The Sunday News
Lance Chigodo Sunday Leisure Reporter
GIFFORD Boys High School will this year represent Bulawayo Province at the upcoming Youth Cultural Arts Festival (Yocaf) pencilled for 30 July to 1 August in Masvingo where they will be showcasing their new play – The Burning Ulcer. The drama giants already have a good reputation having dominated the schools drama competitions for the past three years, producing the best plays provincially and also representing the province in national festivals and competitions.
No preliminaries were done as other schools in the province showed no interest hence Gifford High School with its excellent record from previous drama competitions coupled with their enthusiasm for drama compared to other schools in the province was selected to participate.
Bridget Sayers, the drama teacher at the school, told Sunday Leisure that both the pupils and the school administration had shown so much support for the drama club that is why it has been accorded so many opportunities and does so well in the province.
“We have managed to gain so much exposure in the drama scene simply because we have been doing so well and have also shown so much passion in stage plays. We were even one of the few to attend the Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa) from the region,” she said.
The Bulawayo boys high school will be competing with schools such as Regina Mundi Girls High, Thornhill High School, Glen View 1 High School, Masvingo Christian College, Dadaya High School and St Peters Kubatana High School which will also be representing their provinces for the Walter Muparutsa Award.
The school, that will have impressed the judges and win the award, will get the opportunity to stage a play at next year’s Hifa.
Sayers said Gifford High School would be presenting the breathtaking The Burning Ulcer on stage for the first time, adding that it was one of the best plays they had produced this year.
“The play will be on stage for the first time and I believe it will pose so much competition against plays that will be showcased by other schools. We believe we have polished it up well for the competition,” she added.
The play was written by Sayers and directed by Elton Sibanda, a former pupil at the institution. It is among other plays they produced this year such Disability Is Not Inability which they have preserved for the Intwasa Festival koBulawayo where they will be defending their title after taking first position last year.
The Burning Ulcer is a story of a young man who wants to pursue his dream in theatre arts after passing A-level examinations. His dream of doing theatre arts at university is, however, opposed by his family which wants him to carry on with the long-held family legacy of pursuing sciences.
