Theatre in the Park opens a new season with the premiere of a gem play from acclaimed theatre playwright Stephen Chifunyise titled Desperate in Love, which will mark the opening of this winter’s performances on July 3.
It will run until July 15.
Starting this season, shows will run from Tuesday right up to Sunday instead of the usual Tuesday to Saturday. Afternoon shows will be re-introduced and Saturday will have two shows, the matinee at 3pm and the normal at 5:30pm. Sunday will play host to one show in the afternoon.
The Desperate in Love cast includes Caroline Mashingaidze, Marian Kunonga and Tapiwa Mavindidze — a prominent face on television for his role as VJ in Studio 263 — making his debut on stage after having featured in many television productions in the last five years.
“It’s the first theatre project which I am very happy to be part of and the play was just the perfect opportunity for me to work with a perfect organisation that is renowned for its theatre productions,” said Mavindidze.
He added that his role in the play, as Farai Mangwana, is typical of a contemporary 21st Century guy who thought he was in control of everything, not knowing much about tradition and having little appreciation of it. He behaves like a spider that traps his victims — like his girlfriend.
Kunonga, who plays the role of Maidei Indoga, a 55-year-old nurse and modern woman with a strong sense of culture and family belonging, said the play was a story of how the young generation had adopted Western behaviour and forgotten about their culture.
“In my role as an aunt and modern woman, I have gone through marriage customs and I can also hear the voice of my own aunt and that voice should be constantly heard,” she said.
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Mashingaidze who acts as Stella Matombo, a 25-year-old law graduate working as a lawyer in a children’s rights organisation said the play was a reminder of certain cultural practices on relationships and marriage that have since been abandoned.
She said it exposed the so-called learned people, who despite attaining degrees, lack an appreciation of their own culture and also in a way blame the “aunts” who, due to westernisation have abandoned their traditional roles in the family.
“My character appears smart but is ignorant about many issues that shape her. And to me. I represent most young professional women, who are educated but clueless about their own culture,” said Mashingaidze.
In the play, Stella and Farai, who are both university graduates pursuing their careers, are desperately in love and their relationship based on promises and fantasies starts to crack when Stella’s aunt, Maidei, visits her flat and find them together.
While claiming to be educated, Stella appears ignorant of her own culture and tradition when her aunt puts her to test.
After a two-hour intense conversation, will the relationship survive? Will tradition triumph over modernity?
“True to the nature of plays showcased at Theatre in the Park, theatre lovers can expect another dosage of socially-conscious productions from various producers from all over Zimbabwe,” said Rooftop Promotions Producer Daves Guzha.
Guzha said play-runs at Theatre in the Park had also been shortened to two weeks at most due to demand from independent theatre directors and companies who want their work showcased at one of Southern Africa’s foremost theatre venues.
