When people become too self-centered and lose the traditional values that held society together back in the day, Ubantu, there is a problem. If this problem goes unattended to for a long time then there is disaster within society.

This disaster is what talented choreographer and dancer, Tendai Guzha tackles in his debut dance theatre production, “The Poison” slated for Theatre in The Park from July 20 to 22, 2017.

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“The poison is a production about the logic behind our flaws as Zimbabweans. The story tells how majority of the people in this beautiful nation have become so selfish and in the process we have become very corrupt beings at all levels,” said director and choreographer of the show, Tendai Guzha.

Guzha also revealed that his production will take the audience through a sequence of events that have caused the nation to be swarming with ‘poisonous’ beings.

“There is a lot of hate amongst people in our society and it is sickening to say the least. People are investing more in pulling each other down than to support each other in building relations that will sustain the country’s future.

“The situation in which we find ourselves in is pretty depressing and to add to that you realise that our high literacy rate is in a way working against us because everybody thinks they are cleverer than the next individual and therefore deserve more and thus people are conning each other left, right and centre as they push to be the best,” he added.

The hour long production sees Guzha merge a variety of dance genres to come up with an eclectic piece that will challenge his audience to reconsider how it approaches life.

“Urban hip hop is the main genre in this production. However, let me hasten to say that it’s not just a one dimensional show, but we have various elements such as lyrical hip hop, a bit of old school in the form of locking and popping as well as the trending clarks dance, popularised by the Zim Dancehall movement,” highlighted Guzha.

The young lad admitted that though he has been involved in a lot of daunting productions, this being his debut brainchild, it was a pretty challenging task.

Continued Guzha, “The process of coming up with this production was no walk in the park for me. There were some instances where we managed to flow from one scene to the others without any challenges then there were some that just required a lot of thinking so that the storyline flows.

“The major challenge for me was that I had to maintain the entertainment element and match the dance to the storyline. This resulted in me having to use a lot of music that I would not typically dance to.”

This production also sees Tendai, for the first time ever, work with his father who happens to be a theatre guru in Zimbabwe, Daves Guzha.

“Well I have been wanting to work with my father for a long time and finally that wish has become a reality.

“I pitched the idea to him a couple of weeks ago and he instantly liked it. However, instead of coming on board as director and producer as I was thinking, he then decided to just be the producer as he felt the concept and choreography were all well-polished.”

“I have learnt a lot from him in the past years. Most of the things have been just through me observing him as he handles various productions.

“With this production, he has taught me the business side of things and am sure going forward I will be able to handle my craft with more agility,” revealed the young dancer.

The Poison is a story that depicts how Zimbabweans have changed character wise since the record breaking economic crisis in 2008. The play feature three dancers namely, Tendai Guzha, Elias Mudimu and Adam Mararikwenda.