adminThe astute casting of Tafadzwa Muzondo who plays Washington, Daniel Maposa double casting as Sugar and Gonyeti and Evangelista Mwatse in the dual role of Mama Zimbabwe and Liz sent the audience into an emotional journey in the play “Washington Junction”.
Coupled with the great performance, the set of the play provided an edge over the Zambian counterparts who started off with a heavily congested stage that unnecessarily elongated their opening play “Blood Ties”.
Besides the gripping storyline of the Zambian play, it was evident the cast in some instances struggled to cope with the multi-faceted stage.
The play centres on the life of a newly married couple that struggled to keep their clingy parents out of their marriage. In the end, their love is put to the test when they are both forced to choose between their parents and each other.
On the simplicity of their set, director of “Washington Junction” Patience Tavengwa said: “We managed to stage a successful play based at a street junction in the middle of Harare. The set is portrayed in 2D and 3D with minimal resources of a road backdrop that we did with the help of University of Zimbabwe lecturer, Kuda Sembo.
“This makes it easier for touring and the cast are challenged to make the play believable.”
“Washington Junction” is about the life of an ambitious young man, Washington who together with his colleagues struggles to realise their dreams after making a series of mistakes in the past.
All hope is not lost as the characters, who are somehow interconnected realise upon being ironically motivated by a mentally challenged friend to make a clean start.
The Zimbabweans joined multiple arts groups from Zambia, Botswana and Malawi in showcasing their theatrical talent while taking a few pages from one another in the five-day extravaganza.
Speaking at the opening last Wednesday in a speech read on her behalf, the Zambian Minister of Tourism and Arts, Ms Sylvia Masebo, applauded the countries for coming through and showcasing in the spirit of support within the Sadc region.
“Such initiatives are important in the Sadc region because they not only enable cultural exchange, but promote youth employment and income generation,” he said.
Festival manager Ian Mwiinga echoed the sentiments expressing hope of incorporating more countries in futures editions.
He, however, acknowledged Zimbabwe for its dedication over the years
“From the time we started in 2002, Zimbabwe together with Malawi has been coming through to Lusaka for the festival, a positive move that makes it easier for us to collaborate for productions. We always look forward to their acts because we are one and our backgrounds are similar too. Next year, we hope to bring on board artistes from South Africa and Namibia,” he said.
Online Reporter