Arts group Vhitori Entertainment has come up with a new play that tackles political violence entitled The Confessor, which opens at Anglican Cathedral Hall in Harare on Monday.
Vhitori Entertainment director Silvanos Mudzova told NewsDay that the idea to work on the play was inspired by “a startling admission” by a chief in Zaka that he actually “played a part in the violence that rocked his area during the 2008 elections”.
Against this background, Mudzvova sets his play where the chief calls his subjects to a gathering and wants to confess “to his own involvement in the violence that preceded the June 27 2008 presidential election run-off poll”.
Its premier on Monday is a deliberate move to make it coincide with June 27, the date of the disputed 2008 elections.
In a sudden turn to events, the chief also urges his subjects to follow his example and confess to their own involvement.
“A few people in the gathering join in and a lot of harrowing stories of political violence are heard. It becomes a moving story even for those who are hard-hearted,” said Mudzvova.
He said the play also seeks to address the contentious issue of national healing.
“The Confessor actually acknowledges the importance of the Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation and the need to ensure that the programme is fully accomplished without fail,” he said.
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The play also aims to explore whether it is possible to forgive in cases such as those witnessed and alleged in the period under review.
“All cases differed in magnitude and infliction of pain, but the bottom line remains that all cases need attention,” he said.
The playwright said the other aim of the theatre piece was to get ordinary people to discuss, resolve and find a way forward in terms of nation-building.
The Confessor stars Sebastian Maramba, Everson Ndlovu, Rumbidzai Karize, Stellah January and Charles Biniwere who all have a wealth of experience in both professional and community theatre.
