The Sunday Mail
When the tiny gazebo that Guzha and team used as a venue was shut down some four or so years ago over a dispute, many people tried to introduce new venues and prop up old ones. It all came to naught.
IN one of his songs “Sando Dzangu”, Wallace “Winky D” Chirumiko sang, “Ndipei sando dzangu ndichiri kurarama (give me my props while I’m still alive).
It was a big hit when he released it a few years ago.
Daves Guzha
Winky D has since got his fair share of respect since that song, not because he demanded it but because he has earned it.
As I sat in the new Theatre in the Park on Wednesday evening watching the play “Super Patriots and Morons”, a 2003 production written by Raisedon Baya, I could not help but feel that Daves Guzha, the brains behind Theatre in the Park, has not received his props.
Not props for his role in the controversial “Super Patriots and Morons”, but for bringing back theatre.
Now I believe that no one can argue with Guzha when he claims that he is the don dada of theatre in Zimbabwe, ‘chim’dhara, chibaba-baba’.
When the tiny gazebo that Guzha and team used as a venue was shut down some four or so years ago over a dispute, many people tried to introduce new venues and prop up old ones. It all came to naught.
Activity on the theatre scene dwindled. It was made worse by the closure of Mannenberg a few years earlier, a venue that had proved to be an alternative to Theatre in the Park.
Enthusiasts like myself began to frequent the University of Zimbabwe, chasing after the students’ performances.
Once in a while, I would join Tafadzwa Muzondo in Highfield for a play or two but it was never consistent.
At times, Chipawo would keep me entertained, especially on important days like International Theatre Day, but it was all infrequent.
Yes, Guzha has his problems, especially with over promising.
He gave the impression that the new venue would be a multi-million dollar investment but it turns out it’s just containers and canvass.
Many may say “it is not what you promised us”, but the truth of the matter is that this is the first new theatre venue that has opened since 1960.
In a country where people in the creative sector have almost given up, this act by Guzha is worth celebrating.
For the first time in a long time, I saw Thespians that I had last seen four or five years ago. Guzha has brought everyone back together again.
Action in theatre is back and when he brags please let him do so, it is his right.
While I will not bother reviewing the politically charged 13-year-old “Super Patriots and Morons”, I look forward to enjoying lots of plays in this new home of theatre.
Congratulations Rooftop Promotions, Theatre in the Park brand and Daves Guzha; good luck on this new chapter that you have opened.
Sando dzenyu!
