A litany of archaic and draconian pieces of legislation has clipped the wings of creative theatre work, a local playwright has said.
BY KENNEDY NYAVAYA
In an interview with NewsDay, theatre guru Daves Guzha said the dire situation has crippled the arts industry, which is responsible for boosting so many leading economies worldwide, at a time there was massive unemployment in the country.
“Our politics tries to make it very difficult for us as artistes to carry out our work, in general, that is the nature of our politics. The rest of the world you are hearing about the creative industry being a major player in creating jobs, but it is only in Zimbabwe where you hear the opposite when the industries have closed,” Guzha said.
He blamed the glitch on backward thinking and generational gaps between the policy makers and active artistes.
“Ignorance, that is the problem with generational gaps unfortunately they make other people want to stick to older systems that are so archaic and have no place in the digital era,” he said.
Guzha’s sentiments came after the recent arrest of award-winning actor Silvanos Mudzvova for staging his one-man play titled Missing Diamonds, I Need My Share, which he claims was inspired by disclosures made by President Robert Mugabe that the country had lost $15 billion from diamond revenue.
“We are saying this issue needs to be interrogated because the message that the money was stolen did not come from an ordinary person, but an extraordinary leader,” he said.
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“There is need to review such oppressive laws for development and enhancement of mutual agreements, especially on serious issues between the State and the people.”
Some of Zimbabwe’s statutory laws have hindered arts to fully enjoy the freedom of expression as espoused in the Constitution, a happening which has led to the banning of certain plays to be showcased on stage.
