DZOKA! A celebration and fundraiser
Two Gents Productions in association with Oval House Theatre presents DZOKA!, a celebration and fundraiser.
Oval House Theatre is proud to present a one-off special event hosted by Two Gents Productions. Following the success of the company’s inaugural show last Autumn, Oval House has donated our theatre to help them launch a six-week Zimbabwean residency.
We have planned a full and exciting night, providing you with a drinks reception at 7pm followed by the show at 7.30pm ending with a special live music performance in the Oval cafe where food will also be available. So come join us for a fifty minute tour-de-force through work old and new: a feast of traditional Zim storytelling, some new writing exploring life in the Diaspora, some hilarious sketches depicting the every day trials of Zimbabweans and off course some classic Shakespeare and a couple of old friends from VAKOMANA VAVIRI VE ZIMBABWE.
Following our successful run last year of Vakomana Vaviri ve Zimbabwe or Two Gentlemen of Verona, we will be embarking on an international tour this year. It will kick off this Spring with a return home to Zimbabwe with an invitation to perform at this year’s Harare International Festival of the Arts – the tenth anniversary celebration!
British Council is making the trip possible. But we are not satisfied with only going down to perform. We have decided to take it one step further… with the help of our friends at Harare’s Reps theatre we will be conducting a six week Zimbabwean residency in Harare, with the aim of creating a brand new piece of work, that we will then pack up and bring back to London with us. All for your benefit!
“Dzoka!” will be your opportunity to see some of the work we are planning to develop in Zimbabwe. It will also allow us to raise some of the much needed funds to cover our costs while working in Zimbabwe. Material performed will include:
- sketches and vignettes on life in Zimbabwe
- the story of “Nhamo the Manyika Warrior and his sexy wife Chipo” – an irreverent, postmodern take on the traditional African fairytale written by Denton
- a scene from Kanjani – a work in progress written by Tonderai that explores the life of a young Zimbabwean man in London and the sudden upheaval caused by the arrival on his doorstep of an old schoolmate from Zimbabwe
- the opening scene from the First Quarto of Hamlet – the first published, but heavily corrupted version of Shakeseare’s tragedy – which explores the clash between old and new order as expressed in the sudden appearance of the old king’s ghost in the wake of the new king’s assent to power.
We hope you enjoy the show!
No Comments »01/04/2009 by admin