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| By Richmore Tera and Rumbidzai Mashinge THEATRE buffs are in for a treat when "Rituals", a play by award-winning playwright Stephen Chifunyise and produced by Daves Guzha, takes centre stage at the Standard Theatre as part of the ongoing Harare International Festival of the Arts today. Show-goers will not rue parting with their US$6 to watch the play that until recently was on a tour of Zambia. The tour, that ended on April 22, saw the cast holding 100 successful performances. In the play, Chifunyise fuses drama and dance to depict community-initiated rituals of healing and reconciliation. The star-studded cast of Mandla Moyo, Zenzo Nyathi, Silvanos Mudzvova, Chipo Bizure, Joyce Mpofu and Rutendo Chigudu makes "Rituals" a must-see production. The play comes to Hifa courtesy of Rooftop Promotions, one of the leading theatre powerhouses in the country. Rooftop Promotions has produced internationally acclaimed shows that have toured all over the world and have done outreach programmes with plays advocating peace, healing and reconciliation among other issues. The play will be staged tonight at 9:15 at the Standard Theatre. Tonight's performance is the last at this year's event after the premiere yesterday. There will be free DVDs of the play for those who attend the two shows. Meanwhile, various poets from the Sadc region and abroad are set to illuminate the "Spoken Word" slot of the festival, sponsored by Hivos in conjunction with Banc ABC, this afternoon. Running under the theme "Rhythm in the Voice", the segment will feature the likes of Zimbabwean poets Mbizo Chirasha, Valerie Tagwira, Nevanji Madanhire, Bhekusa Moyo, Quaye Kojo (Ghana), Pikita Ntuli (South Africa) and Morten Sondergaard (Denmark), among others. "Poets will be celebrating the vibrancy and diversity of languages. The slot gives a sense of inter-regional engagement of poetic voices from all over the world and this helps to bridge the gap among these countries. "It gives a sense of communion, it is not only a diversity of languages but also a cross-pollination of thoughts and situations as well as a diversity in cultures," said Chirasha, one of the poets. Chirasha said he was going to integrate his performance with some pieces by the late legendary Shona poet, Mordecai Hamutyinei. "I am going to perform some of his poems that have got to do with the theme of engagement. He was a very outstanding poet, with a catalogue of poems that spoke a lot on issues to do with the African set-up. "By so doing I am engaging society on issues they face everyday," said Chirasha. The "Spoken Word" will continue tomorrow between 1-2 pm under the theme "Reflecting, Expressing!" with the likes of Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, Pikita Ntuli, Quaye Kojo, Morten Sondergaard and Nevanji Madanhire doing their recitations accompanied by music from afro-jazz artiste Steve Chikoti. Friday will be for the "Future in Our Hands" featuring both the young and old voices in the genre, while Saturday will be a tribute to the late poet Julius Chingono. The closing day will see "Spoken Word" running under the theme "My Poetry is My Job" hosted by renowned poet Chirikure Chirikure. |
