We don’t get a lot of high quality entertainment in Harare – I mean, who wants to come to Harare, (where’s that?) to play, act etc? The exception of course is HIFA but that’s just a week a year (see other pages on this blog). So when we do get quality entertainment it is really appreciated. There are even those who claim, rather snidely, that Zimbabwean audiences are a little TOO easily pleased but, hey, we enjoy it! Last night the Spanish Embassy sponsored top flamenco guitarist, Paco Peña, to play. Word had got around that it was a free concert too and it was a capacity crowd at the now somewhat dilapidated 7 Arts theatre (when it rains I have seen water leaking onto the stage). I am no flamenco aficionado and fortunately there was no singing, which is very much an acquired taste, but the playing was extraordinary. I even checked to see he did not have extra digits on his right hand! Encore to the Spanish Embassy!
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Zimbabwe Absurdity 
Don’t get much high quality entertainment in Harare? True – but we get some.
Such as the current Reps’ production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” on the Reps Main Stage.
Or the Under The Affluence / Reps production of “The Memory of Water” that opens next week in the Reps Theatre Upstairs.
We don’t get much, but we do produce some.
Taking nothing away from the exceptional Spanish offering. But keep supporting the local offerings as well!
Now that I have seen “Much Ado” I can comment. I would rate it as good amateur theatre but I thought the cast lacked depth which I would say is a common problem in this city. The lead characters, male and female, were very good as was Hero and the baddie (can’t remember his name) but I was unconvinced by Hero’s father and her suitor.
The set was excellent! It certainly is still theatre worth supporting and I continue to be amazed that anyone can still keep putting on theatre to this standard. Kudos to them but it is far from the international standard to which I was referring in this post.
I will see “The Memory of Water” next week.