Zimbabwe Absurdity

A busy day it started with the National Ballet show which despite its name included a huge variety of styles; ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop and probably some others that I’ve forgotten. Visually very appealing and the capacity crowd loved it.

Then some very different contemporary dance works by Shi Pratt and Tawanda Chabikwa which I frankly didn’t get followed by local theatre When Angels Weep about child trafficking in Zimbabwe. At the end of the show the British director, whom I know a little, asked me what I thought. “Good theatre but very depressing” I replied and then added; “and for all one knows probably true”. “Well” he replied, “it probably is as I know the writer did his research well”.  I was quite taken aback at the time but now I realise that I was being very naive. This sort of thing is prevalent elsewhere in the 3rd world, did I honestly expect it not to be happening here?

Lorna Kelly and Friends was well, not exactly a rock show. For some reason the soprano chose a lot of lullaby songs which not too surprisingly were soporific. The last composition was quite fun but I must have slept through the air-guitar number (if indeed there was one)!

24583 Little Creepy Wonders was children’s theatre by Italian Scarletine Teatro who brought us Manolibera a couple of years ago. Featuring balloons as ugly children.  It was mostly in Italian but the kids in the audience loved it as did a few adults.

The final show of the day was The Armed Man – a Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins which was performed by a local choral group with guest artistes. A great way to end the day – well done guys!