HARARE, Apr. 16 (NewsDay Live) — Almasi Collaborative Arts will stage a reading of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat this Friday at the Friendship Bench Hub, as part of its 2026 season lineup.
Directed by Charlene Mangweni-Furusa, the production is the third major installment in Almasi’s 2026 programming. It follows Nottage’s visit to Zimbabwe last year, during which she led a rewrite workshop for local writers.
The reading is the outcome of a structured development process aligned with Almasi’s drive to professionalise the local theatre sector. Cast members and the director recently completed a two-day dramaturgical workshop led by Programs Director Gideon Jeph Wabvuta.
“Staged readings are central to our development agenda,” Wabvuta said. “They strengthen dramatic literacy while exposing audiences to significant works.”
Mangweni-Furusa said Sweat—which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017—remains sharply relevant.
“It tracks economic pressure and systemic strain across everyday lives. The system feels indifferent to the people inside it. There is something familiar in that,” she said.
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The ensemble includes Michael Kudakwashe, Nyaradzo F. Nhongonhema, Tsungirirai Chenjerayi, Shane Mahobele, and Deborah Nyasha Kabongo.
The event follows Almasi’s March Writers Retreat and a February reading of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. The organisation, co-founded by Danai Gurira, has also lined up a series of programmes for the rest of the year, including:
Directing & Stage Management Workshop led by Adam Immerwahr (April 20–May 2)
Africa Voices Now! festival of new plays (October)
Almasi African Writers Conference (December), now expanded to include screenwriting
Voice/Acting workshop led by Scott Miller (NYU Tisch School of the Arts)
The Sweat reading is free and begins at 2pm on Friday. It offers a focused look at economic and social tension during crisis, which organisers describe as a lens for contemporary reflection.
Under the executive artistic direction of Danai Gurira, Almasi says it remains committed to advancing African creatives through training, production, and international collaboration.