#THEATRE Imagine if one morning you woke up and God was standing at your door and he said to you, ‘There is no heaven and there is no hell. No reward for the good you have done. And no punishment for the evil you have done. But I am God. Love me and worship me.” Would you do it?
This was one of the many probing questions raised by the brilliantly executed, award-winning play The Gods You’ve Built.
To say that this play is one of the best Zimbabwean plays we’ve seen would be a mistake. This play rates as one of the best plays, period, we’ve ever watched.
Unquestionably in a Zimbabwean setting, it takes you to the very core of what it means to be human, exposes the raw questions, emotions, fears that at times plague us all, and offers a warning of the dire consequences when we’re consumed by these questions and fears.
“If you knew your life was pointless, why would you want to live?” Throughout the play the talented cast begs for an answer to this question – hoping, praying that they will find that answer in time.
A Scene from ‘The God’s You’ve Built’ | WWW.ZIMBOJAM.COM
The play is set in a public toilet with years of grime smeared on its once-beautiful, tiled floor, now littered with used condoms.
In the intimacy of Reps’ Theatre Upstairs, it is impossible for the audience to escape the agonizing questions raised by the actors.
Brian is a tattooed philosophy professor who has lost faith in his own philosophies. Rudo is a lapsed nun who is still a firm believer in Brian’s creed, having turned away from the Catholic teachings she followed for “more than half of (her) life.” Rudo has religiously read and even memorized all of Brian’s books, which are now littered all over the toilet floor.
The two met in an online group of people who question religion, the meaning of life, the point of all of this. They made a pact to carry out Brian’s “perfect suicide” on the anniversary of his son’s death.
Thank heavens the two actors are joined by a third character, a drunk policeman, who brings some comic relief to the otherwise tragically strained play. Having stumbled into the toilet, confused by what is going on between the nun and the professor, the policeman soon finds himself the target of the pair’s questioning and embroiled in their carefully planned execution.
At times the audience was silent, no sound but the hum from a fan at the back of the theatre. At others, bursts of raucous laughter as the policeman delivered perfectly timed lines like “We were all Catholic at one time” or “I think I soiled myself” – a welcome comic release from the tragedy unfolding before us.
“Extremely thought-provoking. Questions are relevant, especially to people like myself who consider themselves Christian. I would recommend everyone watches it,” said Chido from Harare.
Actors Precious Mudzingwa, Dereck Nzivakwi and Leeroy Gono all delivered flawless performances in this play written by Tawanda Kanengoni and directed by Leeroy Gono.
The Gods You’ve Built gets our number 1 rating thus far for HIFA 2014, and if you haven’t yet seen it, do yourself a favour and get a ticket for one of their remaining performance at 2:30pm, Sunday 4 May at Reps Theatre Upstairs.
