We know February is still many sleeps away, so to start talking about the NAMA awards now might be deemed being overzealous.
Well, we don’t mind the zeal tag, we are just speaking truth to power on this one!
If the production Zuva Crumbling does not win the 2024 NAMA gong for best production it will win many more NAMA awards.
It will win the best director, actor and actress awards.
That is just how good the recently premiered production is.
A memorable 90 minutes of thrilling content.
When compared to football, which runs for the same period, the play was like watching the El Clasico live, with both Messi and Ronaldo in action.
After 25 years of trying to conceive, renowned actor Lucian Msamati finally shared with the world his masterpiece.
The play is a riveting journey down memory lane, October 4, 1989 to be specific.
University of Zimbabwe students are not happy with various government policies and as tension escalates, law enforcement agents invade the university in the early hours of October 4.
They arrest students’ representative council president, Arthur Mutambara amongst many others.
The lad then is presumed dead after the clashes but an article in The Herald of October 13 1989 reveals he is alive and in custody.
Given such a background anyone attempting to take this story onto the big stage must do their homework right. They can dramatize some elements to add a bit of wit but they should surely not overdo it lest they dilute the essence of the story.
Fortunately for us, the audience, Msamati and his crew nailed it!
A very compact delivery from a stellar cast featuring the legend, Jasen Mphepo, the ever so capricious Charmaine Ruvimbo Mujeri, the multitalented Tinevimbo David Chimbetete, and the soon to be Oscar winner Tafara Nyatsanza.
Also part of the cast is the play director, Tafadzwa Bob Mutumbi. We had to single him out as he carries a special place in our hearts as the Zimbo Jam team.
We have seen the lad trying so hard to impress on the big stage for the past five years and at one point we just thought this was going nowhere.
However, since he started directing plays, his works have been delightful. His acting has dramatically improved in recent productions. Getting better with age like wine!
Back to the play now, the ability of the cast to add humor to this spellbinding production is a sign of maturity and inimitable dexterity.
Their ability to switch roles and get immersed into different characters in the twinkling of an eye is remarkable.
Kudos to whoever selected the cast because that is where the money is after the well written script.
For those who were not there in 1989 and want to have a feel of what things were like then, a good start will be to read Professor Arthur Mutambara’s book on the incident.
But, for those who love reliving experiences in real-time, this play will give you an interesting view of how
things played out.
Sadly, show cycles in Zimbabwe are very short and the run the production had at Reps Theatre is probably the first and last but this is the type of production that will do well on the road.
Please take it to Broadway oh esteemed writer, Lucian Msamati.
Find folks to partner with and take this production around the world for indeed it is a masterpiece!
