A black peasant farmer who has had his home burnt during a politically motivated attack and white commercial farmer who has lost his farm and his father during a farm invasion meet and realise that they have more in common than they previously imagined- including a feeling of powerlessness to do anything about this third force that has brought them both to their knees. Welcome to Allegations.

Written by the award winning writer and director of Loupe, Mandisi Gobodi, and directed by a rising theatrical giant, Patience Tawengwa, Allegations is a moving play with a lot of you-did-not-just-say-that honesty in the verbal exchange between the two protagonists.

Allegations is a product of the HIFA-Direct mentoring project for Zimbabwean writers and directors run by the British Council. It was produced with the support of the Young Vic in London.

The play was performed yesterday to a packed audience at the Standard Theatre.

The storyline goes thus:

Spud () recounts how he had to flee his farm after a mob of youth and war veterans invaded it. In the process of the invasion, his father was shot- and died. Spud is angered by how he is seen as not being Zimbabwean, by how all that his family has built has been lost in the flicker of a flame. Fearing for his life he runs away with his wife carrying only the title deeds for the farm.

Reason () tells how he was accused of being a member of the opposition by ruling party youth and how his hut was set on fire. He was then dragged to a political rally where was tortured and witnessed a prominent businessman get murdered for being part of the opposition party. Reason manages to escape while the businessman is being dealt with.

When the two meet, the exchange is fierce with each alleging that the other is the cause for their problems and each claiming to be the greater victim.

An interesting point is how the set for the play is simply a huge jungle gym piece surrounded by piles of newspapers and a huge tractor tyre to one end. During the play, the jungle gym serves as Spud’s farm house, Reason’s hut, a mountain, a place of rest for reason when he is fleeing the youth and a hiding place for Spud when he is running away from the war veterans.

It is as if the writer is saying that this whole story, this tale of woe and loss and chaos is but a big game for someone.

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anonomous   |2009-05-08 03:40:04 What do we think should happen with a play like this that has come out of zimbabwe at this time? Reply 0   0

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