International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts in New Dehli, India. It was unfortunate that theatre productions by Rooftop Promotions and Siyaya Arts could not make it to the Edinburgh Festival due to visa and air travel complications.
Apart from the seven plays from outside Zimbabwe that appeared at Hifa – “Hotel Paradiso”, “Donpasta” “Laugh Africa”, “Ocean Commotion,” “The Man Who Committed Thought”, “The Gospel of Othello,” “Paperboy”, only four plays from Zambia and Malawi toured the country.
These were Mulenga Kapwepwe’s “Rufino’s Wife” by NAPSA Theatre of Lusaka that was featured at Intwasa Arts Festival in Bulawayo; Stanley Mambo’s “Ganyau” that opened the Rooftop Promotions’ 2011 theatre season in Theatre in the Park; and Tsungai Garise’s “Married Versus Single” and “Maid, Madam and Millionaire” held at Reps Theatre and the Alliance Francaise Centre respectively. Harare’s Reps Theatre had a very active theatre year with a production schedule of 10 plays that included “Rent”, “Robinson Crusoe”, “Humble Boy”, “The Noughties”, “Jesus My Boy”, “Magic”, “Fame and The Poet”, “Dream Lover” and “Caroline’s Man”. The theatre’s 2011 season is scheduled to conclude with the production of “Boeing, Boeing” directed by Zane Lucas.
Sponsorship of prominent theatre productions to feature at arts festivals in different parts of the country was a very significant feature of theatre activity in 2011. Prominent in this regard was the sponsorship by the British Council of “Colour of Dreams”, “The Comeback” and “The Gospel of Othello” to feature in Intwasa Arts Festival, Dzimbabwe Arts Festival and Chimanimani Arts Festival; the sponsorship of Chipawo’s “Mutambo Wepanyika” to feature at Youth Cultural Festival of Masvingo and the Murewa Cultural Festival; the sponsorship of “Rufino’s Wife” and “The Lion and the Jewel” by Plan International to feature at Intwasa Arts Festival and Alliance Francaise de Bulawayo’s sponsorship of “Drum” for the Intwasa Arts Festival. One hopes that in 2012 prominent corporations doing business in Zimbabwe will join the bandwagon of sponsoring theatre production to national and international arts festival.