ROOFTOP Promotions on Tuesday premiered their play Juju Soccer at Allaince Francaise.
OWN CORRESPONDENT KUDZAYI ZVINAVASHE
The play written by theatre veteran Stephen Chifunyise and directed by Daves Guzha features the award-winning Mandla Moyo, Teddy Mangwana and Guzha.
The three hander is about an over-qualified soccer coach (Extratime Chigumbo) in a local league who is coerced by the club chairman (Cde Zidumburemombe) to seek the services of a traditional healer (Godobori Musanawenzou) to perform a ritual that will see the team winning every game.
The lead role by the coach is played by Mangawa, while Moyo plays club owner/chairman and Guzha features as the traditional healer. Through comedy it explores the superstitions of rituals carried out on the football scene that have been cited as the cause of the success of other football teams.
The play effectively uses metaphors to tap into Zimbabwe`s current political and social landscape.
The coach is in a predicament as the ritual supported by the chairman clashes with his Christian views.
The major highlight of the play comes when the traditional healer is doing his ritual and the coach is praying and using his anointing oil on the other end while the chairman stands in a moment of confusion.
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The play seeks to establish if juju or voodoo really exists in the beautiful game of soccer.
At the premiere the audience had different understanding of the play as some focused on juju in the soccer, but some chose to pay more attention at the play as a mirror of the state of religion, corruption, and politics among other things that have been subject to discussion in public spaces.
Some argued there was not much of gender representation while some countered the argument saying the gender balance was well struck in a symbolic way.
Juju Soccer is set to run for four days at the Old Mutual Theatre, Alliance Française starting from yesterday.
