Vakomana Vaviri Ve Zimbabwe or Two Gentlemen of Verona
Two Gents Productions presents Vakomana Vaviri Ve Zimbabwe or Two Gentlemen of Verona, by William Shakespeare
Directed by Arne Pohlmeier
Performed by Denton Chikura and Tonderai Munyevu
From Verona to Milan, via Harare and Bulawayo, Vakomana Vaviri Ve Zimbabwe takes one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies and transforms it into a two-man Zimbabwean riot of love, friendship and betrayal.
Two great friends, Valentine and Proteus, vie for the love of the same woman. When Valentine is banished, their friendship is threatened and only through disguise, deception and intrigue are they reconciled.
In a broad, loud, triumphantly energetic ‘township’ style the two actors slip into all of the play’s fifteen characters, from amorous suitors to sullen daughters, depressed servants and even a dog! One of Shakespeare’s most well-loved plays resonates with the Zimbabwean Experience of exile, powerful rulers and personal allegiances in this adaptation that will make you laugh and cry all at once.
Performances
28th April – 3rd May 2009 – Harare International Arts Festival (HIFA), Zimbabwe
18th November – 13th December 2008 at the Oval House Theatre, London
Reviews
sheer vitality…pure acting
To Do London
A striking gem of a production
Kate Jackson, What’s On Stage.com
The production’s humour is both broad and subtle… fine… youthful… irreverent…
Barbara Lewis, The Stage
Denton Chikura is a wonderful clown, playing lovestruck Valentine with an eloquent minimalism of gesture. Tonderai Munyevu, meanwhile, has a delightful comic elasticity of expression and delivers an enchanting rendition of ‘Who Is Sylvia?’ Together they make a fine double act.
Robert Shore, Time Out
The characterizations, male and female, are accomplished with deftness and great economy. Using a storytelling approach, the actors eschew surface detail in favour of the essential spirit of the characters…the lines are spoken with a clarity and conviction that make the meaning remarkably transparent.
ArtwordBlog
Whether or not your purse is feeling squeezed, these days, your spirits are almost certainly crying out for what this kind of theatre best provides : the joyous celebration of humanity; stuff you can’t buy. Here it is, on a shoestring: go lap it up.
Chris Bearne, remotegoat.co.uk
No Comments »09/11/2008 by admin